PESHAWAR, July 8: The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) is working on a reform programme to create awareness among the people, curb the maternal and infant mortality rates and population growth in the country.

This was stated by UNFPA representative Dr Olivier Brasseur here on Tuesday while speaking at a one-day workshop organized jointly by the government and the UNFPA.

Dr Brasseur said that the population growth rate could not be curbed overnight owing to lack of awareness among the people and the UN was working on a reform programme which would be finalized by the end of February next year to control the population growth.

He said they were consulting various ministries at Islamabad to work out modalities for the use of available funds. Different strategies would be adopted to reduce maternal and infant mortality rates, he added.

The UNFPA representative informed the participants that Pakistan would be the first state to follow the 7th Country Programme Action Plan (CPAP).

The CPAP would be implemented in 2004 for the next five years, where the UNFPA, in collaboration with the government departments, would carry out activities in 10 designated districts — two each in four provinces and two in AJK — of Pakistan.

In NWFP, he said, Mansehra and Kohat had been designated, where mobile services would be launched to enhance the reproductive health services by mobilizing the community.

The UNFPA representative said that efforts would be made to increase awareness at the community level to increase demand for services and utilize available resources in the best possible way and provide health-care facilities.

He said the UNFPA would review its strategies every year to prepare more detailed and evidence-based programmes aimed at reducing the total fertility rate (TFR). National Institute of Public Administration Director Col Alamzeb Khan said: “Only 30 per cent contraceptive prevalent rate in the province is giving the population growth a boost and is inversely affecting the overall development activities.”