Federal Population Welfare Minister Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan has said that a strategy had been evolved for reducing the population graph and setting up of Safe Mother Homes in the country. Safe Mother Homes (SMH) have been established in Larkana and Sialkot at a cost of Rs 33 million as pilot project and after assessing the success of these safe mother homes the programme would be replicated at district level in the country she said.
Addressing inaugural ceremony held on Sunday Dr Firdous Awan said that basically these SMH (Safe Mother Homes) would serve the purpose of maternity homes where the facilities of delivery and family planning would be available.
She said the concept of setting these centres was to provide timely medical facilities to the women during pregnancy for bringing down the mother and child mortality rate. This revolutionary programme has been undertaken according to vision of Shaheed Benazir Bhutto and under the programme free facility of delivery would be available for the rural women folk she added.
The minister observed that due to lack of education and health facilities mother and child mortality rate was high in rural areas of the country, which is alarming adding that tendency of fast birth rate was posing serious threats not only to national economy but also generating unemployment as well as creating various social problems in the in the society.
She said rapid increase in population was generating problems like unemployment, shortage of food, environmental problems and energy crisis and hindering socio-economic development of the country. The Population Minister said under the programme strenuous efforts were being made for creating awareness among the masses about the negative impact of increasing population.
Public-Private Sector Organisations were rendering laudable services in creating awareness among the industrial workers to adopt small family norms and bridging the gap between knowledge and practice through advocacy and sensitisation seminars and for changing the behaviours of labour force towards responsible partner hood she said.
The minister on this occasion underscored the need of creating awareness among the masses about the importance of small size family and interval in birth for the robustness of mother and child adding that due inadequate pause in birth the mother and child were facing serious health problem. Earlier, Dr Firdous Awan inaugurated the Safe Mother Home.