Committee to develop training module on pre-marital counselling on family planning

PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has notified a four-member committee to develop a training module on the action point of the pre-marital counselling on family planning in the province.

“In compliance with the recommendations of the Council of Common Interests (CCI) for population welfare, the four-member committee is constituted to develop a training module on action point “Pre-marital counselling on Family Planning,” stated a notification issued by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Directorate General of Population Welfare.

The committee headed by Syed Waheedul Hassan, principal, PWTI, Population Welfare Department, Amna Durrani, Director Programs, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Commission on the Status of Women, Aminullah, Instructor, RTI and Population Welfare Department, Naheed Hazoor, RTI tutor and Social Welfare Department.

Amna Durrani told The News the module on action point is under progress as Iran and Indonesia had the best module for pre-marital counselling on the family planning.

She said the committee would prepare and submit the report this month for proper legislation in the Nikah form and actions on the module in the province.

“A suggestion is also under consideration to bind the Nikah Khwan to do pre-marital counselling on the family planning to the couples,” she opined, adding the decisions of making the task force for the family planning and actions are being taken after the Supreme Court’s directions to the federal government and all provinces over the population growth issue and recommendations of the CCI. Pakistan has become the 6th most populous country in the world, rising pressure on the government to provide the basic facilities of food, schools, health facilities, jobs and infrastructure.

“Annually, 12,000 maternal deaths occur in Pakistan, including 6,000 in Punjab out of 110 million population, 28 00 in Sindh out of 48 million population, 3,000 in Balochistan out of 12.3 million population and 1700 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa out of 30.5 million population,” stated a factsheet 2018 of the Current State of Pakistan’s Population, launched by Population Council, a non-government organization working on the family planning across the country. As per the 2017 census, it said, the population of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) was 30.5 million. It said that the average annual population growth rate in KP was 2.89 percent and this population would be more than double by 2041 if the growth rate remained the same. However, as per the factsheet report, if contraceptive use increased from the current 28 percent to 54 percent, 600 mothers would be saved during giving births.

As per the factsheet, the unmet need for family planning is of 20.5 percent couples in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as they wanted to use contraceptives for population control, but they lack health facilities and experts’ opinion.

In the province, it said, the infant mortality rate is 53 of one year of age in per 1000 live births in the province and if contraceptive use rises from the current 28 percent to 54 percent, 16,700 infants will be saved. Furthermore, it said, the high fertility also contributes to the malnutrition as 22 percent children in the province under the age of five are underweight.

Samia Ali Shah, Project Director of Population Council, told The News the recommendations were also issued for legislation for structural reforms to ensure universal access to the Family Planning and Reproductive Health services that include mandate all the public health facilities (BHUs, RHCs, THQHs, DHQHs and Teaching Hospitals) to deliver family planning services as part of the essential service package.

The other recommendations are passage of Family Planning (FP) and Reproductive Health (RH) Rights Bill from assemblies, ensuring mandatory PH/RH services by all general health care facilities in the public and private sector, lady health workers to provide Family Planning, ante-natal and post-natal counselling and contraception services on priority basis and pre-marital counselling on family planning should be mandatory for Nikah registration.