Seminars, functions held to mark 'World Population Day-2015'

With the theme of "Vulnerable Populations in Emergencies", the World Population Day-2015 was observed on Saturday with a resolve to continue efforts aimed at checking the growing population by raising awareness about problems of rapidly increasing population. To mark the day, different organisations arranged functions in which speakers' highlighted challenges faced by the government as well as families due to growing population. They also called for taking steps for vulnerable segments particularly women and children.
Speakers in these functions said rapid increase in the population of the country is a big challenge and we have to adopt model of other Muslims countries to check population growth by taking religious leaders and Ulema on board. They said that control in the rapidly increasing population is of vital importance so that better facilities can be provided to citizens by minimising the burden on national resources. They emphasised the need for giving due importance to family planning in the interest of the family health.
Punjab population department arranged seminars in different districts of the Punjab to raise awareness among people ill effects of growing population. Essay writing and poster designing contests were also organised in nine districts of Punjab regarding the negative impact of fast growing population and prizes were distributed among winners.
The population growth rate in Pakistan is about 1.95 percent, which is higher than average growth rate of South Asian countries. The major cause behind higher growth rate is high fertility rate.
While young and dynamic population is considered an omen of prosperity, Pakistan despite having young population is not exploiting true potential of this human resource that can contribute for the economy and society with their education and skill. With proper education and training and balanced health facilities, they can prove to be an asset of the country and can be a source of future prosperity and development of the country.
Health professionals believe that rapid population growth in a low income country like Pakistan militates against industrialisation not only by reducing the volume of capital available for this purpose but also by virtue of the fact that unless income rises more rapidly the demand pattern in such a situation is likely to be heavily weighted towards food and to present little inducement to manufacturers of other products.
Provincial Minister for Population Welfare Begum Zakia Shahnawaz stressed the need for a balance between resources and the growth of population to achieve progress and prosperity. She said Pakistan's population had increased six fold since the creation of the country and it was the sixth largest country in terms of population. A large portion of the Pakistan's population is living below the poverty line and a woman dies every twenty minutes due to complication in pregnancy. She claimed that her government was promoting the public awareness and that migration, illiteracy, desire for maximum children, especially male children, were the reasons for the increasing population.