LAHORE: The World Bank’s (WB) Board of Executive Directors Thursday approved 100 million dollars for the Punjab Family Planning Programme (PFPP) to increase the utilisation of family planning services in the province.
WB said in a statament that the programme would provide timely access to standard and free family planning services. It would also institutionalise the care quality in the family planning services delivery system.
The programme would also support public information and advocacy drives to help more families are made aware of the family planning benefits.
World Bank Country Director for Pakistan Najy Benhassine said that the programme aimed to achieve easy access to reproductive healthcare and to increase the usage of family planning methods in the province to 60 per cent by 2030.
He said that the programme is critical for the development of Pakistan.
Benhassine futher said that excessive growth ratesof the population hampers development, affects the accumulation of human capital, and contributes to high poverty rates.
Programme to enhance innovations in Punjab
The program would enhance innovations like voucher schemes, clinical franchising, and family planning counseling through community leaders, which have been piloted in various districts of the province and have wutnessed improvements in family planning results.
The programme would reach places and communities that have limited or no access to family planning services, through a vast extensive network of lady health workers (LHWs), family welfare workers (FWWs), and community health workers (CHWs) that are linked to family health clinics, health facilities, and family welfare centers.
It would also improve the family planning service providers’ interpersonal communication skills.
