LAHORE – World Bank has approved $100 million for the Punjab Family Planning Program for scaling up utilization of family planning services in the biggest federating unit in the country.
According to a statement issued on Thursday, World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors has approved funding to the program for ensuring timely and free of cost access of family planning services to more than half of the population in the country.
PFPP will institutionalize quality of care across the family planning services delivery system, and support public information and advocacy campaigns so that more families are made aware of the benefits of family planning, the statement reads.
World Bank Country Najy Benhassine was quoted as saying that the aim was achieving universal access to reproductive healthcare and to raise the usage of family planning methods in the targeted provice to 60% by 2030.
He said that family planning was essential for the development of the country as high population growth rates slowed down the accumulation of human capital and contribute to the poverty.
PFPP will scale up innovations, such as clinical franchising, voucher schemes, and counseling through community leaders, which have been piloted in different districts of Punjab and have shown improvements in family planning outcomes.
It will reach areas and communities with limited or no access to family planning services. It will scale up the voucher incentive scheme, social marketing, male and community leaders’ engagement and youth platforms for increasing utilization of family planning services.
It will also improve the interpersonal communication skills of family planning service providers.
The World Bank shared the program will be implemented in all districts through the service delivery networks of the Population Welfare Department and the Primary and Secondary Healthcare Department.
