Federal Population Welfare Minister Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan formally Inaugurated Regional Training Institute here on Saturday afternoon. As many as 13 such institutions had been set up in the country, Azad Kashmir and Gilgit and Baltistan for producing trained workers she disclosed.
Addressing the inaugural ceremony she said that the basic concept of setting up this training institute was to produce trained family welfare workers for catering the future needs of Sialkot district. The Minister said that strategy had already been evolved for curtailing population growth in the country and to establish safe mother homes/ multipurpose service centers across the country.
Due to lack of education and medical facilities mother and child mortality rate was alarming in rural areas of the country while tendency of fast birth rate was posing serious health problems for women in the country she said. The Minister said this bent had become a risk not only to national economy but also generating unemployment as well as creating various social problems in the society. The rapid increase in population was generating problems like unemployment, shortage of food, environmental problems and energy crisis and hindering socio-economic development of the country she added.
The Population Minister said under the programme strenuous efforts were being made for creating awareness among the masses about the negative impact of increasing population. Adequate efforts were being made for providing timely medical facilities to the women during pregnancy for bringing down the mother and child mortality rate. This revolutionary programme has been undertaken according to vision of Shaheed Benazir Bhutto and under the programme free facility of delivery would be available for the rural women folk she added.