Pakistan Population Policy 2010

Abstract

The Pakistan Population Policy 2010 (hereafter referred to as ‘the Policy 2010’) is being presented at a time when the country is in the midst of an unprecedented demographic transition. While, on the one hand, population policies and programmes have contributed to a modest decline in the population growth rate; on the other, the changing demographic scenario has brought into focus a host of emerging issues that need to be addressed in coming years. The impact of high population growth rate on social and economic development and vice versa is well documented. If Pakistan’s population continues to grow at the present rate, it would double in the next 33 years and put severe stress on natural resources and the environment, besides dashing the hopes of improving the quality of life of the people. Population stabilization is, therefore, a pre-requisite for promoting sustainable economic and social development. However, it is as much a function of making reproductive health care accessible and affordable for all as of increasing the provision and outreach of primary and secondary education, besides empowering women and creating employment opportunities for the people, so that they could improve the quality of their lives and become productive citizens. It is necessary that the decline in fertility is accelerated, so that replacement level fertility (2.1 births per woman) could be achieved at the earliest. Moreover, it is important to address the emerging population and reproductive health issues, such as safe motherhood, sub-fertility, induced abortion, reproductive tract infections and sexually transmitted diseases, promotion of responsible adolescent and youth behaviour, gender equality, health and welfare of the elderly, and migration and urbanization. With the results from the ‘Pakistan Demographic and Health Survey 2006-2007’ showing that the contraceptive prevalence rate is stagnant at about 30 percent and the unmet need for contraception still stands at 25 percent, it is clear that Pakistan is not going to meet its fertility transition targets as set in the Population Policy of Pakistan 2002 until some extraordinary measures are adopted. In addition, global and national evidence points to the health benefits of pregnancy spacing in reducing maternal, neonatal and child mortality, as well as in increasing family wellbeing. It is, therefore, imperative to formulate a new population policy that fully reflects the benefits of promoting pregnancy spacing. The Policy 2010 reaffirms the government’s commitment to voluntary and informed choice of the citizens in availing family planning/reproductive health services. It simultaneously focuses on addressing issues related to maternal health and contraception, while increasing outreach of a comprehensive package of family planning/reproductive health services by the public, private and corporate sectors.