Third meeting of Provincial Population Task Force (PPTF) was held Peshawar with Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Mahmood Khan in the chair on Tuesday.
Progress made so far on the decisions of Federal Task Force and Provincial Action Plan was reviewed in details in the meeting.
Forum underlined the need to further improve it and decided to constitute a ministerial committee comprising provincial cabinet members which would come up with workable and solid proposals to implement the Action Plan in an effective way.
The meeting was informed that in the light of the decision of Council of Common Interest regarding establishing National and Provincial Task Forces, Provincial Population Task Force was set up and an Implementation Committee as well as provincial task force secretariat was notified. In order to create balance between population and resources federal monitoring and evaluation framework was reviewed at provincial level adding that feed back on that framework had also been provided to federal government. In order to ensure universal access to family planning and reproductive health services, all the public health facilities, BHUs, RHCs, THQs, DHQs and Tertiary Healthcare facilities were mandated to deliver family planning services as part of the essential services package.
The Chief Minister Mehmood Khan directed the authorities concerned to make these family welfare centers functional within the next one and half month.
He urged upon the authorities to ensure judicious utilization of resources under the national action plan.
He termed the role of Ulama as of vital importance for creating awareness amongst the public regarding family planning adding that all the sectors would have to play their respective role to this effect.
