From Cairo to Nairobi.

Byline: Zeba Sathar

THE public consensus on the need to curb rampant high fertility has still not happened. Many are still ambivalent as to whether high fertility is our problem or not, just as they were about terrorism until the APS tragedy took place. Probably, because this is not a concern of the elites; it is viewed by them as a problem of the masses.

Families and children of the elite are educated; they have jobs, they will thrive. But what about the less fortunate with shrinking opportunities. And what about the collective destruction of the environment? The water misuse, shrinking of cultivable land to housing schemes, and rampant unsustainable use of nonrenewable resources bound to adversely impact all of us.

Twenty-five years ago, the world community assembled in large numbers in Cairo in 1994, to create a consensus on how the world would tackle the complex issues of population and development. Two outstanding Pakistani leaders deserve tribute for their role in the largest intergovernmental International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD): Dr Nafis Sadiq, the architect of the global agenda and the late Benazir Bhutto, who stole the show among hundreds of political leaders who attended the conference. She was young, powerful and her message strong and vocal: 'I dream of a Pakistan where each child is wanted, nurtured and loved.'

It is important to take a message of hope to the population conference being held in Nairobi next month.

Pakistan in the 1990s was a hopeful place for women and girls. The Lady Health Workers programme had been launched, with huge success in creating community outreach to women in far-flung areas, and opening access to conversations about their health and family planning concerns. The National Committee for Maternal Health was set up to tackle the unduly high numbers of maternal deaths during pregnancy. Our population was estimated to be about 120 million - almost 100m less than today. Fertility was just under 6.0 children per woman in 1991 and began to come down fast to 4.8 by 1998. The 1998 census reconfirmed this fertility decline. We were late then, but not lost in our much-awaited fertility transition!

But then by 2000, complacency set in regarding concern about population trends - in marked contrast to other countries in the region. And we did lose our way. For decades we seemed unconcerned about the balance between population numbers and our resources. Today we stand so far behind in the...