Health, Population ministries to work together for quality life
By Khalid Amin

ISLAMABAD—Ministries of Population Welfare and Health has worked out a comprehensive strategy to jointly work for ensuring quality life for the masses.
In this regard, the two ministries will establish a ‘National Core Group”, to work out solutions for existing programmatic constraints being faced by the ministries by engaging all stakeholders, especially the Provincial Health and Population Welfare Departments.
A source in the ministry of Population Welfare said the Group representing all stakeholders, will meet on quarterly basis and will be co-chaired by the Federal Minister of health and Population Welfare.
The “National Core Group” would inform the Cabinet Committee on social sectors periodically of common progress achieved through functional coordination, the source added.
Moreover, the source added, the Group, will form “Technical Task Force” consisting of representatives of the two Ministries with membership of development partners to prepare working papers for resolution of joint technical issues.
As per the strategy, the lady health workers program, a key intervention impacting the household level in the rural areas would set up a departmental coordination committee to effectively extend the project’s blessings at grass roots level, the source added.
The source said in consensus with the provincial governments, it would be ensured that essential family planning services are available at every public sector.
Within the Ministry of Health, the National Health Policy Unit will be assigned the responsibility to coordinate with the provinces on matters relating to Population Welfare Services provided through provincial health infrastructure, the source revealed.
The source said the joint venture would go a long way to achieve the MDGs and ICPD goals in partnership with development partners - international and bilateral,and civil society organizations and non-government bodies.
The source said the ministry’s projects which were already underway were yielding concrete results and the decline in population growth rate to 1.86 per cent was a testament to the fact.