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Fertility Decline in Pakistan
1980–2006
A Case Study
The World Bank
May 2010
Fertility Decline in Pakistan
1980–2006
A Case Study
May 2010
iii
Contents
Acknowledgments
vi
Abbreviations
vii
Executive Summary
viii
Introduction
1
Political, Economic, and Social Progress Has Been Uneven
2
Fertility Transition and Current Fertility Status — Good but
Inconsistent Progress
4
Four Proximate Determinants of Fertility in Pakistan — Differing
Effects on Fertility
6
Marriage and Sexual Union
Use of Contraceptives
Induced Abortions
Duration of Breastfeeding
Socio-Economic and Cultural Factors Influencing Fertility in Pakistan
Child Mortality and Desired Family Size and Composition
Female Education
Women’s Labor for Participation and Autonomy
Religion and Religious Leadership
Role of Men and Spousal Communication
6
7
10
11
12
12
13
15
16
16
Government Population Policy and the Family Planning Service Provision —
An Early but Slow Start
18
Institutional Structure of the Family Planning Service Provision System
The Government Sector Service Delivery System for Family Planning
Role of the Private Sector and Nongovernmental Organizations
Status of the Family Planning Services
Government Financing of Population Programs
19
20
20
21
22
iv
Pakistan’s Innovative Family Planning Programs
Innovations in Government Family Planning Programs
Innovations in NGO and Private Sector Programs Supported by Donors
Implications
24
24
25
29
Annexes
Annex 1. Evaluation of the Lady Health Worker Program
Annex 2. Country-at-a-Glance: Pakistan
30
32
References
34
Endnotes
39
Figures
Figure 1. Map of Pakistan
Figure 2. Total Fertility Rate in Pakistan, 1984–2000
Figure 3. Total Fertility Rate and Contraceptive Prevalence Rate in
Pakistan, 1984–2005
Figure 4. Use of Modern Contraceptive Methods in Pakistan, 1990–91
and 2006–07
Figure 5. Infant Mortality Rate in South Asian Countries, 1980–2005
(per 1,000 Live Births)
Figure 6. Government Spending (Federal and Provincial) on Population
and Health, 1987–2006 (Millions of Rupees)
x
5
8
9
13
23
Tables
Table 1. Socioeconomic Indicators in South Asian Countries,
Circa 2005
Table 2. Progress Toward Health-Related Millennium Development
Goal Targets in Pakistan
Table 3. Changes in Singulate Mean Age at Marriage in Pakistan,
Selected Years, 1951–2003
Table 4. Contraceptive Methods Used by Currently Married Women
Ages 15–49 by Background Characteristics
Table 5. Literacy Rates in Pakistan by Gender, Locale, and Province
(Ages 10 and Older), 1981–2007
Fertility Decline in Pakistan, 1980–2006 | A Case Study
3
3
7
9
14
v
Table 6. Government Expenditure on Population and Health and
Average Annual Growth, 1990/91–2005/06 (percent)
Table 7. Trend in Total Fertility Rate and Contraceptive Prevalence
Rate During 1990s
23
28
Boxes
Box 1.
Box 2.
Role of International Donors
World Bank Assistance to the Population Sector in Pakistan
26
27
vi
Acknowledgments
T
his report was prepared by Naoko Ohno
of the Health, Nutrition and Population unit of the South Asia region at
the World Bank (SASHN), Sadia Chowdhury of the Health, Nutrition, and Population unit of the Human Development
Network (HDNHE), Inaam Haq (SASHN),
and Mehtab S Karim, previously at Aga Khan
University, Karachi and presently at School of
Public Policy, George Mason University.
he Population Council, Pakistan is gratefully acknowledged for providing pertinent
background articles. he authors are grateful
to the World Bank Library Research Services
for assisting with the literature search. Mukesh
Chawla, Sector Manager (HDNHE), and Julian Schweitzer, Sector Director (HDNHE),
provided overall guidance and support.
hanks to Victoriano Arias (HDNHE) for
providing administrative support.
his case study was part of a larger World
Bank Economic and Sector Work entitled Addressing the Neglected MDG: World Bank Review of Population and High Fertility with an
external advisory group comprising: Stan Bernstein (United Nations Population Fund), John
Bongaarts (Population Council), John Casterline (Ohio State University), Barbara Crane
(IPAS), Adrienne Germain (International
Women’s Health Coalition), Jean Pierre Guengant (L’Institut de recherché pour le développement), Jose Guzman (United Nations
Population Fund), Karen Hardee (Population
Action International), Daniel Kraushaar (Bill
and Melinda Gates Foundation), Gilda Sedgh
(Guttmacher Institute), Amy Tsui (Johns Hopkins University, Bloomberg School of Public
Health), and Wasim Zaman (International
Council on Management of Population Programmes). he World Bank advisory group
comprised: Martha Ainsworth (IEGWB), Peter
Berman (HDNHE), Eduard Bos (HDNHE),
Rodolfo Bulatao (HDNHE), Hugo Diaz
Etchevere (HDNVP), Rama Lakshminarayanan (HDNHE), John May (AFTHE), Elizabeth Lule (AFTQK), and homas Merrick
(WBIHS).
Bruce Ross-Larson, Communications Development Incorporated, edited the draft report
and Samuel Mills (HDNHE) reviewed the inal
draft. he authors would like to thank the government of the Netherlands, which provided
inancial support through the World BankNetherlands Partnership Program (BNPP).
Correspondence Details:
Æ Sadia Chowdhury (HDNHE), World
Bank, Mail Stop G7–701, 1818 H Street
N.W., Washington, DC 20433, USA, Tel:
202-458-1984, email: schowdhury3@
worldbank.org
Æ his report is available on the following
website:
http://www.worldbank.org/hnppublications.
Fertility Decline in Pakistan, 1980–2006 | A Case Study
vii
Abbreviations
AFTHE
AFTQK
GNI
GSMP
HDNHE
HDNVP
IEGWB
Health, Nutrition, and
Population unit of the Africa
region
Africa Operational Quality and
Knowledge Services
Gross national income
Greenstar Social Marketing
Pakistan
Human Development
Network, Health,Nutrition,
and Population unit
Oice of the Senior Vice
President and Head of Human
Development Network
Independent Evaluation
Group, World Bank
IUD
KfW
KSM
LHWP
MDG
NWFP
PAVHNA
SAP
SAPP
SMP
VBFPW
WBIHS
Intrauterine device
German development bank
Key Social Marketing
Lady Health Worker Program
Millennium Development Goal
North West Frontier Province
Pakistan Voluntary Health and
Nutrition Association
Social Action Program
Social Action Program Project
Social Marketing Pakistan
Village-Based Family Planning
Worker scheme
World Bank Institute Health
Systems
viii
Executive Summary
P
akistan is the world’s sixth most populous country and has the second largest
Muslim population after Indonesia.
Since independence in 1947, Pakistan’s turbulent political situation has frequently disrupted government development policies.
Health status has improved since 1990, but
the pace of improvement has been slow and
performance lags behind other South Asian
countries. Large gender disparities persist in
education and health status, as well as in access to employment, assets, and justice.
Unlike in the other four case study countries (Algeria, Botswana, Iran, and Nicaragua),
the history of fertility reduction in Pakistan
has not been a story of unbroken successes but
rather one of incomplete responses and shortcomings mingled with successes that ofer lessons for other high-fertility countries. he
total fertility rate in Pakistan stood at over
an estimated 6.5 from the 1960s to the late
1980s, when the fertility rate started to decline
rapidly until 2000, when the decline seems to
have stalled. Estimates of the current total fertility rate vary from 3.8 to 4.1, roughly a 40
percent decline since the 1980s. Contraceptive
prevalence also rose, from 12 percent in 1990
to 30 percent in 2006, but since then, has remained stagnant.
Several factors appear to have contributed
to the decline in fertility in Pakistan. Among
the proximate determinants are the proportion of women married (later age at marriage)
and contraceptive use, with induced abortions
perhaps also contributing. Key sociocultural
contributors include smaller desired family
size, greater female education and labor force
participation, and better spousal communication, with obstacles to fertility decline being
opposition to family planning by some religious leaders, husbands, and their mothers;
women’s low social status; and cultural prohibitions, such as, on women’s travel alone outside the home.
Government and private sector family
planning programs also contributed to the decline. Two innovative population programs
begun in the 1990s are especially noteworthy.
Large-scale community-based programs
(the Village-Based Family Planning Worker
scheme and the Lady Health Worker Program) brought family planning services to
women’s doorsteps as it became clear that
geographic and socio-cultural constraints on
women were resulting in underuse of services
provided in ixed facilities. And private sector
involvement in family planning began in the
1980s with the Greenstar Network of social
marketing of contraceptives, which now provides 30 percent of modern contraceptives
used in Pakistan, making it the second largest
family planning service provider after the government.
During the 1990s, family planning services improved and contraceptive prevalence
rates more than doubled, likely contributing
Fertility Decline in Pakistan, 1980–2006 | A Case Study
ix
to the decline in the total fertility rate over
that period. However, the programs have considerable room for improvement, and Pakistan
has made little progress in reducing socio-cultural constraints to family planning related to
religion, gender, and locale, which likely have
reduced the efectiveness of population programs. he government needs to address these
underlying constraints and program shortcomings to meet the high level of unmet demand for contraceptives if it is to accelerate
and sustain fertility reduction.
x
Figure 1 | Map of Pakistan
Source: World Bank Map Design Unit.
Fertility Decline in Pakistan, 1980–2006 | A Case Study
1
Introduction
P
akistan was selected as a case study because of its estimated 40 percent decline
in fertility between 1980 and 2006. Pakistan’s high fertility rate began to decline gradually after the late 1980s and has continued to
fall since then, though progress has been uneven and there have been signs of a slowdown
in recent years. Unlike the other four case
study countries (Algeria, Botswana, Iran, and
Nicaragua), the history of fertility reduction in
Pakistan has not been an overwhelming success story but rather a story of challenges, partial responses, and shortcomings that ofer
abundant lessons for other high-fertility countries as well as planners in Pakistan.
2
Political, Economic, and Social
Progress Has Been Uneven
P
akistan is the world’s sixth most populous country (its 2009 population is estimated as 171 million by Ministry of
Population Welfare, Government of Pakistan,
and 181 million by the United Nations Population, Division), with a gross national income (GNI) per capita of US$800 in 2006.1
Some 97 percent of the population is Muslim.
