ISLAMABAD: The results of the last survey were very different to what various stakeholders were expecting and therefore there is a need to revisit all the goals and devise a new policy for decreasing the rate with which population is increasing in Pakistan, said activist Mansoor Qaiser.

Mr Qaiser has been working on population welfare for many years and was nominated for the Next Generation of Family Planning Leaders Award by the Bill and Melinda Gates Institute for Population and Reproductive Health.

Talking to Dawn on Sunday, he said all stakeholders thought the population welfare programme was going well and that the population growth of the country had reduced to 1.9pc which is why the population would not be more than 200 million.

“The current census has shown that the population growth rate has been 2.4pc and that we have 208 million people in the country. These figures show we have failed in achieving our targets,” he said.

Mr Qaiser added that an increasing population will be an economic burden and that it will also increase certain problems such as the unavailability of food.

“I suggest that the other results of the census, such as literacy levels, facilities at houses and others, should be released so it becomes easier to make policies for the future after getting input from the think tanks,” he said.

Like Indonesia, Iran and Bangladesh, Pakistan should also involve religious leaders and consider them stakeholders in trying to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, he said.

This year, 40 people have been nominated from across the world for an award for those working on the population issue which include three people from Pakistan — Mansoor Qaiser, Lariab Abid and Joshua Dilawar.

The candidates are advocates, researchers, service providers, epidemiologists, medical doctors, program officers, communication professionals and founders of NGOs and non-profits.

They work across the world in clinics, universities, offices and fields to advance family planning and reproductive health.

Published in Dawn, September 18th, 2017