Rising population will intensify housing shortage

The world population touched 7 billion mark on October 31, 2011. With rise in population, a number of issues like widespread hunger, malnutrition, inadequate supply of clean water and sanitation, and a lack of basic health care persist.
Population of Pakistan which was estimated to be 177 million by mid-2011 is most likely to rise by 2.1 percent each year. If the population of the country keeps rising at this rate, beside many issues mentioned above, another very alarming concern is housing. The country which is already facing a housing shortage of more than 8 million units is bound to face yet another serious challenge. It is high time that the government addresses the housing issue by providing low cost houses to the masses. Also the financial institutions should consider advancing loans on affordable terms to share the burden with the government.