Director General (DG) Population Programme Wing, Dr Sabina Durrani Wednesday stressed for enhancing public awareness, strict implementation of a quality family planning and counseling workshops at grass-root level as country’s population is growing rapidly with an annual fertility rates. Talking to a private news channel, she expressed her serious concerns over the rapid population growth in the country, all stakeholders needs to collectively being part of an important initiative to strengthen the quality of maternal health and family planning services. She stressed that it is need of hour for our leadership to realize only a limited, inclusive and well-managed population which can steer the country on the road to sustainable development, adding, overpopulation is a burden which causes imbalance living standard.
Replying a question, she said in order to improve the overall maternal health in Pakistan’s rural areas, inclusive national policies must be implemented strictly so that the rural population can also avail the healthcare facilities, gender-based inequalities must be eliminated.
She further said the healthcare infrastructure needs to be reevaluated and the budget allocation in the health sector must increase, family planning programmes must be effectively implemented.
Funding for women education and awareness programmes would also reduce societal causes of maternal mortality and morbidity in rural areas, she highlighted
It is time to comprehensively address the issues, and a unique and joint development initiative must be created with the help of communities, NGOs, and government agencies, she advised. Replying to another question, she said young mothers should be educated regarding mother feed as the rate of breast cancer rising because mothers were reluctant to feed their babies.
