‘Investment in family planning to help achieve SDGs’

Lawmakers urged to join hands to spread awareness, reduce population growth

ISLAMABAD:

Population growth and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are intrinsically linked, and fertility decline could work like magic for Pakistan in achieving all the SDGs, said Romina Khurshid Alam, Convener National Parliamentary Taskforce on SDGs at the launch of the Monograph on Population and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and its Linkages in the Pakistani Context.

The monograph focuses on how the effective awareness and spread of family planning methods can impact directly and indirectly in a cost-effective manner on the attainment of several SDGs.

Alam said that provincial and national parliamentarians need to join hands in improving access and information on family planning services, as they represent the public and can be instrumental in reaching out to local communities.

“We need to follow the footsteps of Muslim countries who have successfully lowered their fertility rate”, she added.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 18^th, 2022.