PAKISTAN is a member of the 58th UN Commission on Population and Develop­ment (CPD) session to be held next month. The session will focus on the implementation of the Programme of Action from the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) at global, regi­o­nal, and national levels. The meeting comes amid significant global challenges including the climate crisis, AI advancements, geopolitical fragmentation, and gr­­owing inequalities. In a rapidly changing landscape, Pakistan must carefully adopt its sta­­nce in internal discussions to keep national priorities central to the global discourse.

The theme for 2025 CPD ‘Ensuring heal­thy lives and promoting well-being for all at all ages’ is particularly relevant to Pak­is­tan; it highlights the need to empower individuals at every stage of life, both in development and humanitarian contexts, and amidst demographic shifts. By advancing the ICPD Programme of Action, Pakistan, alongside other countries, can enable individuals to fully exercise their human rights, make informed reproductive choices, realise their potential, and live with dignity. Championing the rights of all individuals to have autonomy over their sexual and reproductive decisions, and to live free from violence, is not only valid but crucial.

Five core approaches form the foundation for advancing the CPD theme in Pak­is­tan. The first focuses on enhancing policy, advocacy, governance, and accountability in population and development initiatives. This effort must be complemented by providing equitable, high-quality services to all individuals, especially women, adolescents and marginalised communities.

Addressing social norms and barriers that hinder progress is equally important. Achieving transformative change requires confronting social norms and barriers that impede gender equality, family planning, and reproductive rights. To drive sustainable change, Pakistan must adopt a comprehensive, whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach, ensuring policy coherence between national and provincial levels.

Pakistan’s key messages must be clearly articulated.

For progress to be cumulative and expedited, Pakistan needs a strengthened institutional framework, including improvements in governance structures, systems, data, and knowledge sharing.

Moreover, the government is encouraged to utilise its convening power to mobilise resources and engage all sectors of society to collectively realise the nation’s vision. An integrated approach will be key to bridging gaps in federal-provincial coordination and ensuring synergy across population and development policies. This effort presents significant challenges due to fragmented federal and provincial efforts, coupled with the absence of an inclusive setting and enabling environment for a transformative population agenda at the upstream level.

The evolving global funding landscape presents challenges to the government’s financial capacity. It is essential that these shifts do not adversely impact service delivery, particularly in the health sector. With declining official development assistance, largely due to shifts in global political leadership, Pakistan must assess the situation from the perspective of service recipients to ensure that the population does not bear the brunt of these changes.

Investing in domestic resource mobilisation and exploring innovative financing mechanisms will be critical to sustaining progress, especially in reproductive health and population programmes. As Pakistan prepare for the upcoming CPD, it is essential to clearly articulate its key messages. The global demographic transition is shifting focus from its persistent chall­e­nges, such as rapid population growth, high fertility rates, child marriage and ad­­olescent pregn­a­n­cies, to issues like declining po­­pulations, low fer­tility, aging population, and demographic challenges in the context of AI. Amidst these concerns, Pakistan must ensure its demographic realities remain a priority on the international agenda.

Pakistan’s delegation at CPD is encouraged to deliver a progressive message reflecting the country’s commitment, political will and progress. This message should highlight Pakistan’s alignment with global values, strategies and initiatives for universal health coverage, human rights, and a development agenda that meets its people’s needs. It must also emphasise the urgency of addressing Pakistan’s unique demographic challenges, ensuring global priorities do not overshadow immediate development needs.

Today, Pakistan has a valuable opportunity to use the CPD platform to advocate for the inclusion of its demographic challenges in global discourse and to show leadership and advocate for women’s rights, especially as forces of change threaten women’s right to make autonomous decisions about their lives and futures.

The writer is UNFPA representative in Pakistan.

Published in Dawn, March 13th, 2025