Family planning programme being extended to remote areas

LAHORE:Punjab Population Welfare Secretary Salman Ijaz chaired a crucial meeting related to the World Bank's Punjab Family Planning Programme, here on Friday.

Director General (DG) Population and Punjab Population Innovation Fund (PPIF) Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Saman Rai, Additional Secretary (A&F) Ahmed Usman, Additional Secretary (Tech) Dr Naila Altaf, Director (A&F) Muhammad Shahid Nusrat, Director (Technology) Dr Zubdah Riaz and PPIF Chief Finance Officer Abdul Qayyum and other representatives attended the meeting.

Addressing the meeting, the secretary said that Punjab province is home to more than half of the country's population. This World Bank programme is based on improving the means and use of family planning to control population growth. This World Bank programme is providing free access to quality family planning services to the people of Punjab and institutionalising quality of care in family planning services.

He said that the delivery system focuses on creating awareness among the people and providing better health-related facilities to make more families aware of the benefits of family planning.

Secretary Population Welfare added that the World Bank programme would help in scaling up innovations like clinical franchising, voucher schemes, and family planning counseling through community leaders. He said that this programme had been piloted in different districts of Punjab and the results of family planning were improving. The programme is being extended to remote areas and communities where there is limited or no access to family planning services. He said that lady health workers, family welfare workers, and community health workers are linked to health facilities, family health clinics, and family welfare through a wide network.

Through this World Bank programme, the programme would support voucher incentive schemes, social marketing, engagement of men and community leaders, and youth platforms to increase utilisation of family planning services. Interconnection of service providers related to this would also be improved.