Pakistan is a federation of four provinces—
Balochistan (the largest, but with just 5 percent of the population), North West Frontier
Province (NWFP, with 13 percent), Punjab
(with 56 percent), and Sindh (23 percent)—
and four territories—Islamabad Capital Territory, federally administrated tribal areas,
Azad Jammu and Kashmir, and federally administered Northern Areas. Azad Jammu and
Kashmir is semiautonomous but indirectly
administered by the government of Pakistan
as separate political entity while, federally administered Northern Areas, has recently been
given the status of a province.
Since independence in 1947, Pakistan
has had a turbulent political history, with repeated coups impeding the maturation of political institutions and democracy, interrupting
development eforts, and delaying social
development and the emergence of a market
economy.
After rapid economic growth in the 1970s
to 1980s that sharply reduced poverty, impru-
dent policies and declining international support because of Pakistan’s nuclear program
led to an economic slowdown in the 1990s.
Average annual growth stagnated at around
4 percent over the 1990s, contributing to a
rapid increase in poverty. Falling tax revenues limited the government’s ability to provide critical social services. Fiscal deicits were
high throughout most of the 1990s, adding to
rising public sector indebtedness. Poverty gaps
across regions and provinces persisted or widened. During the irst ive years of 2000, wideranging economic reforms and a shifting of the
international political environment resulted in
a stronger economic outlook and accelerated
growth, especially in manufacturing and inancial services. However, the current global economic crisis, with rising food and oil prices,
has slowed economic growth and threatens to
reverse the declining trend in poverty.
Human development has long been neglected in Pakistan. While health status has
improved since the 1990s, the rate of improvement has been slow, and performance
lags behind South Asian countries (table 1).
Gender disparities persist in education and
health outcomes as well as in employment, assets, and justice because of unequal access to
opportunities and services.
As a result, Pakistan has made only slow
progress toward the Millennium Development
Fertility Decline in Pakistan, 1980–2006 | A Case Study
3
Table 1 | Socioeconomic Indicators in South Asian Countries, Circa 2005
Country
GNI per capita
(US$)
Life expectancy
at birth, female
(years)
Under-five
mortality rate
(per 1,000 live
births)
Births attended
by skilled staff
(percentage of
births)
Total fertility
rate
(per woman)
Pakistan
860
66
90
39
4.0
Bangladesh
470
65
60
18
2.9
India
950
66
72
47
2.7
Nepal
350
64
55
19
3.1
1540
76
20
98
1.9
Sri Lanka
Source: World Bank 2006, 2007.
Goal targets, although there has been steady
improvement in recent years. While under-ive
and infant mortality rates have fallen, Pakistan, like most South Asian countries, made
little progress in reversing child malnutrition
in the 1990s. Improvement in the maternal
mortality ratio has also been slow. However,
health service indicators, such as immuniza-
Table 2
tion coverage and births attended by skilled
staf, have improved considerably. he government has committed to achieving the Millennium Development Goal targets, but to
accelerate progress to reach the targets, substantial additional resources and efort will be
required.
Toward Health-Related Millennium Development Goal Targets
| Progress
in Pakistan
Target and indicator
1990 or
1991
2005 or
2006
Reduce by two-thirds, between 1990 and 2015, the under-five mortality rate
Under-five mortality rate (per 1,000 live births)
130
97
Infant mortality rate
100
78
50
80
340
320
19
31
Percent of children 12–23 months immunized against measles
Reduce by three-quarters, between 1990 and 2015, the maternal mortality ratio
Maternal mortality ratio (per 100,000 live births)
Percent of births attended by skilled health staff
Source: United Nations Millennium Development Goals Indicators database (http://mdgs.un.org/unsd/mdg/Data.aspx) March
25, 2009.
4
Fertility Transition and Current
Fertility Status — Good but
Inconsistent Progress
I
n the late 1980s, the fertility rate began to
decline in Pakistan after a long period of
sustained high fertility, dropping by 40 percent over the past two decades. he history of
population policies and outcomes in Pakistan
is not one of unqualiied success, however, but
rather a series of challenges, advances, and setbacks. here are abundant lessons for high-fertility countries in Pakistan’s experience. his
case study highlights likely factors that have
inluenced fertility change in Pakistan.
he total fertility rate was more than 6
children per woman until the 1980s.2 Survey
estimates show the rate falling below 6 children for the irst time during the 1990s and
declining consistently until the 2000s.3 he
latest Pakistan Demographic and Health
Survey, for 2006−07, shows a total fertility
rate of 4.1 children in 2004−06, and the rate
appears to have stalled more recently. A decline of 1.8 children per woman per decade,
based on the estimates from the Pakistan Demographic Survey, is remarkably fast compared with the decline of 1.5 for East and
Southeast Asian countries.4
Surveys provide varying estimates of the
fertility rate.5 A 2003 analysis of survey data
suggests that surveys based on birth histories, such as the Pakistan Demographic and
Health Survey 1990−91 and the 1997 Pakistan Fertility Family Planning Survey, underestimated the total fertility rate.6 Many
demographers disputed the fertility rate of
5.5 estimated by the Pakistan Demographic
and Health Survey 1990−91, especially in
light of the low 12 percent contraceptive
prevalence rate at the time.
Demographers tend to agree on the late
1980s as the onset of the fertility decline.
Some argue that it began between 1987 and
1988 and lasted until at least 2000, based
on Pakistan Demographic Survey data.7 his
position is supported by estimates from the
1998 Census and the 2000−01 Pakistan Reproductive Health and Family Planning
Survey. Another study argued that the onset
was probably in the early 1990s or in the late
1980s, noting that data from the 1990s exhibit a clear decline in fertility levels and that
estimates imply a modest decline of around
one birth per woman between 1980s and the
1990s.8 he Pakistan Demographic Survey
data show a decline after the late 1980s
(igure 2).
Fertility Decline in Pakistan, 1980–2006 | A Case Study
5
Figure 2 | Total Fertility Rate in Pakistan, 1984–2000
% of children per woman
8
7
7
6.9
6.9
6.9
6.5
6.4
6.2
6
6
5.8
5.7
5.6
5.6
5.5
5
5
4.8
4.5
4.3
4.1
4
3.9
3.8
3
2
1
Year
Source: For 1984−2000, Pakistan Demographic Survey from Feeney and Alam 2003a; for 2001, 2003, and 2005, Pakistan
Demographic Survey.
2005
2003
2001
2000
1999
1998
1997
1996
1995
1994
1993
1992
1991
1990
1989
1988
1987
1986
1985
1984
0
6
Four Proximate Determinants of
Fertility in Pakistan — Differing
Effects on Fertility
T
his section reviews the literature on four
proximate determinants of fertility in
Pakistan: proportion of women married; contraceptive prevalence rate; prevalence
of induced abortion; and duration of postpartum infecundability as measured by length
of exclusive breastfeeding.9 According to two
studies in 1994, of these four factors, the contraceptive prevalence rate had the weakest effect on fertility reduction and postpartum
infecundability the strongest.10 he efect of
induced abortion was not fully considered,
however, because of a dearth of evidence on
abortions, which are illegal in Pakistan. Underestimating the efect of abortions likely
distorted the analysis of Pakistan’s fertility reduction, as the prevalence of induced abortion
appears to be notably high (see the section on
induced abortion). Examination of other recent evidence suggests that age at marriage,
contraceptive prevalence, and induced abortion contributed most to fertility reduction,
whereas postpartum infecundability was the
least inluential in case of Pakistan.
Marriage and Sexual Union
With contraceptive prevalence at a persistently low rate in Pakistan, studies suggest
that the rise in the age at marriage for women
and proportion of women never married at
age 15–19 likely played a key role in fertility
decline.11 One research described “dramatic”
changes in marriage patterns. 12 he singulate mean age at marriage13 for women rose
from 20.2 in 1981 to 22.3 in 2003, and the
proportion of young women ages 15−19 who
were never married rose from 71 percent to
87 percent (table 3). However, the data suggest that the largest rise in the female singulate mean age at marriage (a 3-year increase)
and percentage of women never married ages
15–19 (more than 40 percent increase) occurred between 1961 and 1972, without triggering any notable decline in the total fertility
rate in the time period.
he median age at irst birth for women
ages 25−49 also shows a gradual rise, from
20.3 in 1990−91 to 21.8 years in 2006−07.14
While the overall increase is small, the largest
increase occurred among women in the most
fertile age group of 25−29 years (from age
21.0 in 1990−91 to age 22.7 in 2006−07).
Women’s education and family’s wealth levels
are linked to the onset of childbearing; women
in higher education or higher wealth groups
delay childbearing for about 2 years.
he median birth interval in Pakistan
is 28.8 months, which shows a decline of
Fertility Decline in Pakistan, 1980–2006 | A Case Study
7
Table 3
in Singulate Mean Age at Marriage in Pakistan, Selected Years,
| Changes
1951–2003
Singulate mean age at marriage (years)a
Year
Male
Female
Percentage of women
never married, ages 15–19
1951
22.3
16.9
27.1
1961
23.3
16.7
25.4
1972
25.7
19.7
65.6
1981
25.1
20.2
70.6
1998
25.8
21.7
79.4
2003
26.4
22.3
86.6
Source: Sathar 2007, based on data from Pakistan Demographic Survey 2003.
a. A measure comparing the age-specific proportions of women who have never been married with the age-specific proportions of those who have ever been married to calculate the mean age at which the transition between the two occurs. It is
used to estimate mean age at marriage in countries where marriage records are absent or deficient.
0.3 month from 1990–91.15 It is considerably shorter than in other South Asian countries such as India (31 months), Nepal (34
months), Bangladesh (39 months), and Sri
Lanka (52 months).16 he median birth interval is shorter if the previous child was a
girl (28.0 months) than if it was a boy (29.6
months), implying a persistent preference
for sons. Birth intervals are much shorter
if the previous child died (21.9 months)
than if it survived (29.6 months). Birth intervals are shortest for women ages 15−19
(20.9 months). Women with the highest education level have a slightly shorter interval
(28.0 months) than uneducated women (28.7
months); there is little diference in the interval length for rural (28.9 months) and
urban areas (28.7 months). In conclusion,
birth intervals have changed little over time
and therefore have likely not contributed directly to the fertility decline.
