Family planning in Pakistan

"Tabber", a stone monument at PIMS, Islamabad. The two taller stones represent parenthood while the smaller one represents a single child.

Even though there is considerable demand for family planning in Pakistan, the adoption of family planning has been hampered by government neglect, lack of services and misconceptions. Demographics play a large role in Pakistan's development and security since the change from military rule to civilian leadership.[1] Challenges to Pakistani's well-being, opportunities for education and employment, and access to health care are escalated due to the country's continuously-growing population.[1] It was estimated in 2005 that Pakistan's population totaled 151 million; a number which grows 1.9 percent annually, equaling a 2.9 million population growth per year.[2] Though Pakistan's fertility rates still exceed those of neighboring South Asian countries with a total fertility rate at 4.1 (3.3 children in urban settings and 4.5 children in rural areas) and contraception use is lower than 35 percent, approximately one-fourth of Pakistani women wish to either delay the birth of their next child or end childbearing altogether.[1]

According to Dr. Ansar Ali Khan, an advisor of reproductive health to the United Nations Population Fund in Pakistan, "A combination of factors like non-availability of services, baseless traditional beliefs and misconception play a big role."[2] In addition, Ali Khan stated that "a fairly large number of the population believes the use of artificial contraceptives for family planning is against nature and also against Islam."[2] Unlike family planning in Iran, a neighboring Islamic republic, Pakistan's family planning program has been touted to have failed in recent years due to neglect and constant policy changes as a result of political upheaval.[a][5] While 96 percent of married women were reported to know about at least one method of contraception, only half of them had ever used it.[1]

  1. ^ a b c d Hardee Karen; Leahy Elizabeth (2007). "Population, Fertility and Family Planning in Pakistan: A Program in Stagnation". Population Action International. 4 (1): 1–12.
  2. ^ a b c "Pakistan: Debating Islam and family planning." IRIN. UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. 06 Apr 2011. http://irinnews.org/report.aspx?reportid=28617 Archived 2011-09-28 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ "Human population numbers as a function of food supply" (PDF). Russel Hopfenburg (Duke University, Durham, NC, USA), David Pimentel (Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA). Archived (PDF) from the original on 26 September 2020. Retrieved 24 February 2020.
  4. ^ "Agriculture, plant physiology, and human population growth: past, present, and future" (PDF). Lincoln Taiz - Theoretical and Experimental Plant Physiology (2013), University of California. Archived (PDF) from the original on 24 August 2017. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
  5. ^ "Islam, Women and Family Planning: A Primer". Guttmacher Institute. 22 September 2004. Archived from the original on 7 July 2023. Retrieved 1 July 2024.


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