11,000 Women Die Annually During Pregnancy in Pakistan, Population Control Imperative: Mustafa Kamal
Islamabad — May 13, 2026Federal Health Minister Mustafa Kamal warned Wednesday that Pakistan’s unchecked population growth poses a direct threat to public health and national development, revealing that over 11,000 women lose their lives each year during pregnancy or childbirth — a figure he described as both alarming and preventable.Addressing the Pakistan Population Seminar in…
Islamabad — May 13, 2026
Federal Health Minister Mustafa Kamal warned Wednesday that Pakistan’s unchecked population growth poses a direct threat to public health and national development, revealing that over 11,000 women lose their lives each year during pregnancy or childbirth — a figure he described as both alarming and preventable.
Addressing the Pakistan Population Seminar in Islamabad, Kamal said the Ministry of Health is actively working on a population management framework, consulting both national and international experts to formulate a concrete action plan aimed at curbing the country’s rapidly rising population.
“We have no choice but to bring population growth under control,” the minister stated, stressing that maternal mortality on this scale reflects a healthcare system under severe strain.
Federal Minister for Planning Ahsan Iqbal also addressed the seminar, framing population growth as a cross-cutting challenge that affects every sector of national life — from education and healthcare to infrastructure and individual productivity.
“When population outpaces resources, fewer resources reach each person. Development becomes difficult, if not impossible,” Iqbal cautioned, urging a coordinated national response that goes beyond health policy to encompass economic planning and social development.
The seminar comes at a critical juncture as Pakistan — now the world’s fifth most populous nation — grapples with the economic consequences of one of the highest population growth rates in South Asia. Experts have long flagged unchecked demographic expansion as a key driver of poverty, unemployment, and strained public services.
