Chairman Entomology, University of Agriculture and former dean of agriculture, Professor Dr Muhammad Ashfaque Ahmad (Tamgha-e-Imtiaz) has said that "High Growth Rate" of population constitutes a challenge for the entire development process.
Addressing a seminar held under the auspices of National Trust for Population Welfare (Natpow) and Hayat Foundation Pakistan, he said the overall vision of the population programme is to pursue stabilisation of population as a development priority through accelerated fertility transition.
Our neighbouring county, India constructed many dams for progress and prosperity, but from 1947 to 2007, we made many constitutions but unfortunately we have made only one dam for progress and prosperity. With the increasing population of our motherland, our problems are also increasing rapidly. We would have to pay special attention towards finding out new resources besides increasing the available resources with a view to ensuring progress and prosperity, he added.
Professor Ashfaque said that with a view to form a healthy society it was utmost necessary that all of us should unitedly carry forward the process of service. Today we are in a dire need of awareness about health care. Besides physical health, a healthy mind also plays an important role in changing the fate of the society. He said that co-ordinated efforts of Natpow and Hayat Foundation indicate that they had left no stone unturned for the service and welfare of the society. He paid rich tributes to both the NGOs for their valuable services. He referred to the saying of Hazrat Ali (A.S.) that "Don't preach that education which you have got for yourself. But preach that which is most suitable for them." Islam is the complete code of life. If we start following the guiding principles of Islam today, the progress and prosperity would definitely be our fortune.
Giving the details of ongoing projects of Hayat Foundation, Dr Afshan Sultan said that Hayat Foundation was making strenuous efforts for eliminating different ailments from the society besides improvement and betterment of the younger generation. She said that we have got many successes in our mission and we have always enjoyed the maximum cooperation of important personalities of the society. She said that every effort was being made for the eradication of drugs, creating awareness about AIDs, elimination of child abuse and making the children useful and effective citizens of society through proper training, with the assistance and cooperation of the important figures of the society.
Dr Samina Khalid said it was an irony of fate that some children suffered from untreatable diseases being unable to get proper treatment and thus they become the prey of quacks. She said that usually "Dais" use unsterlised instruments during the course of delivery and the patient suffers from complicated diseases. We would have to take solid steps to stop this practice, she added.
Dr Nusreen Abu Bakar said that a reasonable gap between deliveries was very necessary for the health of mother and child both. She said that in order to keep the child healthy and roly-poly, the mothers should breast-fed them for at least two years as no milk was better then the mother's milk. She said that mother's milk contained 50 percent quantity of iron while cow-milk and dry milk had very low quality of iron. Some of the mothers were of the view that in result of breast-feeding they would become weak, but it was not true. She said that mother's milk not only keeps babies healthy but also keeps different diseases away from the mothers.
Professor Dr Ashfaque Ahmad Maan said that instead of watching towards Western theories we should strictly abide by the glorious teachings of Islam to achieve success in our lives.
Other speakers mentioned that the population growth rate has been brought down to about 1.8 percent per annum but the total fertility rate at 3.13 per women (2007) reported by the Ministry of Population Welfare is still above the desired level. Dr Qamar, Manager Social Marketing Muhammad Farooq, LHVs of different centres, Traditional Birth Attendants (TBAs) and people belonging to various shades of life attended the seminar.