Daily Times

KARACHI: The provision of family planning in Pakistan is hindered by many factors ranging from lack of knowledge to poverty, religious barriers, poor access and commodities, traditional beliefs, misconceptions, lack of male involvement, poor coordination of health programmes.

A workshop was organised in this connection for building capacity of media personnel on key population and reproductive health issues by Pathfinder International. On the occasion, the speakers said that according to Pakistan Demographic and Health Survey (PDHS) of 2013-14, Pakistan has high maternal mortality rates of 276 per 100,000 live births and child mortality rate of 89 per 1,000 live births.

The population in Pakistan growing rapidly due to lack of awareness and non-implementation of modern family planning methods in rural areas of the country, said Dr Tauseef Ahmed on Thursday.

The Pathfinder International Country Director Dr Tauseef Ahmed said that according to PDHS, use of modern family planning methods in Pakistan is still low. He said that the total fertility rate (TFR) of Pakistan stands at 3.8, with 3.2 urban and 4.2 rural of children the average woman would bear in her lifetime, if she experienced the currently observed age-specific fertility rates throughout her productive years. Dr Tauseef said that in Sindh, the average stands at 3.8 and TFR provides information on fertility trends as well as on the beginning of a woman’s childbearing, with tabulations on age at first birth current teenage fertility behaviour.”

He said, “TFR from 5.4 births per woman in 1986-91 to 3.8 births in the period 2010-12 is a decline of 1.6 births per woman in two decades.”

He said although National Programme for Family Planning and Primary Healthcare has helped to control population but programme could not produce the expected results. He said Pakistan has high maternal and neonatal mortality rate in the region due to lack awareness.

The speakers said media could play major role in deciding what information to be provide to the general public and should play a key role in determining what issues should be regarded as important or otherwise.