Islamabad, July 11, 2024 –  The world marks World Population Day on July 11 every year to remind member states and all stakeholders that people have rights and that governments are duty bearers to fulfill these rights.  This year’s theme is Embracing the power of inclusive data towards a resilient and equitable future for all which is very relevant to the situation in Pakistan. While federal and provincial governments are anxious about population growth and the need to calibrate the resources, the governance structure and available tools around the population agenda in the country are still challenged by a lack of demand-driven and user-friendly data that allows for improvement of interventions and assessment of progress in an evidence-based manner. 
 
The UN Secretary General has also made a call for a “data revolution,” which would equip countries with the requisite data systems to track and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. UNFPA is committed to supporting strong data systems, as well as the technology, for the timely availability of quality and reliable age and sex-disaggregated data which is according to the needs of various stakeholders and informs and forms policies and programmes which will convert Pakistan’s population into its greatest resource.
 
This year marks the thirtieth anniversary of the International Conference on Population Development (ICPD) in 1994 in which Pakistan, along with other countries, agreed to put people at the center of development – inspiring significant progress in women’s access to reproductive care, reductions in maternal death, and improvements in gender equality.  Pakistan is the fifth most populous country in the world, but in terms of size and resources, it is a fraction of the countries that precede it as well as those that come after. At the same time, the country’s population may double in 29 years. Approximately 3% of the world’s population resides in Pakistan yet the access to contraceptives, safe birth services, respectful maternity care, and other essential sexual and reproductive health services are unreachable for too many women and girls. The Universal Health Coverage (UHC) remains low at only 21%. Every 50 minutes, a woman dies due to pregnancy complications in Pakistan. In Pakistan, less than 1 in 3 women can make decisions regarding sexual and reproductive health.
 
UNFPA Country Representative Dr. Luay Shabaneh said “Data systems are the building blocks that form a strong foundation for planning and development.  If people or issues are uncounted and unaccounted for, they will remain absent from the mainstream. It is also important to note that data forms the stories we tell in societies and cultures. Data tells us that Pakistan is a nation with a majority of young people which points to the necessity of calibrating resources with the growing needs. A lot of existing data is outdated, or not available at the district level, and many issues relevant to population dynamics are uncovered by the existing data systems.  Prompt access to collected data is still a key challenge that Pakistan needs to address.  Many researchers, research institutes, and graduate students are unable to make analyses because of this lack of access to relevant data. Thus, collection, analysis, and dissemination of gender-responsive, timely, and accessible data is a must for meaningful progress that leaves no one behind.’

For more information
Mariyam Nawaz, Communications Analyst, UNFPA Pakistan | mnawaz@unfpa.org