At this rate Pakistan's population will be doubled in the next 30 years, compared with an average doubling time of 60 years for other South Asian countries. The population of the country is projected to increase to 285 million by 2030. Such a high level of population growth is unsustainable and has already eaten into the modest gains made in terms of socio-economic development.
The rapidly growing population has direct negative implications for adverse climate change environment degradation, deforestation and above all the decline in water availability per capita putting Pakistan in water stress situation. It will exacerbate food security and threaten the country's sustainable development prospects.
It recommended: establishing national and provincial task forces to provide oversights and take critical decisions to reduce population growth, lower fertility rate and increase contraceptive prevalence rate (CPR); the national task force will be chaired by the prime minister and include chief ministers of all the provinces, federal and provincial ministers of population, health, education, finance and planning and representatives of civil society. The provincial task forces chaired by the respective chief minister to include provincial ministers of population, health, education, finance and planning, and representatives of civil society.
Ensure Universal Access to Family Planning and Reproductive Health (FP & RH) Services: Mandate all public health facilities (BHUs, RHCs, THQs, DHQHs, teaching hospitals) to deliver family planning services as part of the essential service package. All general registered private sector practitioners and hospitals to provide family planning counselling, information and services to male and female clients. Lady health workers will provide family planning, ante-natal and post-natal counselling, and contraception services on priority basis.
Finance: The federal government will create a five-year non-lapsable special fund for reducing population growth rate with annual allocation of Rs 10 billion. The fund shall be set up exclusively from federal resources without any cut from provincial funds.
Legislation: Family Planning and Reproductive Health (FP&RH) Rights Bill to ensure mandatory FP&RH services by all general healthcare facilities in public and private sector. Early Child Marriage Restraint Act be introduced by federal and provincial governments (Sindh passed this Act in 2013).
Pre-marital counselling on family planning should be mandatory for Nikah registration; LHWs or appropriate services providers to provide the requisite counselling. Right to promote primary healthcare for mother and child be made mandatory' as the right to education given in Article 25-A of Constitution.
Advocacy and Communication: A national narrative to be developed in consultation with the provinces and other stakeholders to create a sense of urgency and necessity of reducing population growth rate and achieving socio-economic wellbeing for all.
Mass movement leading to a call of action to be launched involving political leaders, corporate sector, academia, judiciary, executive, Ulema, media, intelligentsia, civil society and youth. PEMRA will provide free airtime for family planning messages on radio and TV channels at prime time. Behavioural Change Communication campaign to highlight to roles and responsibilities of men in family planning.
Support of Ulema: Joint declaration of Ulema made at Population Summit-2015, Islamabad be widely advocated. Training courses on family planning to be arranged at the provincial judicial academies and relevant training institutes for Ulema and Khateebs.
A three-judge bench, headed by Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar, hearing population growth case on October 30, 2018 had directed the federal government to immediately arrange a meeting of Council of Common Interests (CCI) within 10 days for consideration and approval (after some modifications/alteration etc. if need be) of the task force recommendations on alarming population growth.
After approval by the CCI, a seminar shall be held by the Law and Justice Commission of Pakistan under the auspices of the Supreme Court to increase the awareness on population explosion in Pakistan and to consider preventive measures. The print and electronic media was directed to print and broadcast the recommendations of the task forces for three days free of cost.