| Question-1 | When was the Population Welfare Programme started in Pakistan? |
| Answer | 1953, the Family Planning Association of Pakistan (Non-Government Organization)
In
1953, the Family Planning Association of Pakistan (Non-Government Organization)
initiated few clinics provide family planning services. |
| |
| Question-2 | When was the Population Welfare Programme started in the public sector? |
| Answer | During
the second plan period (1960-65) the Population Welfare
Programme was started by the Ministry of Health but the
programme could not show progress. Hence an independent
Family Planning Council was created in 1965 to run the
programme independently. |
| |
| Question-3 | What were the Population Crude Birth Rate and Death Rate when programme was launched on large scale in 1965? |
| Answer | The
annual crude birth rate was around 45 per thousand and death
rate was around about 18 per thousand and net growth rate
was 2.7% per annum.
Annual crude birth rate was around 45 per thousand and death
rate was around about 18 per thousand and net growth rate
was 2.7% per annum. |
| |
| Question-4 | The Pakistan Population Welfare Program is one of the oldest in the world but has not yielded progress when compared to other countries like Bangladesh and Indonesia. |
| Answer | During
the past decade though the programme enjoyed full political
support and commitment, yet it lacked backing from the
community. The community based approach could not be fully
materialized due to religious, social and cultural norms of
the society. Low literacy rate particularly among women
folk, happens to be another major impediment in the
way of programme success.
The past decade though the programme enjoyed full political
support and commitment, yet it lacked backing from the
community. The community based approach could not be fully
materialized due to religious, social and cultural norms of
the society. Low literacy rate particularly among women
folk, happens to be another major impediment in the
way of programme success. |
| |
| Question-5 | What are the Ninth Five Year Plan objectives of the current Population Welfare Programme? |
| Answer | The
current Population Welfare Programme 1998-2003 aims at
reducing Growth Rate from 2.4% to 1.9%, Total Fertility Rate from 5.2% to
4.2% and to increase Contraceptive Prevalence Rate from 24.4% to 40.3%. |
| |
| Question-6 | What is the awareness level of contraceptives and unmet need of Pakistan Population Welfare Programme? |
| Answer | The
awareness of any contraceptive method is about 94% and unmet
needs are about 38%, according to Pakistan Fertility and
Family Planning Survey (PFFPS) 1996-97. |
| |
| Question-7 | The Population Welfare Programme in Pakistan has covered span of more than 30 years but has not achieved the desired level of CPR. How much more period is required to reach the replacement level of fertility? |
| Answer | Keeping
in view the prevailing trend low literacy level and
Socio-cultural and religious norms, the Population Welfare
Programme would take at least 2 decades to reach the
replacement level of fertility. |
| |
| Question-8 | What are the programme's new strategy for physical programme coverage with special attention to rural areas? |
| Answer | Some
of the major strategies being pursued by the programme with
special attention to rural areas are:
- Expansion of
family planning services in the rural areas through
village based family planning workers;
- Mobile
service units for covering the far flung villages having
no access to family planning services;
- Expansion in
service delivery through family welfare centres and
reproductive health service centres in the public and
private sectors for provision of contraceptive surgery;
- Effective
and increased involvement of all health outlets in the
public and private sectors by providing
training/refresher courses, basic equipment, IEC
material, sign boards and regular supply of
contraceptives to paramedics;
- Introduction
of family planning and MCH services in Federally
Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) adjoining the NWFP
through their health infrastructure;
- Reinforcement
of family planning and Mother and Child Health services in the Azad State of
Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) and the Northern Areas;
- Encouragement
and support to non-governmental organizations (NGOs) for
undertaking innovative and cost-effective service
delivery to cover specific urban and semi-urban areas
like slums, katchi-abadis, labour colonies, etc.;
- Involvement
of registered medical practitioners, hakeems,
homeopaths, traditional birth attendants, private
clinics and hospitals for dispensation of family
planning services through their infrastructure by way of
training, orientation, contraceptive supplies,
information, education and communication (IEC) material
and signboards;
- Acceleration
of training and orientation programmes for programme
personnel, employees of other departments who are
providing health services at different outlets and
community based groups;
- Intensification
of motivational campaign through television, radio,
films, print material and press media with the
involvement of the private sector expertise. Special
emphasis is being placed on participatory and
inter-personal communication. Attractive publicity
boards, hoardings, neon-signs, bus panels with
appropriate messages are being installed at airports,
railway stations, hospitals, bus stands and other
prominent places. All service outlets of the programme
in public and private sectors are being made visible by
fixing direction boards. Seminars, conferences, group
meetings, walks, meet-the-press sessions are being
organized at the federal, provincial and grass root
levels. Population education component is being filtered
through formal and non-formal school system with the
involvement of the Ministry of Education. Similarly,
presentation on demographic facts and figures have been
initiated for college & university students in the
country as well as at all the national institutions.
