Message from Mr. Asif Ali Zardari President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan (On World Population Day, 11th July, 2013) The observance of World Population Day every year is a reminder to the need for urgently focusing attention on addressing challenges that are associated with population explosion particularly in the developing countries like Pakistan. The disproportionate population growth vis-à-vis the availability of resources has raised serious issues in sustainable development calls for concerted efforts, at individual as well as collective level, to check the rapid population growth rate. The impact of population growth also transcends beyond geographical boundaries. There is therefore a great need for collective efforts at the international level and a robust public and private partnership at the national level for raising awareness among masses about the challenges confronting us today and to complement state efforts to overcome them. The World Population Day this year is focused on adolescent pregnancy. Various factors including lack of awareness about reproductive health, economic compulsions, early and teen-age marriages, lack of health facilities and parental guidance and a tendency to ignore health issues in the name of religious and cultural norms have compounded issues in population growth. On this occasion I wish to recall the words of our great leader Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto and of her dream of Pakistan and beyond who said, “I dream of a Pakistan, of an Asia, of a world, where every pregnancy is planned, and every child conceived is nurtured, loved, educated and supported”. These words should serve as a guide to the reproductive health and family planning programs in countries like Pakistan. On this day, I call upon all segments of society to join hands in creating greater awareness about the issues population growth particularly those relating to the health risks to our young women. We need to create an environment where our women have an easy and affordable access to complete package of reproductive health services. I wish success to all those individuals and organizations involved in raising awareness and meeting the challenges posed by the rapid and unplanned population growth.
Posted on: Thu, 11 Jul 2013 06:30:15 +0000
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