Use of Contraceptives
Higher contraceptive prevalence rates among
women are an important contributor to the
fertility rate decline. In Pakistan, when the
total fertility rate began to decline in the early
1990s, the contraceptive prevalence rate,
though low, was moving upward (igure 3).
Some researchers have argued that the rising
contraceptive prevalence rate among married
couples was the main reason for the fertility
rate decline in the 1990s.17
Several studies have examined the factors inluencing the use of contraceptives in
Pakistan. Knowledge of contraceptives among
ever and currently married women is almost universal (96 percent), with knowledge
greater for modern methods than for traditional methods.18 Yet contraceptive use has remained low. Further reducing the fertility rate
in Pakistan requires understanding why the
high level of knowledge about family planning does not lead to greater use of family
planning.
Contraceptive prevalence rates among
currently married women ages 15−49 hardly
changed until 1990, when the rate began to
rise. From a very low rate of 12 percent in
1990−91, contraceptive prevalence more than
8
Fertility Rate and Contraceptive Prevalence Rate in Pakistan,
| Total
1984–2005
8
35
7
30
6
25
5
20
4
15
3
10
2
5
1
0
1984
1990
1994
1996
2000
2003
2005
Contraceptive prevalence (%)
TFR per woman
Figure 3
0
Year
TFR
CPR
Note: Total fertility rate is calculated based on interviews with women ages 15−49; the contraceptive prevalence rate is based
on currently married women in the same age group.
Source: Total fertility rate data from Feeney and Alam 2003a, based on data from Pakistan Demographic Surveys, and Pakistan Demographic Survey 2003 and 2005; contraceptive prevalence rate data from Pakistan Demographic and Health Survey
2006−07 (National Institute of Population Studies and Macro International Inc. 2008).
doubled by 2006–07 to 30 percent.19 here is
some indication of a plateau in recent years.
he most widely used method is female sterilization, followed by condoms, withdrawal, and
the rhythm method. As expected, contraceptive prevalence increases with a woman’s education level, wealth, and urban residence (table
4). Among currently married women, contraceptive prevalence is highest in Punjab (33 percent) and lowest in Balochistan (14 percent).
More than half of currently married women
ages 15–49 either do not want another child
in the future or are sterilized. Demand for limiting childbearing also has substantially risen
from 40 percent in 1990–91 to 52 percent in
2006–07.20 Yet the rate of increase in contraceptive use has remained slow.
About three-quarters of current users employ modern methods, a proportion unchanged
since 1990. Among modern methods, the most
common is female sterilization, followed by
condoms, intrauterine device (IUD)/injectables, and oral contraceptives, especially among
women in rural areas, those in the poorest 20
percent of the population, and those with no
education.21 For women in urban areas, in the
richest 20 percent, or with a higher education, condoms are the most commonly used
method. By province, the most commonly used
modern methods are female sterilization and
condoms in Punjab and Sindh, condoms and
withdrawal in NWFP, and oral contraceptives
and female sterilization in Balochistan. Women
opt for sterilization only after they have had
many children (often ive or more), so female
sterilization may not be a suitable option for
lowering the fertility rate.
Use of contraceptives increased in both
rural and urban areas from 1990−91 to
2006−07 (igure 4).22 In urban areas, there was
Fertility Decline in Pakistan, 1980–2006 | A Case Study
9
Table 4
Methods Used by Currently Married Women Ages 15–49
| Contraceptive
by Background Characteristics
Characteristic
Any method
Any modern method
Urban
41.1
29.9
Rural
23.9
17.7
14.4
13.4
Residence
Province
Balochistan
NWFP
24.9
18.7
Punjab
33.2
23.1
Sindh
26.7
22.0
None
25.3
18.9
Higher
42.6
31.4
Poorest 20 percent
15.6
12.4
Richest 20 percent
43.4
31.6
29.6
21.7
Education
Wealth
Total
Source: Pakistan Demographic and Health Survey 2006−07 (National Institute of Population Studies and Macro International
Inc. 2008).
Figure 4 | Use of Modern Contraceptive Methods in Pakistan, 1990–91 and 2006–07
50
45
40
Percent
35
30
25
20
15
10
Any
method
Any modern
method
Female
sterilization
Pill
Condom
2006–07
1990–91
2006–07
1990–91
2006–07
1990–91
2006–07
1990–91
2006–07
1990–91
2006–07
0
1990–91
5
IUD
Type of contraceptive methods
Major cities
Total urban
Rural
Source: Pakistan Demographic and Health Survey 2006−07 (National Institute of Population Studies and Macro International
Inc. 2008).
10
a slight increase in female sterilization, a large
increase in oral contraceptive and condom
use, and no major change in the use of the
IUD. he increase in oral contraceptive and
condom use could relect the impact of social
marketing projects in urban areas (see section
on innovations in family planning programs).
In rural areas, there was a large increase in acceptance of modern methods, especially female sterilization, oral contraceptive, and
condom use.
Despite the rise in contraceptive use since
the 1990s, Pakistan faces a high level of unmet
need—25 percent among currently married
women.23 hat is comparable to rates in SubSahara African countries and, in Asia, to rates
in Nepal (24.6 percent) and Cambodia (25.1
percent).24 In India, the unmet need is lower,
at 13 percent.25 Use of contraceptives by
women is afected by such factors as husband’s
approval, religious belief, fear of side efects,
lack of access to services, poor communication
between spouses, mother-in-law’s inluence,
and cost (see section on socioeconomic and
cultural factors),26 all factors that could be addressed with the proper strategies.
Induced Abortions
Termination of pregnancy is illegal in Pakistan, except to save the mother’s life. However, considering the low contraceptive
prevalence rate, the high unmet contraceptive need, and the strong desire to limit childbearing, it can be assumed that many women
in Pakistan are at risk of an unwanted pregnancy and induced abortion. Although it is
diicult to get an accurate igure because induced abortions are illegal, 1.5 percent of
ever-married women are estimated to have
experienced induced abortions.27 he actual
rate could be even higher, as the reported level
of miscarriage is high at 8.1 percent, which
might have included some induced abortions.
Estimates in the published literature vary.
One nationwide study, using the medium estimate of 35 percent of late term spontaneous
abortions treated in a hospital estimates that
890,000 induced abortions are performed annually in Pakistan for a national annual induced abortion rate of 29 per 1,000 women
ages 15–49 (2.9 percent).28 Another study estimated the abortion rate at 4.1 percent from
a sample of 1,214 women in low-income
squatter settlements of Karachi.29 Unplanned
and mistimed pregnancies due to inefective use of contraceptives and high unmet
need are the main reasons women reported
choosing induced abortion.
he aforementioned nationwide study estimated an abortion ratio of 14 per 100 pregnancies, meaning that a surprisingly high one
in seven pregnancies is terminated by induced
abortion in Pakistan.30 his inding implies
that induced abortions might have greatly inluenced fertility levels. he study found a
relationship between the level of contraceptive use and the level of abortions, with estimated abortion rates higher in provinces with
lower contraceptive prevalence rates (NWFP
and Balochistan). hough the study used the
medium-level estimate, the rates may be underestimated because they are based on estimated post-abortion hospitalizations, and the
survey did not include private sector facilities
or public primary health care centers.
Poverty and already having the desired
number of children are the most common reasons reported by women seeking abortions.
In one study, 20 percent of respondents reported contraceptive failure (mostly tradi-
Fertility Decline in Pakistan, 1980–2006 | A Case Study
11
tional methods) as the main reason. hese
indings suggest that women face diiculty obtaining reliable family planning methods and
use abortion as a back-up method to terminate unintended pregnancies.31
One study in six tertiary hospitals in
Karachi, Lahore, and Peshawar found that
more than 90 percent of staf in the departments of obstetrics and gynecology had encountered abortion cases one month prior to
the survey.32 More than half were due to unwanted pregnancy and a quarter to contraceptive failure. Most health care providers
(87 percent) looked unfavorably on induced
abortion, and their religious beliefs were signiicantly associated with the practices. Physicians believed that sharp curettage was more
common, though vacuum aspiration is safer
and less expensive. Contraceptive counseling
services following abortion are often missing.
hus, patients seeking abortion-related services may receive insuicient or inappropriate
treatment from health professionals. Often,
women who decide not to go to government
hospitals in order to avoid such treatment seek
unsafe abortions from unskilled abortionists
and traditional healers.
Duration of Breastfeeding
Breastfeeding likely has had little if any impact
on fertility reduction in Pakistan. Following
childbirth, the median duration of amenorrhea is 3.9 months, abstinence 2.1 months,
and women’s insusceptibility an estimated 4.8
months.33 he median duration of exclusive
breastfeeding is only 3.2 months, and less than
a quarter of newborns below age six months
are exclusively breastfed. Postpartum abstinence extends to 40 days after birth according
to the Muslim tradition. hus the major determinant of the length of insusceptibility
is likely amenorrhea. Amenorrhea is longer
among women in rural areas (5.1 months)
than urban areas (4.1 months), among poor
women (4.4 months) than rich (2.8 months),
and among women with no education (4.4
months) than women with a secondary education (2.4 months).
12
Socio-Economic and Cultural Factors
Influencing Fertility in Pakistan
M
any socioeconomic and cultural factors
inluence fertility in Pakistan, particularly child mortality, female education,
women’s labor market participation, religion,
and the inluence of husbands and spousal
communication.
Child Mortality and Desired Family
Size and Composition
Pakistan’s infant mortality rate and underive mortality rate have gradually declined,
but improvement has been slow compared
with that in neighboring South Asian countries and threatens achievement of the Millennium Development Goal targets in child
health. Bangladesh and Nepal, which had a
much higher infant mortality rate than Pakistan in 1980, have made remarkable progress,
lowering infant mortality rates to 40 percent
of their 1980 levels (igure 5). India, whose
infant mortality rate in 1980 was similar to
Pakistan’s, has also made steady progress, and
its rate today is considerably lower than Pakistan’s. While reduced child mortality is known
to have an impact on declining fertility, it is
unclear to what extent this slow change in
child mortality has afected desired fertility in
Pakistan.
