Book launched on population planning

Salahuddin Haider ?

Saturday, June 29, 2013 - A comprehensive book on population planning titled as Capturiing the demographic dividend in Pakistan was launched in Karachi at a function yesterday. It contains valuable material with facts and figures, charts etc, the book is a joint attempt by the Population Council, and the United Nations Population Fund and is worth reading as well as being a tremendous addition to the list of reference books. Its author Dr Zeba Sathar has injected life in it through hard work, comprehensive research, and commitment to the cause, to let the readers know that there is strong linkages between population growth and social sector problems like health, education, labour force, employment etc. A number of speakers like former State Bank governor Dr Ishrat Hussain, and population experts from foreign countries like Dr John Bongaarts, Dr John May, and Dr David Bloom, professor of economic at the Harvard (who addressed the gathering through video conferencing), Dr Mushtaq Khan, chief economic adviser, State Bank of Pakistan, Prof Dr Khalida Ghous, Managing Director, Social Policy and Development, Centre, the Sindh Assembly member of MQM, Khawaja Izharul Hasan, and Mr Mohammad Saleem Raza, the additional chief secretary, planning and development in Sindh Arif Ansari, Secretary, department of Population Welfare, Government of Sindh, expressed themselves. They all were unanimous that the book was a valuable contribution to create awareness that unchecked population growth might prove a bombshell for Pakistan one day and estimated that Pakistans population in a couple of decades will rise to 300 million. With progress in social sectors, and employment opportunities growing at a slower pace than anticipated the country will be under enormous pressure.