Altaf Hamid Rao.
Experts call for joint vibrant role of Health, Population Welfare service providers for due planning,
MUZAFFARABAD: (Parliament Times) Seasoned experts including the icons of health and family planning / reproductive health have called for the need of addressing and implementing the mechanism of accountability to ensure provision of quality family planning services in the country including Azad Jammu & Kashmir.
Speakers expressed these views at a two-day Capacity Building Workshop titled “RISK COMMUNICATION AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT”, chaired by Secretary Population Welfare of AJK Govt. Raja Muhammad Razaq, that concluded in the State’s capital city of Muzaffarabad on Thursday.
Our AJK Special Correspondent Altaf Hamid Rao reports from Muzaffarabad that the series of the capacity building workshops for ensuring the result-oriented role of the services providers of the State Health and Population Welfare Departments, were being hosted in various parts of Azad Jammu Kashmir under the auspices of the Population Welfare Department of AJK government with the coordination and collaboration of JHPIEGO Pakistan, affiliated with Johns Hopkins University with the assistance of UNFPA, United Nations Population Fund.
The experts include Secretary Population Welfare Department of AJK government Raja Muhammad Razzaque. Zeashan Arif, Director General the State Population Welfare Department, Dr. Ashfaq Mir, Principal Regional Training Institute, Dr. Nauman Manzoor, District Health Officer Jhelum Valley, Dr. Ghulam Nabi DHO Neelam Valley, Dr. Farooq Awan, Additional Director Health Services AJK Government besides senior managers / service providers of health and education departments.
The training was aimed at to raise the capacity of service providers during any emergency or pandemic in effective manner, said the chair -Raja M Razaq Khan, Secretary Population Welfare Department of Azad government of the State of Jammu & Kashmir.
Khan termed the workshop very significant and important for effective service delivery in the areas of health and population management.
Secretary Population Welfare Department of AJK government Raja Muhammad Razaq emphasized the need of integration of the state-run departments of health and population in Azad Jammu & Kashmir to ensure vibrant collective result-oriented services in family and population planning with prime focus to encourage the production of quality future architects of the nation.
He continued that joint working of Health, Education and Populating Welfare departments could yield positive results towards the healthy population planning in Pakistan and AJK.
Razaq lauded the UNFPA-like global forums engaged in healthy services for ensuring uplift and betterment of the humanity through encouraging and facilitating holding of such capacity-building events in various parts of the world including Pakistan and AJK-like under developing areas.
The AJK Population Welfare Department Secretary called upon the audience to take due interest in the field to help making the programs viz-a-viz population welfare and planning complete success. He termed imparting the capacity building training population planning to the concerned stake holders including the health providers and the masses in general imperative at the present hour in view of the rapid population growth rate in Pakistan besides Azad Jammu & Kashmir.
Raja Razzaq underlined that the family planning was the legal human right of all concerned under international law and the construction of Pakistan because of its being the most significant part of the human right.
He further pointed out that it was the responsibility of the state to ensure the universal access to the family planning under the spirit of the Universal declaration of human rights.
Razaq also called for raising awareness among the stake holders for focusing to deliver quality education in AJK coupled with the spirit of self reformation for better service delivery.