One of the biggest challenge that Pakistan faces is increasing population growth by a lack of family planning. 40% of Pakistan’s land area is underserved when it comes to family planning programmes, a stark contradiction to Pakistan’s 240 million people population, making it the fifth most populated country in the world. In this episode, Nazish Afraz and Amna Akhsheed unpack the importance of women’s agency to choose family size and make decisions based on their financial and physical resources. They identify barriers and the gaps in family planning services, such as accessibility and information, and their importance in combating Pakistan’s rising population alongside stagnating resources.
Nazish Afraz is an Economist who teaches at Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) and does public policy research. She has over two decades of experience in economic consulting in public policy research on regulation, impact analysis, industrial development, and trade.
Amna Akhsheed is General Manager and a Technical Lead at the Punjab Population Innovations Fund (PPIF) with over seventeen years of experience in the field of family planning, including with international development organizations. She is an economics graduate from Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) and a recipient of the Ashton Award from Prince Charles.