NOVANEWS
By Gloria Caleb
With a birth rate of seven children per minute, the talk of healthy timing and spacing of children is irrelevant say experts, who for years have been ranting about the repercussions of an over-populous Pakistan.
From rampant poverty to traffic on the streets to food insecurity to the electricity crisis and militancy, all major issues that the country is currently faced with, are inter-linked. However, even in such a state it odd to see that the topic of family planning and family health is taboo in this country.
“They fear an un-seen hand,” says Imtiaz Kamal, Secretary General of the National Committee for Maternal Health, Vice President of the Maternity and Child Welfare Association, who has played a great role in pioneering Family Planning in Pakistan. Lamenting the non-seriousness of policy-makers towards this all important issue, she feels that a baseless fear of religion has been instilled to hinder this work. She states the example of Bangladesh – a country whose population until some years ago exceeded that of Pakistan; now – after implementing strong family planning policies – is on the path of progress. “Is Bangladesh any less Islamic than us?” she asks. Population control is key to the development of any nation,” says Kamal who believes that no government on earth has the capacity to provide for, “seven children being born every minute.”
According to Dr Babar Tasneem Sheikh, Pakistan was supposed to be a welfare state, but the irony is that ‘neither is social responsibility evident nor is there welfare.’ Dr Sheikh believes that unchecked population growth in Pakistan is giving rise to a capitalist entity that will give rise to more frustration and crime. “How many private schools, colleges, rental power systems can you build and how many will be able to afford those services?” he asks. He believes ignorance towards rights and non-implementation of laws are major issues that have been decisive in this battle. He too, cites the example of Bangladesh that has looked at the issue in a very different light and despite being far behind us has made considerable progress.
Sheena Hadi, Executive Director Aahung, a Karachi-based NGO which aims to improve the Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) of men, women, and adolescents across Pakistan, is of the view that lack of access to authentic information due to lack of education is the main reason for this. Healthcare providers too she believes come in with a lot of biases and inaccurate information, she says. This, she opines has a lot to do with culture, which gives much importance to a male child. “You find healthcare providers who tell women, to go home bear a son and come back when they have proved their worth to their family,” she says. These messages from the healthcare community are severely detrimental as they are the ones who are inter-facing with the client, she adds.
Today out of a population of 180 million, 35.5 million Pakistanis live below the poverty line, only 56.9 million have access to clean drinking water and 21.8 million have sanitation. These are gory figures that speak volumes of the gross violation of human rights that come as a result of unchecked population growth. Experts believe that the current contraception prevalent rate in the country is 30 per cent which can go upto 55 per cent if the unmet need for family planning – 25 per cent – is met.
Dr Sheikh believes to deal with these issues it is imperative that strict measures be enforced. According to him women’s education is the first step towards progress. In addition, he stresses the importance of taking away benefits – government subsidies and promotions – from those who don’t follow rules. He reveals that in most countries sending a child to school is compulsory and those who don’t meet the police at their doorstep. “Why are we afraid to take such measures? He asks.
