QUETTA
The Population Council, with support from UNFPA, convened a meeting of the CSOs Coalition on Population in Islamabad, bringing together leading civil society organizations to strengthen collaboration and accountability for the implementation of the Council of Common Interests (CCI) National Action Plan on Population.
The meeting, titled “Accountability and Collaboration for the CCI National Action Plan”, provided a platform for coalition members to share their progress, highlight best practices at the community level, and propose strategies to strengthen accountability mechanisms of population programmes.
In his welcome remarks, Dr. Ali Mir, Senior Director at the Population Council, emphasized the importance of implementing the CCI-endorsed National Action Plan (NAP), which calls on NGOs and civil society organizations to work closely with provincial Departments of Health (DOHs) and Population Welfare Departments (PWDs) to extend family planning and reproductive health services to underserved and unserved areas.
The CSOs Coalition welcomed the Prime Minister’s decision to establish a high-level committee on population management, led by Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives, Prof. Ahsan Iqbal. The Coalition stressed that the committee should draw on civil society’s grassroots experience to expand access to family planning services.
Members shared innovative approaches already making an impact, including engaging men through husband groups, forging partnerships with the private sector, generating demand through community awareness, and using data to strengthen accountability. While these initiatives are currently limited in scale, the Coalition emphasized that with federal leadership and provincial resource support, they can be scaled up nationwide to achieve transformative results.
Member organizations also welcomed the government’s decision to revise the NFC Award formula, recognizing it as a critical step to remove perverse incentives for provinces to increase their population growth.
Civil society organizations presented their progress on key achievements in family planning, best practices at the community level, and proposed strategies for strengthening accountability mechanisms of population programmes. Member organizations, including Aiming Change for tomorrow (ACT), Shirkat Gah, Strengthening Participatory Organization (SPO), Greenstar Social Marketing (GSM), Rahnuma-FPAP, Jhpiego, HANDS, Rural Support Programmes Network (RSPN), Bedari, Institute for Social and Youth Development (ISYD), Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Pakistan (SOGP), Search for Justice, Today’s Women Organization (TWO), Balochistan Rural Support Programme (BRSP), and Taraqee Foundation, highlighted diverse innovations ranging from women’s empowerment initiatives and digital health tools to tele-health services, husband schools, and grassroots youth mobilization.
In addition, PODA, Marie Stopes Society (MSS), Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund (PPAF), HOPE Foundation, and Hujra Village Organization also took active part in the discussions, contributing valuable perspectives to strengthen collaboration and accountability in the implementation of the CCI National Action Plan.
In his concluding remarks, Dr. Ghulam Farid Khan, Programme Analyst M&E (SRH) at UNFPA, emphasized the need for synergy across parliamentary, media, and civil society platforms, underscoring that evidence-driven advocacy and accountability frameworks are essential to sustain recent policy gains. He encouraged CSOs to build on the momentum created by the abolition of contraceptive taxes and prepare concrete recommendations for future collaboration.
The meeting concluded with a reaffirmation of civil society’s commitment to support the government in achieving the population stabilization targets of the CCI Action Plan, while continuing to innovate, mobilize communities, and ensure that family planning and reproductive health remain at the heart of Pakistan’s development agenda.
