‘Two Children Are Enough’

APP

DI Khan: Secretary of Population Welfare, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Asghar Ali, on Wednesday underlined the need for creating awareness among people about population welfare-related legislation.

He expressed these views during a seminar organized by the Population Welfare Department in collaboration with UNFPA in Peshawar on Wednesday.

The Secretary of Population Welfare, said that the provincial government has several pieces of legislation about population welfare, including the Reproductive Healthcare Rights Act, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Reproductive Healthcare Rights Rules, and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Reproductive Healthcare Rights (Appeal) Rules 2020, and added that efforts should be made to make each citizen aware of this.

The Pakistani population has almost doubled in the past 15 years, and the country is now ranked fifth in the world in terms of population. PWD DD Mujibullah Khan

In this regard, the secretary said the Population Welfare Department was effectively playing its part to raise awareness and ensure the effective implementation of those regulations.

He regretted that pre-marital counselling was usually considered taboo, despite the fact that it leads to a happy marital life, rights, mutual understanding, and pleasant relationships and helps address issues arising from early marriage or a lack of awareness.

t=The secretary said the slogan “Two Children are Enough” was banned now on the government level as childbirth was a national system and no one could prevent it. Instead, the secretary said the focus was on providing awareness about future challenges and means, as childbirth not only involves responsibilities for mothers but also requires additional resources for men, often leading to issues in marital life.

An estimated 18,000 children are born each day, with 4,000 deaths reported: PWD DD

Thus, reproductive healthcare aims to eliminate women’s burdens while planning for better relationships through improved planning and addressing issues. The District Population Welfare Officer highlighted the role of media, especially the Information Department, in creating awareness among people and ensuring the successful implementation of the act.

Deputy Demographer of the Population Welfare Department, Mujibullah Khan informed that the population had almost doubled in the past 15 years, and Pakistan was now ranked fifth in the world in terms of population.  The country’s overall population had exceeded 240 million, making it the most populous Islamic country. According to estimates, 18,000 children are born each day, with 4,000 deaths reported. Every minute, eight children are born in the country. The population of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa has exceeded 40 million.