World
Population Day: Attaining Balanced Population Growth Pakistan's progress on
most health, education, and demographic indicators has slowed down according to
the Population Census 2017 and the Pakistan Demographic and Health Survey
(PDHS) 2017-18. These trends signify a worsening of existing inequalities and
imbalances, threatening the country's shrinking resource base as well as its
future prosperity. The situation warrants urgent corrective actions at all
levels of State and society.
As
a key measure, Pakistan must lose no further time in joining the countries of
the region and the Muslim world in achieving a rate of population growth that
is sustainable. This will have to be much lower than the current (1998- 2017)
high growth rate of 2.4%. In this regard, a National Task Force constituted by
the Supreme Court has already identified eight broad sectors and thirty-three specific
recommendations for implementation by Provincial Governments, regions and the
Federal Government. These recommendations have been endorsed by the Supreme
Court and approved by the Council of Common Interest (CCI) chaired by the Prime
Minister of Pakistan.
The
idea of balanced population growth has historically evoked disparate, ambivalent
and often negative responses in the country .The endorsement by all concerned
of a new "national narrative" is, therefore, the first of the Task
Force's recommendations under "Advocacy and Communication".
Pakistan
is a uniquely created, richly diverse nation-state with enormous potential but
it currently ranks 150th among 189 countries on the Human Development Index
2017. There is a need to eliminate preventable maternal and neonatal deaths,
ensure adequate nutrition and education for all, provide access to clean water,
and eradicate poverty.
National
Narrative on Population
Parents
have the right to freely and responsibly decide the number and spacing of their
children to fulfil the fundamental rights of their children and family by
maintaining a Balance/Tawazun between their family size and resources. The
Government and society have the responsibility to facilitate parents to achieve
this balance by providing universal access to family planning information and
services, thereby achieving sustainable development.
Sustainable
population growth means growth in which this tawazun is maintained. It must
prevail, at the macro level, between essential human goals and population
numbers; the numbers and quality of citizens; natural resources and the people
they sustain. At the micro level, tawazun must be attained between the births
of children and their mother's capacity to recuperate and breastfeed them;
between the size of the families and their capacity to ensure the rights of
each member. All eminent religious scholars the world over have endorsed birth
spacing as one way to ensure balanced family size.
While
family size remains a private choice, separate from the public domain, parents'
right to have as many children as they desire must be balanced with their
responsibility to ensure that each child is brought up under the care of a
healthy mother. Certainly, family planning and birth spacing should be driven
by informed choice and free will, and not coercion. But the State is
responsible for fulfilling all citizens' rights to the information and to the services
they need in order to make, and act on informed choices.
Balanced
population growth ensures wellbeing, prosperity, safety and security which is
the common aspiration of the people of Pakistan. The attainment of this
imperative goal is possible through three inter-linked principles:
Rights
The
first principle recognizes that all citizens of the country have fundamental rights,
which are enshrined in all religious teachings, the Constitution of Pakistan
and the international covenants (ICPD, FP2020, SDGs) to which Pakistan is a
signatory. This includes the right to adequate shelter, nutrition, health and
family planning, education, employment opportunities and gainful livelihoods to
improve the quality of life.
Responsibilities
The
second principle is the recognition that, to attain these rights, individuals, and
parents as well as the State have distinct responsibilities to fulfill. Parents
ought to act responsibly and have the number of children they can provide with
the basic rights and needs, e.g., nutrition, health, and good upbringing, while
the State remains responsible for providing necessary services and resources,
such as family planning and health services, quality education, proper housing,
and job opportunities.
Balance-Tawazun
The
third principle recognizes the need to strike a balance, or tawazun, in all
aspects, especially between rights and responsibilities. This implies a tawazun
between population growth and available resources and regenerative
capacity."Tawazun" is intrinsic in Nature and commanded in Islam and
other faiths as a prerequisite for peace and well-being.
