Soon Times Correspondent
Lahore, January 9, 2025- In a landmark move to address Punjab’s pressing demographic challenges, Saira Afzal Tarar, Special Advisor to the Chief Minister on Population, emphasized the critical role of family planning as a cornerstone of sustainable development. Speaking at the launch of the initiative ‘Upscaling the Sustainable Model for Engaging Family Physicians to Deliver Family Planning Services in Punjab’, she highlighted the importance of engaging family physicians to improve access to family planning services across the province.
According to Ali Mazhar Choudhary, Director of Communication at Population Council Pakistan, the event was a collaborative effort between the Population Council, the Primary and Secondary Healthcare Department Punjab, and the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO). It highlighted innovative strategies aimed at enhancing reproductive healthcare and addressing Punjab’s alarming population growth rate.
With a population of approximately 130 million, Punjab faces significant challenges, including a population growth rate of 2.53% and a stagnant fertility rate of 3.4 births per woman over the last decade. The contraceptive prevalence rate (CPR) remains low at 41%, leaving a substantial unmet need of 15.8%. Addressing these issues is crucial for the province’s development.
Saira Afzal Tarar praised the Population Council for its decades-long contributions to advancing reproductive health and fostering stakeholder collaboration. “Under the Chief Minister’s leadership, the provincial government is fully committed to tackling these challenges head-on and ensuring equitable access to healthcare and family planning services for all,” she affirmed.
Dr. Rana Hajjeh, President of the Population Council, celebrated the initiative’s innovative model, which engages private-sector family physicians and pharmacists and incorporates globally recognized high-impact practices such as male-to-male counselling. “Together with the government, we are working to create a brighter future for Pakistan’s people by improving reproductive healthcare services and addressing demographic challenges,” she stated.
Dr. Zeba Sathar, Country Director of the Population Council, stressed the critical role of family physicians in delivering family planning services. She highlighted findings from the 2023 census, revealing an alarming population growth rise. She urged the government to adopt innovative models to meet the unmet need for family planning services. “The substantial unmet demand for these services requires new approaches and greater government ownership to effectively address the needs of the largest province in the country,” she said. She also shared data revealing that 68 out of every 1,000 women of reproductive age in Punjab undergo an abortion each year, underscoring the need for improved access to family planning.
Nadia Saqib, Secretary of the Primary and Secondary Healthcare Department, Punjab, reiterated the government’s commitment to a comprehensive strategy for population management. “We are implementing initiatives to expand access to high-quality family planning services and investing substantial resources to ensure better healthcare for all,” she emphasized.
Dr. Nauman Safdar, Director of Public Health at the Population Council, presented the main objective of the initiative: assessing the impact of engaging private family physicians and pharmacies in increasing contraceptive use in selected districts of Punjab.
The event also featured a panel discussion that focused on integrating male physicians into family planning efforts. This groundbreaking approach, which requires no additional investment, was widely praised as a transformative step toward addressing unmet family planning needs.
The event featured a panel discussion that highlighted the innovative integration of male physicians into family planning efforts. This groundbreaking approach, achieved without requiring additional investment, was widely praised as a transformative step toward addressing unmet family planning needs.
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