By Allah Dad Chandio
LARKANA : International conference on family planning was organized for the first time at SMBBMU University Larkana which was inaugurated by Provincial Minister for Health and Population Welfare Dr. Ezra Pechuho at Latif Auditorium of Chandka Medical College, Larkana, organized World Contraception Day, speaking on the occasion, the speakers said that human population is a cross-cutting issue that challenges the achievement of all Sustainable Development Goals and the theme of the conference was “ “Family Planning: A Path Forward to a Sustainable World” highlights the critical role of family planning in achieving all the goals, especially those that address poverty, hunger, maternal and child health, quality education, gender equality and Regarding environmental sustainability, the speakers added that Sindh is the only province where we have combined health and population welfare departments for better coordination and service delivery and this should be replicated in other provinces. He highlighted that the present policies of NFC award which are based on distribution of resources on the basis of population are not helping our population welfare programs and further increase the population especially in Sindh and Balochistan. May lead to increase, the electoral government may want to review its policies to create resource equity and population welfare program results in all provinces. Collective Health is striving to ensure universal access to productive health care services. and providing family planning items. The Child Nutrition Act has been introduced to prevent malnutrition and undernutrition and will help improve the health and development of children in Sindh. , emphasized the right to love and care and that couples should decide to have children only if they can provide these basic rights, at the ceremony. Abdullah Khan Secretary PWD Balochistan spoke about Pakistan’s rapid population growth which is currently the fifth largest in the world and highlighted the limited resources allocated to Balochistan based on population. PWD is trying to increase procurement and improve service delivery in remote areas of Balochistan. Pakistan has not made significant progress in providing family planning coverage because modern contraceptives MCPR is still around 37%. This was said by Dr. Zulfiqar A. Bhatta, Robert Harding Chair in Global Child Health and Policy Sick Kids Center for Global Child Health. Toronto and founding director of the Center of Excellence in Women and Child Health, AKU. She highlighted the inequality in access to FP services for women below 18 years of age and for poor, illiterate and rural women, noting that although the rural-urban disparity has decreased in Sindh, Overall FP uptake is about 35%. Unless and until we reduce social inequalities and integrate FP with maternal and child health, immunization, child nutrition, girls’ education and women’s economic empowerment, we will 57 by 2030. % will not achieve CPR target. CPR is rare Dr. Anita Zaidi emphasized that FP doesn’t just save lives, it changes them. We believe that every woman and girl deserves opportunity, health and dignity. We know that when individual women’s lives improve, everyone’s lives improve, and so investing in FP and broader women’s health issues can help them better plan their lives, unlock their economic power. And helps achieve a gender-equal world. Dr. Anita Settle is President of the Gender Equality Division at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in the USA Pakistan is currently the 5th most populous country in the world and will become the 4th most populous country in 26 years. Although we have achieved some success in increasing the CPR in Sindh from 33% to 41%, we need to reach the target of 57% by 2030 and only then can we hope to achieve it. is when we use a multi-sectoral approach where the Department of Health, Department of Education, Planning Development, Department of Women, Youth Affairs should all work together, said Dr Talib Lashari, Technical Advisor for CIP and Focal Person for FP2030. Anthony Daly emphasized that a woman’s freedom to decide if and when to marry or bear children, as well as to live free from violence and harmful practices, is essential to her empowerment and rights. He said that family planning not only facilitates these choices but also improves the educational outcomes of families and helps keep girls in schools. He is Technical Adviser on Family Planning at the Asia-Pacific Regional Office, United Nations Population Fund, Dr. Shershah Syed emphasized that every hospital should have a designated area for male counseling on family planning, which is part of reproductive health. highlights the importance of including men in conversations about Smita Banerjee said we are committed to ensuring that every woman and girl worldwide has access to voluntary and rights-based family planning services by 2030. He is MD, FP2030, Asia Hub.swedish obstetrician and gynecologist Dr. Amanda Sturm spoke about the role of midwives in family planning, while laparoscopic gynecological surgeon Dr. Martin Werblom spoke about the role of young people in family planning. Apart from the opening ceremony, the conference 1) Three high-level panel discussions on policies, services and capacity were included. 2) post-natal and post-abortion family planning in Sindh; 3) Role of Academia and Youth Engagement for Family Planning in Sindh. The conference program included two pre-conference workshops, a poster competition, a plenary session and an exhibition hall for development partners so that the conference participants could To showcase your projects and content. During the closing session, Vice Chancellor Dr Nusrat Shah addressed the Organizing Committee, Collaborating Partners including PWD, UNFPA, Pathfinder, Jhpiego, WHO, Ipas, Hands, Greenstar Social Marketing, Vital Pakistan, SRSO, DKT Pakistan and Peace Foundation, speakers. and panelists, and thanked all participants for attending the conference.
The conference saw a significant turnout of around 650 participants including faculty members, healthcare providers, LHVs, LHWs, nurses, midwives, post graduate and undergraduate students and students of Girls College Larkano. Academic Faculty Members Working Group and Youth Club for Students was announced.