|
| |
| Question-9 | What is the progress of the ICPD plan of action to which Pakistan is signatory? |
| Answer | The new
direction is the shift from the focus on fertility
towards a comprehensive approach integrating family
planning with reproductive health and also addressing
wider range of concerns, especially economic status,
education and gender equity and equality. One of the
major achievements of the Cairo Conference has been the
recognition of the need to empower women, both as a
highly important end in itself and as a key to improving
the quality of life for everyone. It also emphasizes
that men have a key role to play in bringing about
gender equity and equality, in fostering women's full
participation in development and in improving women's
reproductive health.
Goals are
set out in three related areas: expanded access to
education, particularly for girls; reduced mortality
rates; and increased access to quality reproductive
health services, including family planning. The
International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD)
Programme of Action urges all countries to make
reproductive health care and family planning accessible
through primary health care system to all individuals of
appropriate ages no later than 2015. |
| |
| Question-10 | What types of contraceptives method are more popular in Pakistan? |
| Answer | As
per Pakistan Fertility and Family Planning Survey (PFFPS) in 1996-97 female sterilization is more popular
clinical method followed by condom and IUD. |
| |
| Question-11 | When was last population census held in Pakistan? |
| Answer | The
last population census was held in March, 1998 after a span
of 17 years. The population at that time was 130.579 million
of which 32.5% people were living in urban areas and the sex
ratio was 108.1%. The average household size stood at 6.6. |
| |
| Question-12 | What steps have been taken to introduce Subject of population at college and university levels? |
| Answer | At
the school level lessons have been introduced in the
curriculum to project the consequences of high population
growth rate. At the university level population subjects are
being taught in length wherein benefits of small family are
being highlighted. |
| |
| Question-13 | What is the role of media in propagating small family norm? |
| Answer | The
electronic & print media is playing important role for
communication and propagation of advantages and importance
of small family norms. According to Pakistan Fertility and
Family Planning Survey 94% married
women of reproductive age (15-49 years) have the knowledge
of at least one contraceptive method. |
| |
| Question-14 | What is the impact of population on environment? |
| Answer | Population
increase has not only brought an environmental degradation,
it has also ushered in shortage of safe drinking water,
diminishing forest resources, climate change due to
depletion of ozone layer. Other forms of environmental
pollution are marine pollution, noise pollution, depletion
of land resources etc. Besides these, environmental
pollution has also damaged the beauty and serenity of
nature. Almost half of the world population is urbanized
because of which traffic problems have multiplied, land
erosion, and solid waste disposal are the major civic
problems these days. Other major salient features are: -
- During the
past 25 years, cultivable land has increased by 27
percent compared to 98 percent increase in the
population, resulting in reduced individual land
holdings in Pakistan have reduced in area.
- The urban
population will double in the next 20 years at its
current 3.5% growth rate.&nb?;
- Each year,
deforestation occurs at the rate of 2.5 percent.
- Since only
50% of our population has sewerage facility, the other
50% churns out wastes damaging the environment and
causing a lot of diseases.
- The increase
in the number of motor vehicles, each year, is 4.5
percent. Almost 70% of our vehicles have outlived their
life span and emit unburnt dangerous gases in
atmosphere. In fact, the total number of vehicles in
Pakistan emits more noxious fumes in the air as compared
to all vehicles in the US.
- The
industrial and residential areas have merged causing
health hazards for the population.
- Excessive
use of Polyethylene bags is another serious
environmental hazard.
|
| |
| Question-15 | What is the status of women in Pakistan? |
| Answer |
- Twenty three
per cent of our children do not attend schools at all;&nb?;&nb?;
and majority of them is girls.
- There are
108 men compared to 100 women in Pakistan.
- Currently,
the number of children not attending schools range
between 18 to 20 million. Most of these children are
girls.
- Literacy
rate among females is 35 per cent.
- There are
30% less academic institutions for girls as compared to
boys.
- Only 24% of
our females have access to health facilities.
- The Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) in
developing countries is 35 per thousand, which is very
high compared to the developed countries.
- Almost
28,000 women die annually during and after childbirth in
Pakistan.
- Only 29% of
women get antenatal care in Pakistan.
- Total Fertility Rate (TFR) in
Pakistan is 4.7.
- The
percentage of women in the labour force is twenty four.
- Although
more than half of agricultural rural labour consists of
women, their contribution is taken as "invisible
and negligible,"
- In times of
war, famine, and other national emergencies, women
suffer more than men.
