ISLAMABAD: A national consultative forum organised by the Planning Commission has recommended to the government to modify the ‘Vision 2025’ strategy by including in it population factor as a development issue.

The forum urged the commission, which had prepared the ‘Vision 2025’, to involve the private sector to strengthen the strategy and work with religious leaders and sensitise economists and financial managers on the significance of family planning in the development strategy.

The meeting on the follow-up of the International Conference on Population Development (ICPD) and the link of population factor with the development agenda beyond 2015 concluded here on Wednesday. The country office of the United Nations Population Fund and the Ministry of National Health Services collaborated with the commission in organising the meeting.

Also read: Pakistan’s population to reach 210m by 2020

Planning and Development Minister Ahsan Iqbal reiterated the government’s commitment to population-related issues and development. He said the country had paid a heavy price for not paying due attention to the population control programme as a high rate of population growth had cast a negative effect on development programmes.

He said Pakistan must achieve the economic growth rate of at least 7 per cent to sustain investment opportunities.

After the 18th Amendment, he said, it was imperative for the federal government to closely work with the provinces to integrate population welfare programmes. Although social sector programmes had been devolved, the federal government had allocated funds for education and nutrition sectors, he added.

In her presentation, Dr Sania Nishter, a public policy specialist, identified “mis-governance” as the main reason for lacklustre performance of the public sector.

Zeba Sathar, country director of the Population Council, an international NGO, urged the government to mobilise allocations for population programmes.

She said a national summit on population was being planned for November in which chief ministers would be invited to seek their support on population-related issues.

Khawar Mumtaz, the chairperson of the National Commission on the Status of Women, called upon the government to evolve a mechanism for gender equality in the development process. She said that sustainable development goals to be adopted by the world leaders at the UN next month would also help governments to design such a mechanism.

Published in Dawn, August 6th, 2015

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