ISLAMABAD: The rapidly increasing population is one of Pakistan’s biggest issues but population control is not a priority of provinces. If the country’s population continues increasing at the current pace, it will reach the mark of 210 million in 2020.

This was stated by Minister for National Health Services Saira Afzal Tarar at a ‘national seminar on family welfare’ held in connection with the population day here on Thursday.

The minister said the country faced an acute lack of health facilities while surgeons, gynecologists and other specialists were not available in the rural areas.

“According to estimates, Pakistan’s current population is 191 million. With the current annual population growth rate of 1.9 per cent, there is an addition of about 3.5 million people every year,” she said.

The rapidly growing population also puts an extraordinary burden on the resources and badly affects the government’s efforts to eliminate poverty.

Ms Tarar said in 2020 it would become more difficult to provide resources, jobs and other facilities to such a huge population. The situation cannot be improved without a comprehensive programme and strong political commitment.

However, the minister claimed that the present government had a clear vision and already taken a bold step to conduct a census in 2016.

“After the 18th Amendment, the subject of population planning has been devolved to the provinces. All provinces have made their own policies. The federal government will continue providing financial support to the provincial population programmes,” she said.

According to the Population Council 2015, Pakistan’s population growth rate of 1.9 per cent is very high compared to other countries such as Bangladesh, Iran, Indonesia, India and Sri Lanka with 1.3, 1.2, 1.2, 1.5 and 1 per cent growth rate respectively.

The data showed that in 2050 the population of Pakistan would be 363 million while that of Bangladesh is estimated to be only 202 million.

In Pakistan, 231 people live in per square kilometre area whereas in Iran, Indonesia and Malaysia it is 46, 130 and 90 people. Moreover, in Pakistan the infant mortality rate is 74 per 1,000 live births and the maternal mortality rate 276 per 100,000 live births, the data showed.

The contraceptive prevalence rate is 35.4 per cent in Pakistan whereas in Bangladesh, Iran, Indonesia and India it is 61, 73, 62 and 54 per cent respectively.

Moreover, Pakistan has the abortion rate of 29 per 1,000 deliveries because the unmet needs for family planning are 20.1 per cent.

Every year, around 14,000 mothers die from complications during childbirth that translates into 39 women a day and one woman every 37 minutes. There is an unmet need of eight million Pakistani women who want family planning services.

The neonatal mortality (up to the age of 28 days) has remained high and unchanged in the last few decades and the child mortality rate is the 4th highest in the world.

Published in Dawn, August 28th, 2015

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