Other data, though difering slightly
from those in igure 4, also show a gradual
decline in the infant mortality rate from 91
to 78 per 1,000 live births and in the underive mortality rate from 117 to 94 per 1,000
live births.34 More than half the reported
deaths in children under ive occur during
the neonatal period. Mother’s education and
wealth, birth intervals, and residence are
highly correlated with child mortality. One
study found that mother’s education, breastfeeding, place of delivery, and prenatal care
were the most important factors afecting
child mortality risk.35
A desire to limit additional children is
strongly associated with the number of a
woman’s living children, reaching 55 percent
among women with three children and 88
percent among those with six or more. he
desire to limit childbearing has been rising in
Pakistan, from 40 percent of currently married women in 1990−91 to 52 percent in
2006−07.36 Women with higher education, in
the wealthiest 20 percent, and living in urban
areas have the lowest desire for additional
children.
he mean ideal number of children
is 4.1 for ever-married and currently married women, a number unchanged since
1990−91.37 he mean ideal number of children is lowest in Punjab (3.8) and highest in
NWFP (5.9). Many women have more children than they would prefer; 54 percent of
women with six or more children have ex-
Fertility Decline in Pakistan, 1980–2006 | A Case Study
13
Figure 5
Mortality Rate in South Asian Countries, 1980–2005 (per 1,000
| Infant
Live Births)
140
per 1000 live births
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
1980
Bangladesh
1985
India
1990
1995
Malvides
Nepal
2000
Pakistan
2005
Sri Lanka
Source: World Bank, various years, World Development Indicators.
ceeded their ideal family size, as have 52 percent of those with ive children.
Desired family size is closely associated
with the desire for sons in Pakistan and other
South Asian countries, where there is a strong
preference for sons.38 In in-depth interviews
in a study of low-income women in Punjab,
women expressed a strong son preference,
mostly for economic reasons, relecting women’s subordinate social status and the low economic value placed on women’s work.39 In
some rural areas, especially in Punjab, raising
daughters is too costly because of the need for
a dowry. Among Pakistani women with three
children, 65 percent of those with three sons
want no more children compared with only
14 percent of those with three daughters. A
longitudinal study in an urban slum in Karachi found that the sex of surviving children,
particularly the number of sons, is associated
with unwanted pregnancies and inluences
subsequent reproductive behavior.40 he study
reports a marked increase in contraceptive use
among women with two or more surviving
sons and one or more surviving daughters.
Bearing sons is a way for women to increase
their status.
Husbands and mothers-in-law also affect women’s desire for family planning, with
negative impacts on family size. Opposition
to family planning by mothers-in-law stems
from a desire for more grandchildren, especially sons, and the traditional belief that
Islam forbids family planning.41 About half
the women in an urban slum study reside
with their mother-in-law, so that negative attitudes from both husband and mother-inlaw may be a formidable barrier to the use of
contraceptives.42
Female Education
Female education, by increasing a woman’s
knowledge and ability to make independent
decisions, is likely to contribute to lower fertility.43 Both proximate determinants of fertility, such as age at marriage and use of
contraceptives, and socioeconomic and cultural factors, such as child mortality and
14
spousal communication, are highly correlated
with a woman’s educational attainment.
hough long neglected, women’s education has gradually been improving (table 5).
he female literacy rate nearly tripled, from
16 percent in 1981 to 42 percent in 2006−07,
and the rural-urban literacy gap shrank from
about 1:5 to 1:2. he female literacy rate is
highest in Punjab (46.4 percent) and lowest
in Balochistan (23.3 percent). But the gap between rural Balochistan women (15.7 percent)
and urban Punjab women (64.3 percent) is
quite wide (1:4).
he rural-urban gap also exists for primary and secondary schooling. he primary
school enrollment rate for girls is 45.5 percent, but 64.6 percent for urban girls and 39.3
percent for rural girls. Similarly, the secondary
school enrollment rate is 27.1 percent, but
49.5 percent for urban girls and 17.3 percent
for rural girls.44
While the proportion of women with a
secondary or higher education has doubled
among women of reproductive age, less than
half of girls are enrolled in primary school,
Table 5
only a quarter of women have a primary education, and more than half of women have received no education.45
Expansion of female higher education has
a signiicant impact on fertility by delaying
marriage and birth of the irst child. Pakistan
needs to promote universal primary education irst as a pathway to moving up to secondary and higher education for women.
International evidence shows that female primary education also lowers the fertility rate,
though the net efect is only a third that for
secondary school.46 Among the constraints to
female primary enrollment are distance from
school, especially in rural areas (schools are
overwhelmingly located in wealthier communities); school expenses, parents’ reluctance to
educate girls, and scarcity of female teachers.47
A study in rural communities in Punjab
and NWFP found that the accessibility and
quality of public primary schools within the
community positively inluenced the fertility
transition in rural Pakistan.48 he study estimated that gender equity in primary school
access in rural Pakistan could lead to a 14–15
Rates in Pakistan by Gender, Locale, and Province (Ages 10 and
| Literacy
Older), 1981–2007
1981 Census
2006–07 Labor Force
Survey
1998 Census
Characteristic
Total
Male
Female
Total
Male
Female
Total
Male
Female
Pakistan
26.17
35.05
15.99
43.92
54.81
32.02
55.0
67.0
42.4
Rural
17.33
26.24
7.33
33.64
46.38
20.09
46.2
60.8
31.2
Urban
47.12
55.32
37.27
63.08
70.00
55.16
71.1
78.2
63.5
Balochistan
10.32
15.20
4.32
24.83
34.03
14.09
44.0
61.1
23.3
NWFP
16.70
25.85
6.48
35.41
51.39
18.82
49.0
68.5
30.2
Punjab
27.42
36.82
16.81
46.56
57.20
35.10
56.1
65.7
46.4
Sindh
31.45
39.74
21.64
45.29
54.50
34.78
57.6
70.2
43.4
Source: Census data (www.statpak.gov.pk/depts/pco/statistics/other_tables/literacy_ratio.pdf) and 2006–07 Labor Force
Survey (Pakistan Federal Bureau of Statistics). July 2008.
Fertility Decline in Pakistan, 1980–2006 | A Case Study
15
percent increase in the probability of contraceptive use. he study emphasized the importance of triggering demand for fertility change
through opportunities for investing in the
schooling of boys and girls and of bringing equity to the supply of girls’ primary schools, village by village.
Women’s Labor for Participation
and Autonomy
Women’s status has an important inluence on
fertility rates, though the relationship is particularly complex in Pakistan. Women’s status
is extremely low in Pakistan, which ranks
126 out of 128 countries on the Gender Gap
Index as measured by education (123rd), opportunities for economic participation (126th),
health and survival (121st), and political empowerment (43rd).49
In Pakistan, opportunities for women
to work in the formal sector are limited.
Only 19 percent of women older than age
10 are employed in the formal sector, about
a quarter of the rate for men (70 percent).50
Adding informal sector employment more
than doubles women’s labor force participation (41 percent), which has risen rapidly
since 2001−02 (26 percent).51 he highest
rate is reported for NWFP (56 percent), followed by Balochistan (49 percent); women’s
participation is lowest in Sindh (36 percent).
About 20 percent of women in the informal
sector are unpaid family workers. Labor force
participation is highest among women with
no education or with a secondary or higher
level of education. Women with no education and in rural areas are likely to be engaged
in unpaid work, while women in urban areas
and with a higher level of education tend to
be engaged in paid work.
he relationship between women’s labor
participation, decision-making power, and reproductive behavior is complex in Pakistan.
Use of any contraceptive method is highest
among women who worked only after marriage (38 percent) or who never worked (30
percent) and lowest among currently working
women (29.2 percent).52
A multivariate analysis shows that women’s increased participation in household decision-making positively is associated with lower
fertility outcomes, though it is strongly conditioned by socio-economic and demographic
factors.53 he study also found a strong positive link between women’s freedom to travel
outside the home alone and their domestic
decision-making power, especially in rural
areas. he study concluded that good spousal
communication had a strong efect on contraceptive use and desired childbearing for both
rural and urban women.
Another study conirmed the ambiguous
relationship between women’s labor participation and autonomy.54 It found that rural
women’s earned income had no efect on decisions such as use of family planning. In contrast, a study of women in northern Punjab
concluded that women’s work (especially paid
employment), age, and family structure appear to be linked to women’s increased decision-making power and autonomy in the
household.55 It found that Northern Punjabi
women have less economic autonomy but
greater mobility and decision-making power
than women in Southern Punjab.
A study based on interviews with 1,842
married women in India and 1,036 in Pakistan found that region of residence also plays
a major conditioning role after controlling for
religion and that the inluence of traditional
16
factors conferring status on women remained
strong.56 Women’s education and employment were not found to enhance women’s autonomy. he study emphasized the need for
context-speciic and comprehensive strategies
to enhance women’s autonomy beyond education, employment, and delayed marriage,
such as enabling women to mobilize and access community resources and public services
and providing support to challenge traditional
norms.
Religion and Religious Leadership
Pakistan’s main religion, Islam, strongly inluences family planning. Although Islamic scriptures do not proscribe family planning57, most
religious parties and many religious leaders
oppose it.
Most respondents in a study of religious
inluence on attitudes toward family planning
said that while they did not know whether
Islam permits use of contraception, they believe that Islam opposes the norm of small
families and use of family planning to space
births.58 he main reason given by married
women for not using contraception was that
having children is “up to God.” he study
concluded that the high degree of fatalism
underlying such thinking and the belief that
Islam prohibits family planning are behind the
high fertility levels in Pakistan.
A study in rural Pakistan found that
most men (89 percent) believed that religious
leaders opposed fertility control.59 Respondents suggested that religious leaders must
be involved if reproductive health programs
are to be efective in rural areas. Information
programs explaining that the Qur’an and Hadith are not against fertility control, along
with examples of family planning programs
in other Muslim countries, were proposed as
one way to change attitudes among religious
leaders.
