The Ministry of Population Welfare has started youth reproductive health (RH) awareness project in Quetta for creating awareness among youth of 18 to 25 years so that they could play their role in the population control.
Pakistan's population has risen to 161.2 million with annual growth rate of 1.86 per cent. Moreover, total fertility rate (TFR) is 4.5 percent per woman, which shows significant increase in growth rate and projected population by 2050 would be upto 304.7 million. Sources in the ministry said that involvement of youth in population control program is a pre-requisite to make the programme successful.
Sources said that the Ministry has taken steps to improve the awareness regarding population welfare.
Moreover, 40,000 ulema have been imparted training regarding population control program so that they could create awareness among the general public. The population welfare programme has created awareness about small family norm and family planning but adoption of family planning practices is still low and there is large magnitude of un-met need, they said.
For bringing about a reproductive behavioural change and arrest the population growth, a nation wide comprehensive campaign is needed involving all segments of society, with effective contribution by individual, community, NGOs and private public sectors, they said.