Population growth ratebiggest challenge: minister

LAHORE: The 18th national research conference “Population Growth and Investing in Human Resource Development” began on Wednesday at the Government College University, Lahore, under the auspices of Population Association of Pakistan (PAP) and Punjab Higher Education Commission (PHEC).

Punjab Minister for Population Welfare Mukhtar Ahmed chaired the inaugural session of the three-day conference which was also addressed by Australian High Commissioner in Pakistan Margaret Adamson, Punjab Minister for Environment Protection Begum Zakia Shahnawaz, United Nations Population Fund representative Muqadar Shah, PHEC Chairman Prof Dr Muhammad Nizamuddin and GCU Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Hassan Amir Shah.

Mukhtar Ahmed said that the recent population census data had set off the alarm bells. Pakistan is already a water-scarce country, and if the current annual population growth rate of 2.4 persists by 2030, the country would not be able to feed their population from its indigenous resources.

He said that the Punjab government was developing next five-year population policy, and would certainly consider and incorporate the outcome and recommendations of this timely conference.

The population welfare minister said that the government had not expected such a high population growth rate before the census but, unfortunately, it had emerged as one of the biggest challenges to the country's economic development. He also highlighted different initiatives of Punjab government for the youth and human resource development. He said that the Punjab government was committed to bringing about a social change through cultivating the minds of people about the hazards of rapid growth in population rate.

In her keynote address, Population Council Country Director Dr Zeba A Sathar called upon the government to invest in the youth, saying that Pakistan was the sixth largest population in the world with the highest ratio of youth population, but, unfortunately, it was ranked 155th of 179 countries on the Global Youth Development Index; separately 156th in education, 77th in heath, 154th in civic engagement and above all 165th in youth's participation in politics.

She asked the government to prioritise the youth in all policies, programmes and initiatives across the spheres, including politics, health and civic participation. She highlighted the disparities in society across different segments, especially by gender, age, socioeconomic status and rural/urban residence. “Without engaging the 40 million young women, sitting in homes, in the process of economic development, the country could not expect progress,” she added.

Punjab Minister Begum Zakia Shahnawaz also said that Pakistan had no other choice but to move forward by managing its youths especially the girls. She said that controlling population growth was a shared responsibility, and along with the government, several NGOs were also playing effective roles in creating awareness about birth gap, girls' education and women's health.

Begum Shahnawaz advised the population ministry and other stakeholders to take their campaigns to the union council level especially in the rural areas. She revealed that religious scholars were on board with the government and they supported birth gap for women's health. “We could only be successful if we do what we say,” she concluded.

UNFPA representative Muqadar Shah said the recent census in Pakistan was a mine of information in terms of demographics and public health but they had seen many countries in the world failing to use their census data for public infrastructure planning. “Pakistan must soon be able to know how many schools, universities, hospitals, transport facilities, agricultural land and maternity wards would be needed next year, in five years or the next 10 years,” he added.

He also highlighted that about 43 percent of Pakistan's population was below 20 years in 2017 and this had serious implications for continuing population growth resulting from the population momentum.

The UNFPA representative said that situation was alarming for Pakistan as unsustainable population growth rate, rapid urbanisation and demographic transition in Pakistan was continuously creating a pressure compounded by the environment degradation and vulnerability to the climate change.

The Australian high commissioner in Pakistan said that the outcome of Pakistan's population census were surprising, so it was a high time for the country that it addressed the issues related to population growth, human rights, youth bulge and human resource development. “If we want a sustainable and inclusive economic growth, the engagement of women must be captured, she added.

PHEC Chairman Prof Dr Muhammad Nizamuddin, who is also PAP president, said that the government had focusing population welfare since 1965 but it always failed to achieve targets because there were structural issues which were needed to be addressed first. He proposed a national population development commission having representation from all stakeholders for drafting and implementing viable population policy, saying “This a sensitive issue and could not be handled by the bureaucracy alone.”

He said that the conference would also discuss deficiencies in addressing family planning goals and highlight what was required to fulfil the international commitments as the country's population programme had been devolved to the provinces.

GCU Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Hassan Amir said that if the current population growth rate persisted, the population of Pakistan would reach 400 million in the next 30 years. He said that they had invited all stakeholders to the conference for serious academic deliberations engaging the youth in technical sessions. He said the proceedings of the population conference would be published and shared with the government for drafting a viable population policy.

Earlier in her video address, Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Institute of Science and Technology President Shahnaz Wazir Ali said that the rapid population growth rate was eroding large part of the natural resources of the country.

Later, former Federal Population Welfare Minister Dr Attiya Inyatullah chaired the first technical session of the conference on “Tracking Pakistan's Progress on Family Planning -2020 Pledge.”

Besides civil society members and social scientists, the federal and provincial secretaries, including from Sindh and KP, are also scheduled to participate in the technical sessions.