ISLAMABAD, April 16: About 35 family welfare centres (FWC) would be set up to provide facilities like literacy and income generating skills to the people on experimental basis with the commitment to reduce the population growth rate to 1.9 per cent in the next two years.

This was stated by the secretary, Ministry of Population Welfare, Mohammad Tariq Janjua, at a press conference here on Tuesday.

“We are looking at ways to make these centres more effective so that they could attract the target population and the families do not hesitate to come to these centres”, he said.

There are 1,700 FWCs or Falahi Marakiz providing family planning services. “It is our intention that the community should be associated with the operation and management of these centers should be through the elected councillors and Nazims”.

This is being done through orientation and training of some 2,000 Nazims and Naib Nazims, who have already been sensitized on population issues. All the Nazims and Naib Nazims will be trained, he added.

Hitherto the programme has been women oriented and advocacy and service delivery has been targeted at the female population, he remarked. The programme will achieve more with male involvement.

A programme involving some 7,000 male mobilizers will be prepared to reach the male population specially in rural and among the poor.—APP/PPI