Contraceptive project hit by planning gaps

Rs150m allocated for TV, print, social media campaigns

ISLAMABAD:

The federal government's project for the provision of contraceptive commodities has been found to contain major planning and implementation gaps, a parliamentary panel was informed on Tuesday.

The committee was told that the project's PC-I was neither prepared in time nor on scientific grounds to determine the required quantities of contraceptives.

The Senate Standing Committee on Planning and Development was informed that the PC-I had been prepared in 2019 but was not approved until 2021.

Health ministry officials also told the committee that the scheme lacked a project management unit necessary for implementation, while key components relating to monitoring, evaluation and oversight had not been incorporated.

The briefing further revealed that the project did not include an awareness campaign to promote the use of contraceptives and encourage the trend towards smaller families.

Officials said the PC-I was now being revised because of these shortcomings and was being restructured in accordance with the National Population Policy 2025-35, and consultations were under way with relevant stakeholders and provincial governments.

The committee meeting was held on Tuesday under the chairpersonship of Senator Quratul Ain Marri, where officials from the Ministry of Health briefed members on the contraceptive commodities project.

According to the briefing, progress against the project's indicators could be assessed through Track 20 and annual reports.

Officials said consultations with the relevant stakeholders and provinces were also underway for the re-preparation of the PC-I.

The committee was also informed about the budget allocated for a comprehensive media campaign aimed at promoting the project. A total of Rs150 million has been allocated for the campaign, of which 59.48 per cent of the budget is earmarked for television channels.

An amount of Rs89 million will be spent on the campaign through TV channels.

For leading newspapers, 14.45 per cent of the media campaign budget, or Rs21.75 million, has been allocated. FM radio stations have been allocated 6.1 per cent, amounting to Rs9.25 million, while 19.97 per cent of the budget has been earmarked for the social media campaign.

According to officials, Rs30 million has been allocated for campaigns on Facebook, YouTube, TikTok, Instagram and X.

The comprehensive media campaign will cover television, newspapers, radio and social media, the officials said.

The committee also expressed displeasure over the absence of officials from the Ministry of Planning and Development from the meeting.

The committee chairperson warned that a privilege motion would be moved if officials from the Planning Ministry failed to attend the next meeting as well.

She said the planning ministry had apparently failed even to plan its attendance at the committee meeting.

"The Ministry of Planning could not even plan to attend the committee meeting, exposing the ministry's poor planning," she said.