Abdul Ghani

The Sindh government has allocated Rs990 million for contraceptive procurement in FY26, up from an annual allocation of Rs900 million that had been maintained since 2016, to drive the province’s family planning expansion, according to a document available with Wealth Pakistan.

The document reveals that the Sindh government has substantially strengthened family planning and reproductive health services across the province following the devolution of the Population Welfare Department under the 18th Constitutional Amendment.

The expanded mandate has enabled Sindh to scale up service delivery, improve contraceptive availability, and allocate higher financial resources to population welfare initiatives. According to official data, the Population Welfare Department Sindh is currently operating 1,125 service delivery points throughout the province.

In parallel, 1,384 additional facilities managed by the People’s Primary Healthcare Initiative (PPHI) are providing family planning services, significantly expanding access, particularly in underserved and rural areas. The outreach network is further reinforced by the Health Department Sindh, which, along with lady health workers, is delivering family planning services through more than 3,000 health facilities, including 20 tertiary care hospitals.

This integrated approach has strengthened the public sector’s capacity to reach a wider segment of the population. On the supply side, Sindh has assumed responsibility for contraceptive procurement for the Department of Health, PPHI, and partner non-governmental organisations. The province has prioritised long-acting reversible contraceptives such as IUCDs and implants to improve effectiveness and continuity of use.

For the fiscal year 2025-26, the provincial government has allocated Rs990 million for contraceptive procurement, up from an annual allocation of Rs900 million that had been maintained since 2016. In addition to increased funding, new contraceptive methods, including Sayana Press, Jeddle, and Implanon NXT have been introduced to broaden method choice and improve client satisfaction.

Officials say these innovations are helping address unmet needs and encouraging sustained use among women of reproductive age. The impact of these measures is reflected in improved reproductive health indicators. The Contraceptive Prevalence Rate in Sindh has risen from 31% in the Pakistan Demographic and Health Survey 2017-18 to 41.8% in the National Institute of Population Studies Survey 2024, indicating notable progress in family planning adoption.

Public sector performance data for the period 2020-2025 further highlight the scale of service delivery, with 6.04 million users adopting short-term contraceptive methods, 1.91 million opting for long-term methods, and 285,200 tubal ligations recorded.

Credit: INP-WealthPk