WHEN the Government in 1976 enhanced the retirement age of public servants from 58 to 60 years, the decision was widely hailed. Nevertheless a small segment of the society considered it a step towards reducing high pension liability. They argued that the majority of the Pensioners expired within four-five years after retirement and now they will draw their pension for half the span of their retirement tenure than before.
Dr. Muhammad Arif Alvi, the then President of Pakistan in one of his inaugural addresses held in his tenure said that the life expectancy is increasing to an unimagined stage and soon the Pensioners will enjoy this facility up to their normal age of 120 years. This supposition indeed, is not far from truth and coincides with the present scenario of life expectancy. This significant achievement in the health sector is a universal trend.
Health indicators have shown modest improvement in Life expectancy at birth at universal level. Life expectancy is modest in developed nations. It was 85.83 years in Hong Kong, 84.85 years in Japan against 55.24 in Chad and 54.64 in Nigeria like poor nations. It is reasonable at 71.7 years on average in South Asian countries. Our neighbor India has life expectancy at birth as 72.24 years and Bangladesh 74.93 years in 2021. At international level major causes of low life expectancy is considered poor health care such as inadequate access to health care services including preventive care, treatment and medication and environmental factors like exposure to environmental pollution such as air pollution or contaminated water. The article though relates with the life expectancy issue of Pakistan but it applies, more or less, to all those nations surviving with the same socio-economic condition.
Pakistan faces multiple issues such as low nutrition for the majority of population, severe poverty, meagre allocation for the health sector, lack of health related knowledge, explosive population growth rate, small and decreasing employment opportunities, deteriorating law and order situation, highest rate of corruption in almost all nation building departments particularly in justice providing,. Increasing mental worries, injustice even at household and community level and non-availability of entertainment facilities all negatively impact on positive life expectancy.
Life expectancy in Pakistan was estimated as 65.7 in 2015 increased to 67.3 in 2022 and estimated to 67.80 in 2023. The population increased more than three fold in the last 50 years, largely due to high fertility and growth rates. Population density has risen in 1972 from 82 to 303 persons per square kilometre in 2023. The population growth rate which was 2.40 in 2017 was recorded as 2.55 i.e., instead of controlling, it is increasing which is highly risky for the state whole entire system.
Over populated Pakistan is not in the interest of its dwellers. Efforts of all stakeholders, for spending billions and foreign technical assistance for controlling the birth rate, have completely failed. Hence, in the interest of the state and humanity, it is suggested to control high life expectancy rate at all stages without discrimination. People after seventy-five (known as senior citizens) are not only unproductive, lose respect even in their family members, feel loneliness and sad and dependent which is not desired. Government may abolish mortality, immunization and Prevalence programs and channelize these resources to other health sectors.
—The writer is contributing columnist, based in Barakahu.
