Dr. M Ali Hamza
Population management is often misunderstood as an attempt to control reproduction.It is rather a broader strategy to harmonize population growth with national resources, economic capacity, and quality of life. It includes shaping demographic trends through education, health strategies, urban planning, economic incentives, and behavioral change, aiming not merely for fewer people, but for better-prepared, better-educated, and more productive populations.
Many countries faced population challenges in recent past and tackled them effectively. For instance,China initially used restrictive policies like the one-child law, but in recent years shifted to encouraging births due to aging demographics, showing that population policies must adapt over time.Bangladesh successfully reduced its fertility rate through grassroots education, community-based female health workers, and empowering women economicallynot just by providing contraceptives.Iran drastically lowered fertility rates in the 1990s through premarital family planning courses, high literacy among women, and widespread reproductive health awareness.
European countries, Japan, and South Korea today struggle with shrinking populations, raising an important lesson: the objective is balance, not simply reduction. The global experience demonstrates that sustainable population management is not about coercion, it is about informed decision-making, long-term planning, gender empowerment, and economic alignment.
Pakistan is now the 5th most populous country in the world, with over 240 million citizens, and a youth-heavy demographic. While a young population can be a strategic asset, it becomes a burden when job creation does not match workforce growth, education systems are overstretched, urban infrastructure is overloaded, healthcare resources are limited and agricultural land shrinks while food demand rises
Pakistan’s population grows by roughly 2% annually, meaning we add around 4 million people each year, equivalent to another Karachi every decade. No economy, however ambitious, can absorb such increases without pressure on housing, employment, and public services. For Pakistan, the issue is not just population size; it is quality. Too many births occur in households unable to afford education, healthcare, or nutrition perpetuating cycles of poverty.
Why did past policies and population management plans fail? Pakistan has introduced many policies, written many frameworks, and signed many declarations. Yet implementation lags for key reasons like i) cultural and religious sensitivities; as family planning is often misunderstood as anti-family or anti-faith, ii) low female literacy; studies have established the fact that women’s empowerment strongly correlates with reduced fertility, iii) weak health communication: policies exist on paper but don’t reach rural communities effectively, iv) inconsistent political will because government restarts the conversation rather than continuing a long-term roadmap, v) perception of children as economic security; as in poor households, more children mean more potential earners, vi) rural-urban disparity; stats show that urban fertility is declining, while rural fertility remains high.Though each reason is a contributing factor and needs serious deliberation, but in the context of Pakistan cultural/religioussensitivities and women empowerment appears to be a larger contributor to the problem.
Our policy makers and executors mustrecognize the fact that population management is far more than distributing pills, devices, or running isolated and irregular campaigns. It is about changing mindset, and indeed it never happens with a magic wand.
Changing the mindset of a society is a gradual, layered process that involves education, leadership, cultural evolution, and real-life demonstration of improved outcomes. It begins with awareness, where people are introduced to new perspectives through public dialogue, evidence-based communication, media engagement, and educational content. The next step is community-level engagement, because mindsets rarely shift through national messaging alone. Trusted figures such as teachers, religious scholars, community elders, and healthcare workers play a central role in reshaping norms. When messages are delivered through familiar voices, they carry greater legitimacy and acceptance. Then comes policy alignment and leadership example. Government programs, school curricula, economic incentives, and local support systems need to reinforce the desired values: it signals that the mindset shift is not just aspirational but institutional. Another critical phase is real-life reinforcement. When smaller families witness improved household stability, better child development, financial relief, and upward mobility, these visible improvements validate the mindset shift. Others observe these results and replicate the choices. Finally, the mindset truly transforms when it becomes self-sustaining; when societal norms, peer expectations, and cultural identity begin endorsing the new thinking. Over time, what once required persuasion becomes common sense, and society internalizes a new vision of progress, opportunity, and responsible planning. Look at history, social mindset never changed with a magic wand, but with clarity, commitment and consistency.
The big question is, who is going to do it? And simple answer is ‘WE’, the people.
Author is a strategy and communication professional, and can be reached at [email protected]
