Zubair Qurshi
Pakistan’s pursuit of improved family planning programmes and sustainable population growth has taken a significant step forward, as the Population Council has unveiled a set of high-impact practices during the National Seminar on Best Bets for Accelerating Family Planning in Pakistan.
The event, held in Islamabad and attended by the federal and the provincial government officials, representatives of international organizations, donor agencies, and civil society organizations, emphasized the importance of enhanced funding, subsidized services through voucher schemes, strengthening community-based health system through Community Midwives (CMWs), and the active engagement of the private health sector.
Dr. Nadeem Jan, Federal Minister for National Health Services Regulations and Coordination, expressed the government’s unwavering commitment to enhancing the nation’s health indicators. Dr. Jan spoke on sustained political commitment, women empowerment, and meeting women health needs.
He stressed the need for investing in strengthening data systems to gauge the programmatic progress. “We are dedicated to improving access to family planning services through the implementation of high-impact practices and achieving short-term outcomes,” stated Dr. Jan.
He emphasized that political commitment, policy consistency, and the reinforcement of CMWs programs are essential for achieving sustainable population growth. He committed to utilize the untapped potential of private sector and CMWs for improving family planning services in the country.
seminar aimed to showcase evidence-based solutions, referred to as Best Bets, which offer solutions to the challenges faced by Pakistan.
These solutions were developed by the Population Council with the support of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. In her welcome address, Dr. Zeba Sathar, Country Director of the Population Council, highlighted the effectiveness of increased investment in family planning programs, voucher schemes, and private sector engagement as proven global strategies for accelerating progress in family planning.
She urged federal and provincial governments to integrate these high-impact practices into their development agenda to improve maternal and child health indicators while achieving sustainable population growth.
A panel discussion during the seminar underscored the need for greater investment in family planning. Dr. Hanid Mukhtar, former senior economist at the World Bank, pointed out that Pakistan’s public expenditure on population services has a low and declining budgetary priority. Despite a moderate increase in funding over the last four years, a substantial portion of the budget is allocated to wages and salaries, rather than the procurement of contraceptives, facilities, and trained staff. Former Senator Farhat Ullah Babar stressed that the weightage given to population in the NFC Award incentivizes population growth and recommended empowering local governments, women-centric decision-making, and the utilization of Lady Health Workers (LHWs) to enhance access to family planning services.
