LAHORE, July 2, 2026 — “The Government of Punjab is fully committed to making population stabilisation a top development priority. This is not a challenge government can address alone—it requires the collective commitment of families, communities, religious leaders, the private sector and development partners. Punjab is ready to lead by translating evidence into action,” said Senior Minister Punjab Ms. Marriyum Aurangzeb while addressing a high-level Learning Event on Population Stabilisation organised by the Population Council with support from the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) under the Delivering Accelerated Family Planning in Pakistan (DAFPAK) programme.
Describing population stabilisation as central to Punjab’s economic growth and human capital development, Ms. Aurangzeb announced that the Government of Punjab is adopting a whole-of-government approach to accelerate fertility decline, expand access to voluntary family planning and scale up evidence-based interventions across the province. She appreciated the Population Council’s decades-long contribution to evidence generation, policy advocacy and family planning innovation, noting that its proven models are now ready for wider implementation. She further announced that the Chief Minister Punjab will personally oversee progress on the population agenda, reinforcing the government’s commitment to integrating population considerations into planning, budgeting and service delivery.
Provincial Minister for Primary and Secondary Healthcare Khawaja Imran Nazir reaffirmed the government’s commitment to strengthening primary healthcare and expanding equitable access to quality family planning services. “Strong political leadership must be matched by stronger health systems, quality services and uninterrupted contraceptive supplies. By working together with development partners and the private sector, we can ensure that every couple has access to informed choice and quality family planning services. The Population Council’s evidence-based innovations provide practical solutions that Punjab is well-positioned to scale up,” he said.
The event brought together senior government officials, parliamentarians, development partners and public health experts to review Punjab’s demographic outlook and identify practical pathways for accelerating fertility decline through voluntary, rights-based family planning.
Delivering the keynote presentation, Dr. Ali Mohammad Mir, Country Director, Population Council Pakistan, highlighted the Council’s partnership with the Government of Punjab under the FCDO-supported DAFPAK programme in designing and testing innovative family planning interventions that have demonstrated measurable results and are ready for provincial scale-up.
He highlighted the PAIDAR initiative, through which more than 805 private-sector family physicians across six districts have provided quality family planning services to over 67,000 clients, demonstrating the potential of public-private partnerships to expand access to modern contraceptive services.
Dr. Mir also showcased the Council’s digital family planning voucher programme, which enabled more than 22,000 low-income women to access voluntary family planning services within just ten months and has already been adopted by the Government of Punjab for expansion. He further highlighted the Analytics for Service Efficiency and Tracking (ASET) platform for strengthening data-driven governance, the Client-Centred Communication (CCC) approach to improving counselling quality and informed choice, and the nationwide Waqfa social and behaviour change campaign promoting healthy birth spacing and informed family planning decisions.
Earlier, Dr. Zeba A. Sathar (T.I.), Distinguished Scholar and Country Advisor, Population Council Pakistan, called for a comprehensive Punjab Population Stabilisation Plan anchored in high-level political leadership, sustained financing, quality family planning services, strategic communication and stronger accountability to accelerate progress towards the province’s population goals.
A panel discussion featuring Dr. Mushtaq Ahmed Sulehria, Director Clinical Governance, Punjab Healthcare Commission; Dr. Saima Zubair, Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist; and Capt. (R) Dr. Usman Ali Khan, Programme Director, Punjab Family Planning Programme, emphasised strengthening private-sector engagement, improving counselling quality, expanding postpartum family planning, promoting male involvement and ensuring uninterrupted contraceptive availability at the last mile.
Members of the Punjab Assembly also expressed strong political support for the agenda. Ms. Zakia Shahnawaz, MPA and former Minister for Population Welfare, commended the Population Council’s longstanding contribution to advancing family planning and population policy in Pakistan, while Ms. Jahan Ara Manzoor Wattoo, Vice Chairperson, Punjab Social Protection Authority, called for integrating family planning with social protection, education and women’s empowerment programmes.
The event concluded with a shared commitment by government leaders, parliamentarians, development partners and technical experts to strengthen collaboration and scale up proven, evidence-based family planning interventions to advance Punjab’s population stabilisation goals and support sustainable, inclusive development.