Report launched on demography, healthcare

Population data and evidence of trends are critical for development, said United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Representative Muqaddar Shah.

“Without accurate data, investment and planning in the areas most in need could not be identified,” he said at the launch of In-Depth Analytical Reports on Unmet Need for Family Planning, Child Marriage and Gender-Based Violence and National Transfer of Account (NTA).

Both the reports were based on Pakistan Demographic and Health Survey (PDHS 2017-18).

Planning, Development and Reform Parliamentary Secretary Kanwal Shauzeb Shauzeb said construction of NTA by Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE) would help in understanding how people at different ages produce and consume, and fulfill their deficit.

In addition, it would support the government in better allocation of resources as the NTA deals in detail how public and private finances are allocated and used. Evidence based policy-making is imperative for it to be sound and effective, and NTA provides evidence regarding a lot of important factors including health and education, she said in her keynote address.

Ministry of National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination (MNHSRC) Director General (Technical) Dr Nasser Mohiuddin said the analyses would sensitise the parliamentarians and policymakers on their causative factors and also guide them to address social issues.

The National Institute for Population Studies (NIPS) under the MNHSRC and PIDE the under the Ministry of Planning, Development and Reform (MPDR) and UNFPA held the official launch of In-Depth Analytical Reports, based PDHS 2017-18.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 17^th, 2019.