‘Only 3,300 family planning health units possess adequate facilities’

Javed Jabbar in Pakistan, 35 women die daily due to pregnancy-related complications

KARACHI:

Currently there are only 3,300 health units where people go for family planning, said former federal minister and Population Council (PC) adviser Javed Jabbar.

If all the 19,000 family planning health units and hospitals, across the country, are provided with adequate facilities then people will visit them, he said. The population welfare department was separated from the health department so it could perform better, claimed Jabbar. But it has proven to be a destructive plan, he added.

Jabbar was addressing a workshop titled, ‘Role of media and social change,’ organised by PC on Friday. Pakistan is sixth most populous country in the world and 60 per cent of its population is below 25 year age, he said.

Read: Addressing the baby boom: Women’s reproductive health an urgent issue

In Pakistan, 35 women die daily due to pregnancy-related complications, said Jabbar. These can be avoided if they are given adequate attention, he explained. Most of the families want smaller families but it is difficult for them to access these facilities, he added.

Population in Pakistan has increased six times since the 1947, said Seemin Ashfaq, PC programmes deputy director. “Sindh’s population was just six million but it is now 46 million,” she added. The population will exceed 72 million by 2050 if required measures are not taken, she claimed.

The infant and child mortality in Sindh has declined in the last five years but very slowly. “Our target is to reduce the morality rate to 35 by the end of this year.”

The speakers informed the participants that chief ministers of Punjab and Balochistan have been approached by their organization about the issue. PC is trying to reach out to Sindh chief minister, said the speakers. They urged that the targets won’t be achieved without political will.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 6^th, 2015.