QUETTA: Balochistan Secretary of Population Welfare Department (PWD) Manzoor Ahmad Zehri has said that his department was making every effort to bring the growing population at a balanced level.

The provision of health facilities, improvement in the field of education, innovation in quality of life and establishment of lasting peace are the main goals, he said this while presiding over a function on the occasion of World Population Day.

On the occasion, Additional Secretary Fateh Khan Khujak, FPA President Dr. Rashida Panezai, PHP Director Technical Dr. Amir Bakhsh, UNDP Head Zulfiqar Durrani, U.N. Zafar Ahmad Khan and Maulvi Matin Akhunzada, TECH specialists also attended the meeting.

Zehri said that the growing population in Pakistan has created serious problems and all that was due to lack of awareness, he added.

Manzoor stated that most of the population in the province was lack of access to living facilities and were facing numerous problems in terms of health and unemployment.

He stressed that a comprehensive strategy was needed to implement population development plans for the proper solution of the problem.

For this, the Population Welfare Department was in close liaison with governmental and non-governmental organizations through an effective network to solve the problems while balancing the population, he underlined.

He said that the growing population was certainly one of the major problems being faced by the world in the 21st century.

The Population Welfare Department was taking steps to provide mutual facilities to the people, he said adding in this regard, furniture, equipment and computers have been provided for the district offices.

He said service delivery outlets while ultrasound machines have also been provided for all the reproductive centres.

Addressing the participants, Dr. Asfandyar Sherani, a representative of the World Health Organization, said some time ago, Pakistan was ranked sixth in the world in terms of population, but no serious steps were taken in this regard due to this, Pakistan is now ranked fifth.

He said unfortunately the population of Pakistan was increasing by 4.4 million annually, which could lead to many problems in the near future.

He said 107 out of 1000 children die before their first birthdays, while domestic violence and various forms of oppression kill 37 women a day.

District Secretary Fateh Khan Khujak said the Population Welfare Department in cooperation with the Health Department has set up Family Welfare Health Centers in the hospitals of 21 districts so that the people could get free family planning services in the hospitals.

Addressing the function, Maulvi Mateen Akhunzada said that even from an Islamic point of view, we are taught that an interval of two and a half years is necessary for the health of mother and child. There should be no neglect in upbringing, education, training, care and proper development, he said.

At the end of the function, sweaters were distributed among the distinguished participants by the Population Department.