Islamabad: The National Institute of Population Studies-Training and Research (NIPS-TandR) and the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) here on Thursday to forge a strategic partnership on population planning, demographic research and policy analysis.
Federal Secretary for Ministry of National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination (NHSRandC), Aslam Ghouri, was the chief guest on the occasion. The MoU was formally signed by SDPI Executive Director, Dr Abid Qaiyum Suleri and NIPS-TandR Executive Director, Samina A. Hasan, said a press release.
Dr Abid Qaiyum Suleri said the purpose of such ceremonies should not be the signing of an MoU itself, but its materialization into tangible collaboration. “The MoUs without team ownership and effort cannot be materialized, ” he said, adding that with renewed zeal and spirit, SDPI and NIPS-TandR could now identify new aligning areas of work.
Dr. Suleri said that development, economy, energy and housing sectors ultimately came down to per capita requirements, and now NIPSTandR role became more critical. He stressed the need to educate all government departments on population measures and demographic needs. He said SDPI, as a strong centre of learning and development, considered research its “bread and butter” and offered the institute’s full support to NIPSTandR.
He also thanked the Ministry of National Health Services for its continued support to SDPI’s tobacco control efforts, noting that the World Health Organization has recognized SDPI’s global work against tobacco. He said that it would not have been possible without the ministry’s backing.
Federal Secretary, Aslam Ghouri said it was a pleasure to join the MoU signing ceremony describing the collaboration as timely. He said it addresses population growth, reproductive health and the wider implications of demography for the country.
The Secretary noted that NIPSTandR has a strong track record in demographic surveys and has carried out major national exercises, including national demographic surveys and reproductive health studies, while SDPI brought extensive experience in policy analysis, programme planning and advocacy. He said SDPI could support NIPSTandR through research, surveys, publications, policy briefs, and advocacy and dialogue on issues such as contraceptive prevalence and unmet need for family planning.
He stressed that particular focus should be on underserved populations and called for stronger national capacity building in demographic surveys. Policy recommendations emerging from the partnership, he said, must be translated into practical actions for provincial stakeholders.
Earlier, Samina A. Hasan highlighted the NIPSTandR’s ongoing work, including Pakistan’s demographic surveys, performance monitoring surveys five rounds of which had been conducted in the Punjab and ongoing district-level population projections, alongside a two-year training programme for family welfare workers.
She said SDPI had established itself as one of Pakistan’s leading policy institutes and is flourishing under its leadership, adding that the new partnership was being initiated on a shared vision of joint policy analysis, population planning studies, and work at the intersection of population and sustainable development. The collaboration, she said, would open new avenues for joint cooperation and enduring partnership between the two organizations.