ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Population Council Director Zeba Sathar on Monday termed illiteracy as one of the main factors for overpopulation and said that the only way to control birth rate is by educating females.
While talking to PTV news on ‘World Population Day’ she said the quality of population is more important than the numbers.
“We should focus on our existing population and provide people with health and education services and opportunities to learn technical skills”, she added.
She said that this slogan would help promote awareness among couples to have two children for the sake of having healthy nation.
If Pakistan is to increase the prevalence of contraception, huge effort and commitment is required both programmatically and financially at the provincial level,” Zeba said.
Pakistan was the first country in Asia to initiate a comprehensive population control programme, followed by a number of countries who succeeded in controlling population growth, unlike the initiators.
“The high percentage of youngsters will not be of any advantage to the country unless they are well educated,” she urged.
“Family welfare and planning works with the government providing services and the community leaders bringing awareness among masses through media campaigns,” she said.
Doctors and members of the health fraternity sought the help of religious leaders in spreading awareness among masses for the need to adopt family planning, she added.
She regretted that 14,000 women annually died in Pakistan due to pregnancy-related causes and such events could be prevented if suitable measures are taken.
Measures that include promotion of the practice of birth spacing, prevention of unwanted and unplanned pregnancies, expanding availability of family planning services in all four provinces and ensuring deliveries of infants by skilled birth attendants.