- Thirty nine
per cent of women in Pakistan do not want to conceive
after three children. Limited access (60% coverage
of the programme) to reproductive health facilities make
them victim of repeated pregnancies.
|
| |
| Question-16 | What is the role of NGOs in the Population Welfare Programme of Pakistan? |
| Answer |
- Non-Government Organizations (NGOs) started
working in Pakistan for education and social welfare
soon after independence of Pakistan in 1947. A NGO
pioneered the population welfare programme in Pakistan
in the early 1950s. However, it was in 1980s that the
NGOs took upon themselves to work in an organized
manner. The NGOs sought cooperation from the Government
and various donors for their programmes of social
development.
- The
Government of Pakistan seeks active cooperation with
NGOs in the areas of family planning and reproductive
health through the Ministry of Population Welfare, and
the National Trust for Population Welfare (NATPOW). One
example of cooperation between NGOs and the Government
is sharing the responsibility of meeting national
population sector targets. NGOs use initiative,
creativity, and take innovative steps because of their
size and limited commitment, they can create
"models" for replication. NGOs have
contributed significantly in promoting the cause of the
population program in the country. The contribution of
NGOs to community development carries special
significance.
- Some 264
NGOs with 479 outlets, operating through out the
country, have been registered with National Trust for
Population Welfare (NATPOW).
|
| |
| Question-17 | What is the role of Private Sector in the Population Welfare Programme of Pakistan? |
| Answer | The
Private Sector is involved in the Programme through Social
Marketing (SM) activities with the aim of making Family
Planning (FP) information and services available more widely
at reduced rates. Currently SM. Projects are funded by KFW
(Development Bank of Germany) and Department for
International Development (DFID) U.K. The Projects are
executed outside Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP)
by Social Marketing Pakistan, by adopting independent
logo of "Green Star" The other Project is executed by
Key Social Marketing by using an independent logo of
"key" The range of activities of SM includes
advertisement/Promotional campaign, training of doctors,
paramedic & chemists as well as dispensation of
Contraceptives through a commercial distribution network of
over 58000 distribution/service points. |
| |
| Question-18 | What steps have been taken regarding awareness of Human Immuno-deficiency Virus (HIV) / Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDS), Reproductive Tract Infections (RTIs) ? |
| Answer |
- A
comprehensive awareness strategy has been developed and
implemented through mass media, hot-line telephone
message, NGOs support district networking and imparting
AIDS education to the key influential persons. As a
result of awareness raising campaign, the knowledge
about AIDS, which stood at almost zero in 1991-92, has
now leaped to 96 per cent.
- Broad
policies for the essential screening of blood before
transfusion have been adopted for control of
transmission of diseases like AIDS, hepatitis B and C,
malaria, and syphilis. These steps include preparation
of legislation bill for mandatory screening of blood
both in private and public sector, development of
national guidelines and standard operating procedures on
blood transfusion, and imparting training on different
issues of safe blood transfusion.
|
| |
| Question-19 | How high population growth rate has affected sustainable development in Pakistan? |
| Answer |
- The
population profile in Pakistan reveals that in order to
achieve sustainable development, empowerment of women,
effective use of resources, efficient family planning,
and popularization of small family norm are imperative.
- Each year,
3.02 million persons add to the population of Pakistan.
- With current
growth rate of 2.2 percent, Pakistan's population will
double in next 32 years.
- High Total Fertility Rate (4.7) and lower literacy rate (35%) among females are
major obstacles to sustainable development.
- Fifty
percent of Pakistan's population is forced to live in
one-room houses.
- Over one
third of women, with three children in Pakistan, do not
look forward to another pregnancy. Nevertheless, they
get pregnant because they do not have access to
reproductive health facilities.
- Low per
capita income (US$ 443).
- Forests in
Pakistan occupy only 4% of the total area.
- Pakistan is
an agricultural country but per capita arable land is
shrinking due to higher pressure on land. In 1951-52,
per capita agricultural holding was 1.1 acres due to
higher pressure on land which reduced to 0.5 acres
in 1977.
- Slowdown in
population growth rate, wider coverage of reproductive
health services, education of women, and effective steps
to eradicate poverty are prerequisites for sustainable
development in Pakistan.
|
| |
| Question-20 | What are the beliefs and practices about breastfeeding in Pakistani Women. |
| Answer | According
to Pakistan Fertility and Family Planning Survey (PFFPS)
1996-97, the majority of ever married women in Pakistan
(57%), think that during the period of breastfeeding, the
chance of becoming pregnant decreases while only 8% think
opposite to it. The breastfeeding practice is quite
encouraging as the&nb?; Pakistan Fertility and Family Planning
Survey (PFFPS) 1996-97 result show that only 4% of
women never breastfeed their children, while rest (96%)
start breastfeeding in 24 hours and above since birth of
baby. |
| |
Frequently Asked Questions