Role of Men and Spousal
Communication
In Pakistan, where women are generally subordinate to men, studies repeatedly identify
the husband’s agreement as one of the most
inluential determinants of the acceptance
of family planning in both rural and urban
areas.60 A study in Naushahro Feroze District,
Sindh, using multivariate analysis found that
use of family planning is ive times more likely
if a woman receives her husband’s approval.61
Another study in an urban slum found that
women were 10 times more likely to use
family planning methods if their husband approves.62
Related to the notion of a husband’s approval of family planning is the importance
of good spousal communication, something
many studies ind lacking in Pakistan.63 One
study revealed that women believed their husbands to have more negative views toward
family planning than was true, highlighting
the value of spousal communication to dispel
such misperceptions.64 Another study found
a strong positive relationship between spousal
communication and contraceptive use or desired family size for both urban and rural
women.65
To make sound decisions, husbands need
information about women’s reproductive
health, yet many family planning programs
are directed only to women. here are misconceptions and large gaps in knowledge among
men on a range of reproductive health issues. One study found that 93 percent of men
wanted more information on family planning
Fertility Decline in Pakistan, 1980–2006 | A Case Study
17
and showed a willingness to become partners
in their wife’s reproductive health.66 A rising
share of Pakistani men is strongly motivated
to fulill their family’s fertility preferences
through contraceptive use.67
As further evidence of husbands’ willingness to engage in family planning, half of
couples nationwide practicing family planning use methods that require male cooperation (condom, rhythm, and withdrawal).68
he rising use of withdrawal relects growing
demand for family planning and gaps in the
availability and quality of family planning services.69 In addition, withdrawal seems to be
widely accepted because of fear of modern
contraceptive methods and their side efects
and strong religious beliefs that other methods
are prohibited.70 Because withdrawal has a
high failure rate, however, it remains critical to
increase knowledge about contraceptives and
their side efects and to make a wide range of
contraceptive methods available.
18
Government Population Policy and the
Family Planning Service Provision —
An Early but Slow Start
P
akistan was one of the irst countries
to acknowledge the negative impact
of rapid population growth on economic and social development, as noted in
its irst Five-Year Plan of 1955−60. Each
successive plan has continued to do so, emphasizing the need to control population
growth through family planning programs.
Follow-up lagged, however, likely relecting
the lack of political commitment. A critical
limitation of Pakistan’s population policy,
according to one study, is that it failed to
comprehensively deine a program linking
development eforts and population planning.71 A review of population policies since
the 1960s concluded that no signiicant
gains have been made toward the targets deined in various plans, because population
was not integrated into the development
planning process and so the pressures it
would exert on social and economic sectors
were not taken into account.72
Pakistan’s irst population policy, announced in 2002, saw fertility reduction as
part of a wider poverty-reduction and sustainable development strategy that also addressed gender inequality. Proposed strategies
for achieving population stability by 2020 included addressing the unmet need for con-
traceptives, mounting advocacy campaigns,
targeting underserved groups, introducing
a cadre of male mobilizers, improving mobile service units, building population-centered services, involving the private sector
and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs),
strengthening collaboration among ministries
and departments, and decentralizing management to provinces and districts.
Despite the early recognition of population issues, political support and commitment
has been inconsistent, undermining implementation.73 Family planning policies fell
victim to divisive domestic politics, resulting
in inadequate budget allocations and hesitation by the international community to support family planning activities. President Ayub
Khan (1958−69) was the irst head of state
to publicly address the need for family planning despite strong opposition from religious
leaders. But later presidents relegated family
planning programs to the background, especially Muhammad Zia ul-Haq (1977–88),
whose support base was led by the conservative Jamaat Islami, which opposed a national family planning program. Only during
Benazir Bhutto’s second term in oice during
the mid-1990s, did family planning gain open
political support.
Fertility Decline in Pakistan, 1980–2006 | A Case Study
19
Institutional Structure of the
Family Planning Service Provision
System
During the Second Five-Year Plan, 1960−65,
a Family Planning Wing was established
under the Ministry of Health, Labor, and Social Welfare, with a focus on clinic-based interventions. Under the hird Five-Year Plan,
1965−70, the population program was separated from the health program and transferred
to the Ministry of Planning and Development
as the Population Welfare Division. During
the Sixth Five-Year Plan, 1983−88, provincial
population welfare departments were established, and ield activities were transferred to
the provinces. he Population Welfare Division received ministry status during the Seventh Five-Year Plan, 1988−93. Meanwhile,
the Ministry of Health seemed to distance itself from responsibility for promoting family
planning through its facilities. A 1998 study
by the United Nations Population Fund recommended merging the ministries, and the
government made plans to do so following internal discussion in 2001.74 he two ministries
resisted merger, and, as a result, the parallel
structures were maintained.
Administrative structure of the Ministry of Population Welfare and Ministry of Health. he
federal and provincial structures of both ministries are similar. Responsibilities are divided
between the federal government (ministries)
and the four provincial governments (departments) headed by secretaries. Both ministries
have district and tehsil (county) level administrative units and service outlets. However,
the Ministry of Population Welfare’s program
planning and implementation are centralized,
and the ministry controls the low of funds.
Provinces are responsible for program implementation, but employees in the provinces are
federal government employees. In contrast,
the provincial departments of health have
considerable autonomy. hey set their own
priorities, plan programs, and use revenues
generated in the province.
Collaboration between the Ministry of Population Welfare and Ministry of Health. hese
diferences in administrative structure and
functioning make merger unlikely. One
study noted several incompatibilities: different sources of funding and channels for
fund lows and controls; diferent hierarchical
and administrative relationships within each
sector, with population welfare only partially
defederalized and health almost completely
devolved; institutional inability to scale up
family planning service delivery at health outlets despite several high-level directives over
the years; and staf opposition as merger could
threaten established career paths.75
he report also pointed out areas of cooperation between the ministries, particularly in service delivery, requisitioning and
distribution of contraceptives, and training
to promote eiciency and noted other areas
for potential collaboration in service delivery:
the lady health workers, mobile services, and
clinical family planning services at health facilities. Considering that family planning is
not viewed as part of health services in rural
and underserved areas and has been culturally stigmatized, the potential for maximizing
synergies appears to be greatest for integrating
family planning services and basic health services through existing Lady Health Worker
Program (see section on innovations in government family planning services for more
20
detail on lady health workers). For sustainable and meaningful collaboration to succeed,
however, will require removing impediments
that lady health workers face at the ield level.
Workers are already overburdened in delivering regular health services, leaving them
little time to provide family planning services.
Training in providing family planning services
is also required. And because the lady health
workers report to oicers of the Ministry of
Health and provincial department of health,
Ministry of Population Welfare oicers have
little inluence over their performance.
The Government Sector Service
Delivery System for Family
Planning
he Ministry of Population Welfare provides
services through an extensive network of institutions in urban and rural areas. In 2008 the
ministry had 2,740 Family Welfare Centers,
176 Reproductive Health Service Centers–A,
117 Reproductive Health Service Centers–B,
and 292 Mobile Service Units. Family Welfare Centers provide family planning and
maternal and child health services. hey distribute condoms, oral contraceptives, IUDs,
and injectables. Each center serves about
6,000 people.76 Reproductive Health Service Centers are attached to service outlets in
major hospitals. he “A” centers provide a full
range of contraceptives, contraceptive surgery,
and maternal and child health services. he
“B” centers include well established hospitals
with fully equipped operating facilities such
as district/tehsil headquarter hospitals, NGOrun clinics, and private hospitals. In remote
areas, 292 Mobile Service Units each cover
some 30,000 people, providing two to three
extension camps for family planning services
each week, then returning to each village a
month later.
As part of the integration of family planning services within basic health services now
in progress, the Ministry of Health provides
family planning services through lady health
workers, who provide oral contraceptives and
condoms and make referrals to health facilities for contraceptive surgery. he ministry
also provides services at some 12,500 health
outlets, government hospitals, dispensaries,
basic health units, rural health centers, and
maternal and child health centers as part of
comprehensive maternal, neonatal, and child
health services.77 Service provision is often
constrained by lack of staf knowledge, inadequate attention to family planning, and
frequent stock-outs of contraceptive commodities at health outlets.
Role of the Private Sector and
Nongovernmental Organizations
Private sector involvement in family planning
has historically been limited in Pakistan, except for an ongoing social marketing program
(see section on innovation in government
family planning programs). Past family planning programs failed to involve the private
sector in large-scale government programs.78
NGOs, in contrast, have a longer history of family planning activities in Pakistan.
hough government support was sometimes
lukewarm, NGO family planning activities have not generally been restricted.79 he
Ministry of Population Welfare has acknowledged the contributions of NGOs to promoting population programs. he government
now provides grant inancing to NGOs from
bilateral donor funding.80 here are several
well established NGOs in Pakistan delivering
Fertility Decline in Pakistan, 1980–2006 | A Case Study
21
family planning services, such as the Family
Planning Association of Pakistan; Pakistan
Voluntary Health and Nutrition Association;
All Pakistan Women’s Association, an umbrella organization with more than 40 NGOs;
and the Marie Stopes Society.
Following the International Conference
on Population and Development in Cairo
in 1994, a nonproit national umbrella organization, the National Trust for Population Welfare (NATPOW), was established to
strengthen NGO capacity in population welfare, reproductive health, maternal and child
health, and community participation. Despite
having more than 600 ailiated NGOs, it has
remained relatively inefective.
Status of the Family Planning
Services
he public sector remains the main source
of contraceptives. In 2001−02, more than
half of women who used modern contraceptives obtained them from government
facilities and health workers, while 20 percent received them through the private sector
and NGOs and 13 percent from other facilities.81 he picture was roughly the same
in 2006−07, with 48 percent of modern
method users relying on the government
sector, 30 percent on the private sector, and
12 percent on other facilities.82 he public
sector is the main provider of female sterilization (72 percent), while condoms are provided mainly through the private sector and
other sources. Oral contraceptives, injectables, and IUDs are provided almost equally
by the public sectors and the private sectors/
other sources.
Families in rural areas rely almost exclusively on public sector facilities for family
planning services, including community-based
workers and ixed outlets, while urban populations have more options, including social marketing projects, which provide contraceptives
through a large network of outlets at subsidized prices.
Underutilization of government facilities
has been a concern across population groups
and health services. People either do not go to
these facilities or, having gone, are dissatisied
with the services and do not return. Only 12
percent of households in rural and urban areas
are satisied with government family planning
services, while 35 percent are satisied with
basic health unit services.83
A 1998−99 evaluation of family welfare
centers reported the following indings on
quality of service and performance:84
Æ 343 new acceptors on average were registered in the irst half of 1997; of those,
only a third was traceable (the survey
found that numbers were often exaggerated to meet targets).
Æ 30 percent of centers reported stock-outs
of contraceptives of one month.
Æ 10 percent of centers had no family welfare workers.
Æ 59 percent of centers reported that another center also provided family planning
services in the same village.
Æ 30 percent of centers had no informational material, and 30 percent of centers
with such material never distributed it.
Æ 17 percent of clients received no information on the beneits and side efects of
contraceptives ofered.
Æ 48 percent of dropouts never received a
home visit by a family welfare worker to
encourage restarting contraceptive use.
