Population Summit ends with pledge to hold national census in 2016

Islamabad
The Population Summit 2015 ended Friday in Islamabad with momentous pledges having been made by the federal and provincial governments; these included an increase in Pakistan’s contraceptive prevalence rate (CPR) to 50 per cent, and holding of a national census in 2016 to ensure that the fruits of development reach all people.
The two-day event, organised by the federal ministries of national health services and planning and development, along with the Population Council and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), was attended by a vibrant spectrum of stakeholders, including senior figures representing the federal and provincial governments, religious scholars and leaders, civil society organisations, international organisations, and the diplomatic community.
The inaugural session of the event was chaired by President Mamnoon Hussain, who emphasised the need to expeditiously tackle the population issue in order to safeguard the interests of the country’s future generation. He called for efforts to ensure the provision of affordable reproductive health services to people at their doorsteps, as this is their basic right. He also spoke on the need for focusing government attention on girls’ schooling and skill development of the youth.
The president pledged that by 2020, Pakistan will raise its CPR to 50 per cent, which is a composite goal based on goals set by the respective provincial governments. He also announced that a national census would be conducted in 2016.
During the event, senior representatives of the provincial governments and special regions also pledged specific provincial CPR goals, including 55 per cent for Punjab; 42 per cent for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa; 45 per cent for Sindh; and 32 per cent for Balochistan. In addition, they shared the unique challenges they face, such as the problem of long distances, high maternal mortality, and illegal immigrants in Balochistan, and the progress they have achieved in terms of improving and expanding their networks of family welfare centers (FWCs), mobile service units (MSUs), other reproductive health facilities, and outreach workers; developing training centers; social mobilization efforts; and efforts to secure their contraceptive supplies beyond 2015. All provincial and regional representatives expressed their willingness to increase access to family planning as well as the need for technical and financial assistance from the federal government and international organizations to achieve their goals.
The modalities of how the federal and provincial governments could work together after devolution were discussed. The federal government assured provinces that they now owned the population programmes, and should make their own plans and secure assistance from international organizations directly; the role of the federal government is restricted to facilitating coordinating, and international reporting.
The Population Summit 2015 marked the first time in Pakistan that the issue of rapid population growth in the country was acknowledged candidly by all stakeholders, including ulema from all schools of thought, as a matter of urgent national concern. Participants termed it a milestone and a turning point in the national development discourse.
Representatives of the international community and organizations congratulated the country on coming together to identify the population and human development issue as a core priority and assured the gathering of their continued support.
Addressing the closing session, Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal said it was deplorable that while Pakistan is a middle-income country, its performance against social indicators is at the level of the least developed nations. He said, it is time for the country to put people first in the development agenda through urgent investments in reducing population growth, and in improving education and health so that the nation can emerge as a strong player in the current era of knowledge-based economies.