The News
Published Date: Feb 21, 2014
Pakistan still lags far behind other countries in South Asia, NIPS survey
Pakistan still
lags far behind other countries in South Asia in the health sector
despite making some expected developments, said National Institute of
Population Studies Executive Director Abdul Basit Khan.
He
was speaking at the launch of third ‘Pakistan Demographic and Health
Survey (PDHS) 2012-13’ jointly organised by the Sustainable Development
Policy Institute and NIPS here on Thursday.
PDHS 2012-13
conducted by NIPS provides data for monitoring the population and health
situation in Pakistan with an explicit goal of providing reliable
information about maternal and child health and family planning.
Khan
said that provincial governments need to address issues at grassroots
level especially to achieve the Millennium Development Goals. Excessive
population growth, illiteracy rate, financial constraints and food
insecurity, he said, is a serious challenge for Pakistan in ensuring
access to quality health services.
Shakeel Ramay from SDPI
said that the publication was required for empirical policy analysis
and research on population studies in Pakistan.
SDPI and
NIPS also signed an MoU aiming at strengthening institutional networking
and support, enhancing institutional capacities and extending outreach.