22
Æ Half of family welfare workers reported
no supervision visits in the past six
months.
According to 2001−02 survey data, less
than half (46 percent) of health facilities (dispensaries, reproductive health services centers,
and basic health units) had stocks of contraceptives.85
Clients’ complain that distance barriers,
especially in rural areas, prevent use of family
planning services. For example, 57 percent
of survey respondents noted that the nearest
maternal and child health center distributing
contraceptives was 10 or more kilometers
from the village, and 41 percent reported that
the nearest family welfare center was that far
away.86
Cultural constraints also limit women’s
mobility in Pakistan. Because of the custom of
women’s seclusion (purdah), women must be
accompanied by another family member when
they travel outside their village. One study
found that only 20 percent of rural women
said that they would be able to visit a hospital
by themselves.87 Government actions to address these barriers, through community-based
service provision or more village outlets could
help to increase contraceptive prevalence in
rural areas.
Cost is another barrier to contraception
use, especially for the poor. While the Ministry of Health does not charge for contraceptive services, the Ministry of Population
Welfare does—Rs. 0.5 per condom and Rs.
3 for oral contraceptives (per cycle), IUDs,
and injectables (per unit). he efect of price
on contraception use is particularly evident
for condoms and injectables, many of them
supplied by the private sector.88 In 2000, the
Multi-Donor Support Unit of the Social Action Program Project (see box 2 later in this
report) issued a note on pricing reproductive
health services, concluding that a small fee for
all family planning services (a standard fee of
Rs. 10.00 per couple per year was suggested),
with small incremental increases, would not
afect demand. he report recommended reducing travel time to build demand and reduce price elasticity, providing poor couples
with adequate contraceptives at public facilities, and ensuring that all Ministry of Health
outlets ofer family planning services.89
Government Financing of
Population Programs
Government spending on population programs
has increased gradually since the late 1980s,
with some slippage in 1996/97 and 2000−02.
Spending rose from Rs. 415 million in 1990
to Rs. 8,965 million in 2005/06 (latest available data), nearly double the 2004/05 amount.
Spending has been somewhat erratic, however,
unlike health sector spending, which has increased steadily (igure 6). Nevertheless, population programs as a share of total government
spending have increased sharply, though from
a low base, from 0.16 percent in 1990 to 0.45
percent in 2000 and 0.61 percent in 2005
(table 6). And despite the economic downturn, government spending on population and
health increased under the Social Action Program (SAP-I and II). hese funding increases
since the late 1980s likely contributed to the
increase in contraceptive use and the decline in
the total fertility rate.
Fertility Decline in Pakistan, 1980–2006 | A Case Study
23
Figure 6
Spending (Federal and Provincial) on Population and
| Government
Health, 1987–2006 (Millions of Rupees)
Population
10,000
9,000
8,000
7,000
6,000
5,000
4,000
3,000
2,000
1,000
2005–06
2005–06
2003–04
2003–04
2004–05
2002–03
2002–03
2004–05
2001–02
2000–01
2000–01
2001–02
1999–00
1998–99
1998–99
1999–00
1997–98
1997–98
1996–97
1995–96
1994–95
1993–94
1992–93
1991–92
1990–91
1989–90
1988–89
1987–88
0
Health
45,000
40,000
35,000
30,000
25,000
20,000
15,000
10,000
5,000
1996–97
1995–96
1994–95
1993–94
1992–93
1991–92
1990–91
1989–90
1988–89
1987–88
0
Federal
Provincial
Source: Calculated by the World Bank based on the data from the Accountant General of Pakistan.
Table 6
Expenditure on Population and Health and Average Annual
| Government
Growth, 1990/91–2005/06 (percent)
Share of total government expenditure
(percent)
Average annual growth (percent)
1990/91
2000/01
2005/06
1987/88–
1989/90
1990/91–
1999/00
2000/01–
2005/06
Population sector
0.16
0.45
0.61
27.9
26.5
42.1
Health sector
2.06
2.36
2.90
7.1
12.9
19.4
Source: Calculated by the World Bank based on the data from the Accountant General of Pakistan.
24
Pakistan’s Innovative
Family Planning Programs
Both the government and the private and
NGO sectors have introduced new initiatives
in family planning programs over the years.
Innovations in Government Family
Planning Programs
Under the Eighth Five-Year Plan (1993−98),
the government launched two communitybased programs in family planning: the Village-Based Family Planning Worker scheme
(VBFPW) under the Ministry of Population Welfare in 1992/93 and the Lady Health
Worker Program (LHWP) under the Ministry
of Health in 1994/95. he idea was to bring
family planning programs directly to women
in rural areas, who were generally unable to
leave their homes or villages to travel alone to
family planning facilities.
he VBFPW scheme planned to cover
13,500 villages in all provinces by basing female workers in their own village. his scheme
borrowed many elements from the successful
Family Welfare Assistant scheme in Bangladesh. An evaluation in 2000 concluded that
the VBFPW scheme “has become the pivot
of activities of the Ministry of Population
Welfare in rural areas.”90 Contraceptive prevalence in program areas was 41.8 percent, signiicantly higher than the national average
reported in the Pakistan Demographic and
Health Survey. he evaluation report did not
analyze baseline data, so there is no way to
know whether the high contraceptive use rate
can be attributed to the VBFPW.
he evaluation also found some management and implementation problems. For instance, nearly all women who participated in
the evaluation conirmed a visit by a family
planning worker in the past, but only about
half reported a visit in the month prior to the
survey (the recommended schedule of visits
is once a month). Moreover, while almost all
workers were aware of their duty to provide
family planning information and methods to
users, only 60−70 percent understood that
they were also supposed to inform users of
contraceptive side efects and follow up with
new acceptors. Another program evaluation
concluded that the scheme was a major contributing factor to the increase in contraceptive use in the villages studied and found a
strong relationship between the use of contraceptives and the intensity of family planning
worker visits.91
he LHWP, under the Ministry of
Health, was developed to provide low-cost
preventive services for communicable diseases
and maternal and child health services, including family planning (lady health workers
distribute oral contraceptives and condoms)
to the entire population. he program’s recruitment criteria, training, remuneration,
Fertility Decline in Pakistan, 1980–2006 | A Case Study
25
supervision, and method of service delivery
were almost identical to those adopted by the
VBFPW program. By July 2005, there were
about 88,000 lady health workers and supervisors nationwide. One study found that
women in rural areas served by lady health
workers were more likely to use a modern and
reversible contraceptive method than were
women with no access to services.92 However,
the LHWP tends to serve more advantaged
areas that are already slightly over-served and
have a nearby functional health facility. To
succeed, the program needs to reach out to
the most underserved populations in rural
areas, where contraceptive use is still very low.
(See the detailed information on the program
evaluation in annex 1.)
Both programs have run into serious
management problems at the ield level, including lack of efective coordination, duplication of services, contraceptive stock-outs, and
lack of local ownership.93 he 2000 program
evaluation of the VBFPW program found
that nearly half (47 percent) of the 43 percent
of VBFPW respondents who reported that
there was also a lady health worker in the village claimed that her presence hampered their
activities. In June 2002, following the recommendations of a task force reviewing the
performance of population programs, a decision was made to merge the two programs; the
LHWP is now also responsible for providing
family planning services at the household level
in rural communities.
hese government-sponsored community health worker programs grew into one
of the largest community approach schemes
in the world. hough improvements in service provision are still needed to achieve better
outcomes, this innovative community-based
approach holds great promise for increasing
contraceptive coverage in rural areas.
Innovations in NGO and Private
Sector Programs Supported by
Donors
Social marketing has been a bright spot in
Pakistan’s family planning activities. he
U.S. Agency for International Development
(USAID) launched support for a condom
social marketing campaign in the mid1980s through the Social Marketing Pakistan (SMP) program with technical assistance
from the NGO Population Services International. he project distributed some 354 million Sathi brand condoms until March 1994,
when USAID funding ended. Other donors
moved in to provide support, such as KfW
(the German Development Bank), the U.K.
Department for International Development
(DFID), and UN organizations such as the
United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)
(see box 1 for a summary of international
donor support for population programs in
Pakistan and box 2 for World Bank support.)
USAID resumed support after 2001.
KfW has supported social marketing since
1995 under the Greenstar model. Greenstar Social Marking Pakistan (GSMP) has expanded its contraceptive options to include
oral contraceptive, IUDs, and injectables.
Product distribution is undertaken by SMPcertiied service providers and outlets, including doctors, paramedics, and chemists.
Coverage is mainly in urban and peri-urban
areas. Greenstar products are priced based on
market research.
DFID supported social marketing of oral
contraceptives and injectables from 1996 to
2001 under the Key Social Marketing (KSM)
26
Box 1 | Role of International Donors:
External funding for population assistance to Pakistan (programs and research for family planning, reproductive health, and HIV/AIDS) has fluctuated widely over the past decade. Donor funding specifically for
family planning activities, has declined considerably over the 2000s, with average annual assistance falling
almost in half, from $12.9 million during 1996–2000 to $6.7 million during 2001–05.
The Ministry of Population Welfare lists five key donors to population welfare programs in recent years:
World Bank (see box 2 for an overview of World Bank assistance to the population sector), the Asian
Development Bank, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), U.K. Department for International Development, and the German Development Bank (KfW). The United Kingdom, Germany, and the Netherlands have
provided consistent financial assistance since the 1990s, while the United States has a long, if intermittent,
history of support, with a large increase in assistance since 2005.
In recent years, USAID has increased its assistance to maternal and child health programs, including family
planning, in Pakistan. The five-year (2004−09) Pakistan Initiative for Mothers and Newborns (PAIMAN) provided
a package of comprehensive maternity care in 11 districts and benefits more than 2.8 million married couples.
The five-year (2007−12) Family Advancement for Life and Health (FALAH) project focuses on pregnancy spacing as a key health intervention to improve the survival and health of mothers and children. The project also
trains providers and increases access to quality services in the public and private sectors. Greenstar Social
Marketing Pakistan is a partner of both projects, offering its expertise in private sector approaches.
Source: Hardee and Leahy 2008; Ministry of Population Welfare (http://www.mopw.gov.pk/); Organisation for Economic
Co-operation and Development (OECD) Development Assistance Committee (DAC) database (http://stats.oecd.org/
Index.aspx?DatasetCode=ODA_RECIP).
