Overcoming barriers to family planning in Pakistan

Abstract

In this report, findings from the Stories of Change and existing scientific literature on family planning in Pakistan are presented. The main objective of this report is a) to give an overview of the barriers that married Pakistani women and their husbands face in adopting family planning and b) to indicate how these barriers can be overcome. In 2015, 18 Stories of Change were collected in the province Punjab1 in Pakistan by Rahnuma, SAP-PK and Sojhla (see Annex for interview questions used). The scientific literature that was used for this report comprises both studies undertaken in and focussing on Pakistan, and beyond. The first chapter discusses the risks that Pakistani women and children face when not adopting healthier reproductive behaviour and highlights the importance of family planning. The second chapter focuses on the barriers that hamper the adoption of family planning methods among married Pakistani couples. The third chapter addresses important steps that need to be undertaken to tackle barriers in order to enhance contraceptive uptake and family planning. In this chapter, suggestions on how to change people’s knowledge and attitudes and how to help married Pakistani women and their husbands to change their behaviour are presented.