ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday released a special message to mark the World Population Day and said this day being observed worldwide, draws “our attention to the vast disparity between the requirements of increasing population and availability of resources”.
He said, “The time calls for affirmative policy actions to empower our communities and the people. The population remains at the heart of effective national planning. For developing countries, particularly, managing population growth is key to socio-economic development. No country, howsoever resourceful, can deal with the population explosion. Thus, drawing a balance between population and resources is fundamental to fulfilling the needs of teeming millions.”
This year’s theme, “Unleashing the power of gender equality,” is a powerful reminder of the imperative to empower women, girls, and men and end discrimination. Their mainstreaming in national life will automatically help achieve development goals and increase human productivity.
Gender equality is not just a human rights issue but also an economic requirement. The idea of balanced development is grounded in the empowerment of communities, who are enabled to not only fulfill their aspirations of a meaningful life but also become a shareholder in the development process of their societies.
Thanks to various factors such as climate change, geostrategic upheavals, and dysfunction of markets, the countries are finding it hard to stay on course for achieving Millennium Development Goals. Add to this mix the issue of gender inequality and discrimination, and humanity gets farther from SDGs.
As we observe World Population Day today, I urge all stakeholders to invest in empowering communities by building their capacity by providing better health and educational facilities and an enabling environment to unlock their potential.
For me, the concept of development is not abstract but is rooted in the welfare of the people. Hence all the more reason to invest in effective communication between policymakers and people for better outcomes. We need to demonstrate greater political will to deal with the challenge. —APP