Note: Figures reported in the OECD/DAC database, especially for multilateral donors, are often underreported.
program. KSM contracted with a manufacturer to produce, package, and distribute its
Key products to enlisted retailers. Price was
based on market research.
he social marketing projects seek to expand coverage of family planning services in
urban areas, develop a cadre of skilled personnel, satisfy the unmet need for contraceptives, and accustom people to paying for
services. he two projects have established a
network of more than 56,000 outlets and service facilities in urban and peri-urban areas, a
great leap forward in the accessibility of family
planning services. GSMP reported that more
than 16,000 private health care providers
were registered with the Greenstar health care
providers network as of 2005−06. hese social marketing projects adopted creative approaches to building sustained demand for
contraceptive products. heir promotional
campaigns complemented government eforts
but used original and focused messages on TV,
radio, cinema, newspapers, and other information media. he campaigns increased the
visibility of family planning products and provided information on proper use, prices, and
sources of supply.
Today, GSMP and KSM together provide
a third (30 percent by GSMP and 3 percent by
KSM) of all modern contraceptives in Pakistan,
while the public sector delivers 59 percent, according to GSMP.94 he share is higher for condoms, with 78 percent of urban condom users
reporting using a social marketing brand.95
hough the impact of social marketing
on fertility reduction in urban areas has not
been rigorously studied, it appears that social
marketing projects might have contributed
Fertility Decline in Pakistan, 1980–2006 | A Case Study
27
Box 2 | World Bank Assistance to the Population Sector in Pakistan
The World Bank has supported population issues in Pakistan through policy dialogue with the government
(Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers and the Country Assistance Strategy) and through direct assistance on
the following projects since 1983:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Population Project (1983–89, US$18.0 M).
Social Action Program Project I (1993−97, US$200 million).
Social Action Program Project II (1998−03, US$250 million).
Family Health Project I (1992−99, US$45.1 million).
Family Health Project II (1994−99, US$48.0 million).
Population Welfare Program Project (1996−2000, US$65.1 million).
Northern Health Project (1996−2000, US$26.7 million).
In 1992, Pakistan launched the Social Action Program (SAP), a broad-based social sector reform program
to improve the access to and quality of basic social services in four sectors including population welfare.
Several donors, including the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the U.K. Department for International Development, and the Government of the Netherlands, supported the SAP through the Social Action
Program Project (SAPP-I, 1993−97). A follow-on SAPP-II (1998−2003) built on the lessons of the first project.
Taking a sector-wide approach to key underlying institutional issue, the projects aimed to increase government spending on basic social services; build government capacity for planning, monitoring, and implementing social service programs; and encourage NGO and private sector participations.
The two projects appear to have protected social sector and SAP budget allocations during 1993−97 from
the drastic cuts made in other public programs. The projects also created a supportive institutional policy
framework for the health sector and provided a common tool for policy dialogue between the government and donors. Policy issues addressed through the projects included providing family planning services
through health outlets, improving coordination between population and health facilities, training health staff
in family planning, and supplying contraceptives to health outlets.
SAPP-I and II helped create an enabling environment for other population-related projects implemented
in the 1990s: Family Health I (NWFP and Sindh) and II (Balochistan, Punjab Islamabad Capital Territory),
Population Welfare, and Northern Health. These projects aimed to increase contraceptive use by integrating family planning into primary health services, increasing demand for contraceptives through information
activities, training health personnel, increasing contraceptive supplies at health outlets, and supporting the
private sector. Contraceptive prevalence nearly doubled in all provinces over the course of the projects.
No systematic impact evaluations were conducted to isolate the impact of Bank-assisted population
projects, it is thus not possible to attribute increased contraceptive use or declining fertility directly to the
projects. However, the period of intensive Bank support coincided with the period of rapid increase in contraceptive prevalence and decline in the total fertility rate after decades of sustained high fertility.
Source: World Bank 1990, 1998, 2003, 2000a, 2000b, 2000c, 2001.
to higher contraceptive prevalence rates and
fertility reduction. he analysis on fertility
and contraceptive changes in urban Pakistan
during the 1990s to explore the role played
by social marketing initiative provides the following results: (1) the decline in urban fertility level was less erratic and a bit faster
in the second half of 1990s, (2) there was a
steady rise in CPR since the early 1990s and
reached around 40% percent by 2000, (3) the
most reported method by urban couples was
condom, and (4) there was a signiicant rise
in the use of oral pills and injectables during
1996–2001.96
28
Table 7
Trend in Total Fertility Rate and Contraceptive Prevalence Rate During
| 1990s
Total fertility rate
Year
1990/91
Contraceptive prevalence rate
Urban
Rural
Urban
Rural
4.9
5.6
25.7
5.8
1994/95
—
—
32.0
11.0
1996/97
4.3
5.9
36.5
18.6
2000/01
3.7
5.4
39.6
21.7
Source: Ahmed 2002.
he challenges ahead include addressing
unmet need in urban areas, supporting reproductive health approaches, linking social
marketing programs with other private sector
programs and public sector population pro-
grams, and promoting local manufacturing.97
In addition, using social marketing schemes
to increase coverage in rural areas should be
considered to help ill the gap in contraceptive
availability.
Fertility Decline in Pakistan, 1980–2006 | A Case Study
29
Implications
P
akistan’s complex history of population programs is a lesson for its planners
as well as other high-fertility countries.
During the 1990s, as family planning services
improved, contraceptive prevalence rates more
than doubled and the total fertility rate fell an
estimated 40 percent. Two innovative community-based programs begun in the 1990s and
the involvement of the private sector in family
planning through the Greenstar Network social marketing initiative likely had consider-
able impact on fertility rates. However, the
programs have several shortcomings, and Pakistan has made little progress in reducing sociocultural constraints to family planning (related
to religion, gender, and rural-urban division).
he government needs to address program
shortcomings immediately to meet high level
of unmet needs for contraceptives. In parallel,
underlying socio-cultural constraints should
be improved to accelerate fertility reduction in
the long run.
30
Annex 1. Evaluation of the Lady Health
Worker Program
I
n 2002, Oxford Policy Management conducted an evaluation of the Lady Health
Worker Program (LHWP) covering 1999–
2002, assessing the efectiveness and impact
of the program, especially among underserved
groups.98
Implementation Issues
he program has been implemented under the
Ministry of Health since 1994/95. hough
planned at Rs.9.1 billion over ive years, actual levels of funding have been considerably
lower. he amount spent on drugs and contraceptives per lady health worker was 84 percent lower than planned, salaries have fallen
20 percent in real terms, and real unit cost
per lady health worker fell 51 percent from
1994/95 to 2000/01.
his severe underspending likely undermined the efectiveness and impact of the
program. Undersupply of contraceptives was
especially critical; 38 percent of lady health
workers were without condoms and 67 percent were without oral contraceptives at the
time of the survey. Only 32 percent of workers
had been paid in the month prior to the
survey, and 34 percent had not been paid for
more than three months. And 20 percent of
workers received salaries below what they were
entitled to.
Characteristics of Lady Health
Workers
Lady health workers are contract employees.
hey must be married, age 20–50, have at
least eight years of schooling, and live and
work in the communities they serve. hey receive both full-time and in-service training.
he supervision system appeared to be functioning well: 70 percent of lady health workers
reported that they had had a supervision
meeting in the month before the survey. Lady
health workers are supported by nearby irstlevel care facilities.
On average, lady health workers make 25
household visits and see 20 clients a week. he
workload is lowest in Sindh and Balochistan.
Around 40–50 percent of eligible families
have received services (not limited to family
planning). Service levels are highest in Azad
Jammu and Kashmir and Northern Areas and
lowest in Balochistan. Lady health workers
provide 40 percent of total contraceptives in
Balochistan, as they are assumed to be the
main source of contraceptive supply. hough
the level of knowledge of lady health workers
was fairly good, only 20 percent of them provided eligible couples with information related
to family planning. High performing workers
had higher levels of knowledge and were more
likely to receive supervision and supplies. he
Fertility Decline in Pakistan, 1980–2006 | A Case Study
31
Pakistan Demographic and Health Survey
of 2006–07 found that lady health workers
reached only 23 percent of nonusers of contraceptives to discuss family planning issues. Of
those contacted, only 9 percent had received
information on family planning, 3 percent
had received family planning supplies, and 2
percent had received a referral to a health facility in the previous 12 months.
dicators. Nonetheless, lady health workers appear to have afected the provision of family
planning. Use of any contraceptive method
was 30 percent in program areas compared
with 21 percent in control areas and 22 percent for the national average, and use of any
modern method was 20 percent in program
areas, 14 percent in control areas, and 15 percent for the national average.
Outcomes and Impacts of the
Program
Limitation of the Evaluation
Overall, areas served by lady health workers
have better health indicators than control populations and the national average. However,
lack of baseline data precluded establishing
whether the diferences were due to the program or to other diferences between program
and control areas, such as socioeconomic in-
he evaluation compared program and control areas at the time of the survey, because it
did not collect baseline data on health status
in program and control population groups at
the beginning of the intervention. In addition,
the evaluation did not assess program impact
on the fertility rate or the infant mortality rate
because the rate of change was too slow.
32
Annex 2. Country-at-a-Glance: Pakistan
Earliest available data
Indicator
Latest available data
Value
Year
Value
Year
GNI per capita (World Bank Atlas method, current US$)
330
1980
800
2006
GNI per capita (purchasing power parity, current
international $)
620
1980
2,410
2006
7
1999
7
1999
82,730,331
1980
159,002,039
2006
Population growth (annual percent)
2.9
1980
2.1
2006
Population ages 0–14 (percent of total)
42.7
1980
36.4
2006
Urban population (percent of total)
28.1
1980
35.3
2006
Fertility rate, total (births per woman)
7.0
1980
3.92
2006
68.84
1997
32.89
2006
55.7
1980
65.8
2006
Economy
Poverty gap at national poverty line (percent)
Demography
Population, total
Adolescent fertility rate (births per 1,000 women
ages 15–19)
Life expectancy at birth, female (years)
Mortality rate, infant (per 1,000 live births)
110
1980
77.8
2006
Mortality rate, under-five (per 1,000 live births)
153
1980
97.2
2006
Maternal mortality ratio (modeled estimate, per
100,000 live births)
320
2005
320
2005
Health expenditure, total (percent of GDP)
2.3
2001
2.1
2005
Health expenditure, public (percent of GDP)
0.5
2001
0.4
2005
Health
Health expenditure per capita (current US$)
10
2001
15
2005
Immunization, measles (percent of children ages
12–23 months)
1
1980
80
2006
Malnutrition prevalence (weight for age, percent
of children under five)
39.0
1991
31.0
2001
Births attended by skilled health staff (percent of
total)
18.8
1991
31
2005
11
1984
27.6
2001
Contraceptive prevalence (percent of women
ages 15–49)
(continued on next page)
Fertility Decline in Pakistan, 1980–2006 | A Case Study
33
(continued)
Earliest available data
Indicator
Latest available data
Value
Year
Value
Year
Nurses and midwives (per 1,000 people)
0.45
2005
0.45
2005
Physicians (per 1,000 people)
0.29
1980
0.80
2005
Literacy rate, adult female (percent of women
ages 15 and older)
26
1996
35.4
2005
School enrollment, secondary, female (percent
net)
22.9
2003
25.8
2006
School enrollment, primary, female (percent net)
46.0
2001
57.3
2006
Primary completion rate, female (percent of
relevant age group)
51.0
2005
52.9
2006
Education
Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators online, retrieved January 9, 2009.
