Act before it is too late

The World Population Day was observed on July 11, like it has been for the last three decades, to focus governments' attention on the fast growing population and the challenges it presents to sustainable development and individual well-being. The issue holds special significance for Pakistan, the world's sixth most populous and lower middle income country with the highest growth rate - nearly 2% - in South Asia. Here the day was marked with special events by private organisations and government leaders issuing ritual statements, expressing renewed commitment to deal with the impending population explosion. Unfortunately, not much is happening on the ground. In fact, the old Population Control Programme has been renamed Population Welfare Programme, and the awareness campaigns highlighting the need for smaller families have since long been stopped for fear of annoying conservative elements. Things will not change for the better unless the issue is given the priority it deserves.
Winning strategy calls for some tried and tested measures. One is creating awareness about the need for birth control. Second, people should be provided with information about and access to contraceptives. In this regard, success can be achieved by following the example of other Muslim countries, like Bangladesh and Iran, which elicited cooperation from religious leaders. Consequently, in the case of the former, health workers go door-to-door motivating couples to adopt modern methods of birth control and offering contraceptives. In Iran, it is mandatory for married couples to obtain family planning counselling. Their experiences should be replicated in this country. Third, rising socio-economic inequalities ought to be addressed. It is a well-known fact that high birth rate is closely linked to poverty and its concomitant problem of illiteracy. Poor and uneducated people tend to have multiple children. Fourth factor contributing to population growth is the scant representation of women in the formal workforce, which is not only unfair but the sit-at-home women produce more children than their working counterparts. The government should pay serious attention to all these problems for the sake of individual well-being as well as collective progress and prosperity.
Our policy planners must not forget that Pakistan is one of the countries facing the looming threat of food insecurity and depletion of precious water resources on account of climate change, which are to create major disruptions in its agrarian economy. It is not difficult to imagine what might happen in such an eventuality when there are more and more mouths to feed and needing to live a productive life. It is about time to change the tendency of postponing decisive action until a calamity hits in the face. Governments at the Centre and in the provinces must get their act together before it is too late.