Pakistan's top health minister delivered a brutal reality check about the country's population crisis during a major government meeting in Islamabad. Federal Minister Syed Mustafa Kamal told stunned officials that Pakistan's baby boom threatens to destroy the nation's health and education systems. The minister revealed that 25 million kids have no access to schools while government hospitals burst at the seams with patients. He blamed dirty water and broken sewage systems for causing 68 percent of all diseases across Pakistan. Religious leaders backed up the government's family planning push by saying smaller families follow Islamic teachings.
The Prime Minister created a special task force to tackle the population explosion that keeps growing faster than almost anywhere else on Earth. Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb warned that rapid population growth costs the country billions of dollars every year. Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal wants provinces that cut their birth rates to get bonus money from the federal government. Parliamentary leaders called for emergency debates about how population growth affects education spending and economic growth.
International experts from the United Nations promised to help Pakistan expand family planning services and empower women across the country. Provincial officials demanded more local control over population programs while federal leaders stressed the need for evidence-based policies. Government health officials pledged to work with civil society groups and provincial governments to address what they called a national emergency requiring immediate political action.
The Prime Minister created a special task force to tackle the population explosion that keeps growing faster than almost anywhere else on Earth. Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb warned that rapid population growth costs the country billions of dollars every year. Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal wants provinces that cut their birth rates to get bonus money from the federal government. Parliamentary leaders called for emergency debates about how population growth affects education spending and economic growth.
International experts from the United Nations promised to help Pakistan expand family planning services and empower women across the country. Provincial officials demanded more local control over population programs while federal leaders stressed the need for evidence-based policies. Government health officials pledged to work with civil society groups and provincial governments to address what they called a national emergency requiring immediate political action.
