Population influences economy

By OGIA MIAMEL
THE population of a province, district or local level government (LLG) is a critical determinant of the economic growth and service delivery in the country, Deputy Health Secretary Dr Paison Dakulala says.
“The number of people living in a given space is a critical indicator of economic growth of the population,” Dakulala said at the World Population Day celebrations in Port Moresby yesterday.
He said additional efforts were needed to strengthen rural outreach and family planning services in remote aid posts.
He also said that according to the department’s 2016 review, there had been a major decline of family planning coverage for women from 2011 to 2015.
“The number of aid posts and the number of visits also declined over the last five years,” he said.
“This report indicates poor quality of health services in these areas.
“There was no evidence of improvement in most maternal and child health indicators. There were improvements in few provinces; the most improved provinces in 2015 were Jiwaka, Chimbu, West New Britain, Western Highlands and Milne Bay.”
Dakulala said rural health posts provided the backbone of maternal and child health and they hoped that the completion of the health demographic survey would allow them to allocate resources and funds according to population needs in each aid post.
United Nations Population Fund acting executive director Dr Natalia Kanem said some 214 million women in developing countries lacked safe and effective family planning methods.
“Better reproductive healthcare, including voluntary family planning, can bolster economies and contribute to sustainable development by empowering women to complete their education, join the paid labour force, be more productive in their jobs, and earn higher incomes and increase savings and investments,” Kanem said.