Country Representative of UNFPA calls on CM Chaudhry Parvez Elahi

LAHORE, Jan 4:

Dr Luay Shabaneh, country representative of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), called on Chief Minister Punjab Chaudhry Parvez Elahi at his office and agreed to make cooperation more effective for population welfare, especially family planning.

The CM announced the recruitment of approved vacant posts in the Population Welfare Department and added that the government will go all out to achieve the family planning targets. He added that people in rural and urban backward areas will be sensitized about the importance of family planning. Family health clinics and welfare centers will be made more functional and initiatives will be regularly monitored at tehsil and district levels, he stated.

The CM said that the provincial government has decided to give a special package, under the Punjab Ehsaas program, to families adopting family planning measures. The rapidly increasing population is a threat to human survival on the planet as rampant population growth increases health, education, environmental and employment problems. Public cooperation with government efforts is indispensable to overcoming population-related problems. By controlling the population, the quality of life can also be improved; he said and concluded that all should work to raise societal awareness about population planning.

Dr Luay Shabaneh noted that the Parvez Elahi-led Punjab government was taking exemplary steps for population welfare. We are happy that Chief Minister Parvez Elahi’s programs for population welfare are showing encouraging results. We will continue to work closely with the Punjab government regarding population welfare, he added.

Chief Secretary Abdullah Khan Sumbal, Secretary Population Welfare Salman Ejaz, Secretary Primary and Secondary Health Dr Irshad, DG Population Welfare Saman Rai, Program & Technical Specialist Shoaib Ahmad Shahzad, Technical Specialist (Gender) Sania Durrani and others were also present.