34
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Endnotes
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Population projection based on 1998
Census prepared by National Institute of
Population Studies (2005).
Feeney and Alam 2003a.
Sathar and Casterline 1998.
Feeney and Alam (2003b) question
whether the total fertility rate really fell
that rapidly or whether the rate of decline
was exaggerated by the deterioration in the
quality of birth reporting. However, agreement among several independent estimates
suggests that the estimates are all at least
approximately correct.
he total fertility rate calculated from the
Pakistan Demographic Survey, a large
sample survey conducted by the Federal
Bureau of Statistics, is based on births reported during the past year. he total fertility rate calculated from the surveys
conducted by the Ministry of Population
Welfare and the National Institute of Population Studies is based on three- to iveyear recall of births, which are likely to be
underreported by uneducated women.
Feeney and Alam 2003a. Sathar and Casterline (1998) also argue that 1990–91
Pakistan Demographic and Health Survey
fertility rate was seriously underestimated.
Feeney and Alam 2003b.
Sathar 2007.
hese were suggested Bongaart (1978).
Aziz 1994 and Ahmed, Mohamed, and
Khan 1994.
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
Sathar and Casterline 1998; Sathar 2007.
Sathar 2007.
A measure comparing the age-speciic proportions of women who have never been
married with the age-speciic proportions of
those who have ever been married to calculate the mean age at which the transition between the two occurs. It is used to estimate
mean age at marriage in countries where
marriage records are absent or deicient.
Pakistan Demographic and Health Survey
data (National Institute of Population
Studies and Macro International Inc.
1992, 2008).
Pakistan Demographic and Health Survey
data (National Institute of Population
Studies and Macro International Inc.
1992, 2008).
National Family Health Survey-III
2005−06 for India, Demographic and
Health Survey 2006 for Nepal, Demographic and Health Survey 2004 for Bangladesh, and Demographic and Health
Survey 2006−07 for Sri Lanka.
Sathar and Casterline 1998.
Pakistan Demographic and Health Survey
2006–07 (National Institute of Population
Studies and Macro International Inc. 2008).
Pakistan Demographic and Health Surveys
(National Institute of Population Studies
and Macro International Inc. 1992, 2008).
Pakistan Demographic and Health Survey
data (National Institute of Population
40
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
Studies and Macro International Inc.
1992, 2008).
According to the 2006−07 Pakistan Demographic and Health Survey, about 60 percent of female sterilization clients reported
that it was free of cost, compared with 30
percent of oral contraceptive users, 15 percent of intrauterine device users, 14 percent of condom users, and 13 percent of
injectable contraceptive users (National Institute of Population Studies and Macro
International Inc. 1992, 2008).
Pakistan Demographic and Health Survey
2006−07 (National Institute of Population
Studies and Macro International Inc. 2008).
Pakistan Demographic and Health Survey
2006−07 (National Institute of Population Studies and Macro International Inc.
2008).
For Nepal, Demographic and Health
Survey 2006; for Cambodia, Demographic
and Health Survey 2005.
India National Family Health Survey III
2005−06.
Pakistan Demographic and Health Survey
2006−07 (National Institute of Population Studies and Macro International Inc.
2008).
Pakistan Demographic and Health Survey
2006−07 (National Institute of Population Studies and Macro International Inc.
2008).
Sathar, Singh, and Fikree 2007. his study
used data from a health facilities survey
covering 17 percent of public health facilities and 65 percent of hospital beds in
public facilities, and a health professionals
survey conducted in 2002, which used
structured interviews of 154 health professionals across the country. Both ques-
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
Fertility Decline in Pakistan, 1980–2006 | A Case Study
tionnaires were adopted from instruments
developed by the Guttmacher Institute.
Saleem and Fikree 2005.
Sathar, Singh, and Fikree 2007.
Guttmacher Institute 2009.
Rehan 2003.
Pakistan Demographic and Health Survey
2006−07 (National Institute of Population Studies and Macro International Inc.
2008).
Pakistan Demographic and Health Survey
1990−91 and 2006–07 (National Institute
of Population Studies and Macro International Inc. 1992, 2008).
lram and Butt 2008, using data from
Pakistan Integrated Household Survey
2001−02.
(National Institute of Population Studies
and Macro International Inc. 1992, 2008)
Survey 1990−91 and 2006–07.
Pakistan Demographic and Health Survey
1990−91 and 2006–07 (National Institute
of Population Studies and Macro International Inc. 1992, 2008).
Pakistan Demographic and Health Survey
2006–07 (National Institute of Population Studies and Macro International Inc.
2008).
Winkvist and Akhtar 2000.
Hussain, Fikree, and Berendes 2000.
Kadir and others 2003.
Hussain, Fikree, and Berendes 2000.
Soomro and Mahmood 2005.
Pakistan Gender Assessment 2005, based
on Pakistan Integrated Household Survey
2001−02.
Pakistan Demographic and Health Survey
1990−91 and 2006–07 (National Institute
of Population Studies and Macro International Inc. 1992, 2008).
41
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
King and Hill 1998.
he Pakistan Gender Assessment 2005.
Sathar and others 2000.
Hausmann, R., L.D. Tyson, and S. Zahidi
2008.
Labor Force Survey 2006−07 (Pakistan
Federal Bureau of Statistics 2008).
Conventionally, people ages 10 and older
reporting housekeeping and related activities are considered out of the labor force.
However, from the perspective of time use,
they are identiied as employed if they have
spent time on a speciic set of marginal
economic activities (Labor Force Survey
2006−07, table 6, Pakistan Federal Bureau
of Statistics 2008).
Pakistan Demographic and Health Survey
2006−07 (National Institute of Population
Studies and Macro International Inc. 2008).
Mahmood 2002.
World Bank 2005.
Sathar and Kazi 2000.
Jejeebhoy and Sathar 2001.
Karim 2005.
Zafar and others 2003.
Ali and Ushijima 2005.
Ali, Rozi, and Mahmood 2004; Stephenson and Hennink 2004; Ali and
White 2005.
Ali, Rozi, and Mahmood 2004.
Stephenson and Hennink 2004.
Kiani 2003; Saleem and Isa 2004.
Casterline, Sathar, and ul Haque 2001.
Mahmood 2002.
Ali, Rizwan, and Ushijima 2004.
Casterline, Sathar, and ul Haque 2001.
Pakistan Demographic and Health Survey
2006–07 (National Institute of Population Studies and Macro International Inc.
2008).
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
he increase in the price of condoms in
1991 might have contributed to the increased use of withdrawal after 1991 (Agha
2000).
Population Briefs 1998.
Ahmed n.d.
Karim and others 2004.
Ahmed n.d; Hakim 2001; Lush and others
2000; Lee and others 1998.
UNFPA 1998.
Nishtar and others 2008.
Ministry of Population and Welfare 2008.
According to the Ministry of Health website, there are 13,937 health facilities. Of
those, 371 Tuberculosis Centers and 1,080
First Aid Points do not ofer contraceptives.
Robinson 2007.
Karim and others 2004.
Karim and others 2004.
Pakistan Integrated Household Survey
2001−02 (Pakistan Federal Bureau of Statistics 2003).
Pakistan Demographic and Health Survey
2006−07 (National Institute of Population Studies and Macro International Inc.
2008); disaggregated data on the source of
modern contraceptives by residence (rural
and urban areas) are not available.
Pakistan 2006–07 Social and Living Standards Measurement Survey (Pakistan Federal Bureau of Statistics 2008).
he evaluation study was conducted
during 1998–99 by the National Institute
of Pakistan Studies with a random sample
of 73 family welfare centers (5 percent of
the total) and 80 clients from each family
welfare center contacted.
Pakistan Integrated Household Survey
2001−02 (Pakistan Federal Bureau of Statistics 2003).
42
86
87
88
89
90
91
Pakistan Demographic and Health Survey
2006−07 (National Institute of Population Studies and Macro International Inc.
2008).
Sultan, Cleland, and Ali 2002.
Agha 2000.
Ahmed 2000a.
he evaluation (Popalzai and Sikander
2000) covered the performance of villagebased family planning workers, veriication of clients and their views, and the
role of trainers and supervisors. Systematic random sampling was used to select
373 family planning workers out of 7,446.
As a second stage, 15 eligible women per
worker were selected for interviews, along
with 145 trainers and supervisors.
Lush and others 1998 and Sultan; Cleland, and Ali 2002. he evaluation by Lush
and others involved three community surveys (August and December 1993 and No-
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
Fertility Decline in Pakistan, 1980–2006 | A Case Study
vember 1994) of 10 percent of households
in 21 villages (about 400 interviewees per
survey) and a series of observation studies in
Punjab for 550 observations of interactions
with clients and 76 workers were collected.
A logistic regression analysis by Douthwaite and Ward (2005) using data collected
for the program evaluation conducted in
1999–2002 by Oxford Policy Management
(sample survey of 4,277 women living in
households served by the LHWP or in
control areas).
Islam, Malik, and Basarja 2002.
Greenstar Social Marketing website at
http://www.greenstar.org.pk/FPRH.htm
Pakistan Demographic and Health Survey
2006−07 (National Institute of Population
Studies and Macro International Inc. 2008).
Ahmed 2002.
Ahmed 2002.
Oxford Policy Management 2002.
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