Punjab Finance Minister Mujtaba Shuja-ur-Rehman has said that it is the dire need to create awareness among people regarding the rapidly increasing population. He said the Punjab government has increased the health budget to ensured modern health facilities and free medicines as well as air-conditioning facility in general wards to the poor. He said this while talking to various delegations here on Thursday. The Minister said the world's population is more than six billion and it would be doubled in 2050 and Pakistan's population would be doubled in 2024.
"The reformatory initiatives are being introduced in education, health and other sectors to provide relief to the masses and improve their living standard and the present government is keen to uplift the rural development, however, these objectives cannot be achieved unless we do not control rapid growth in population," he said. According to him, population growth rate in the developing countries is three to seven percent whereas it is 0.5 percent in Japan, 0.3 percent in Germany, 0.1 percent in England and one percent in the United States.
The government has focused on the health of infants and mothers and for this purpose Rs 1.80 billion has been provided in the budget for child and mother health. The government will spend Rs 121.80 billion for the provision of standardised healthcare facilities to the masses during current fiscal year. He said with a view to increase accessibility of quality reproductive health services, including family planning and to enhance understanding of adverse consequences of rapid population growth, a project in collaboration with UNFPA has been launched. "The rising population is increasing unemployment, which resulted in poor law and order situation and other socio-economic complications," he added.
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