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Pakistan-land of the pure came into existence in 1947. Despite being rich in natural resources and more than 70 years of independence, Pakistan is unable to gain respect in world community due to poor developments and larger number of problems. This article gives an overview of major challenges faced by Pakistan in 21st century.
Poverty has been one the main challenges for Pakistan in 21st century. According to research report of social policy and development center 38 percent of the population of Pakistan is living in poverty.
This percentage is higher (41 percent) in rural areas and comparatively lower (32 percent) in urban areas. This percentage means that a total number of 74 million people are poor. Poverty rate in 2015-16 was stagnant at the level of 2011. The estimated data of percentage population of Pakistan surviving under the poverty line. This percentage of population is deprived of fundamental life necessities including food, education, health and residence. Although a number of factors are responsible for this never ending poverty but the poor governance is main culprit.
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Low business confidence on the government institutions, massive debt, unemployment, no foreign investments and the lower gross domestic product growth rate (GDP) led to worsening of economic conditions. In spite of the fact that Pakistan has received a lot of foreign aid to alleviate poverty, it has not observed a reduction in poverty. It can be concluded that without controlling the root causes, it is impossible to eradicate poverty in Pakistan.
Illiteracy is the main hindrance to the developmental process of a country.
Pakistan is one of the most illiterate countries of Asia. According to economic survey of Pakistan, literacy rate in Pakistan has fallen to 58 percent. This means that more than half of the population of Pakistan is illiterate. 22 million of children are out of the schools. The government allocated a minute budget of 902. 7 billion in 2017-18, which is insufficient to fulfill the educational needs of this populous country. The 63 percent of population lives in rural areas, where standard education facilities are scarce. In addition to inaccessibility of educational institutes, lack of innovative curriculum is another major problem which halts the learning process. Poorly educated people make Pakistan a bad choice for foreign investors. An uneducated nation neither grows on its own nor attracts the foreign help.
Over the past some years, an increase in no. of universities has been observed in big cities. In long run this is going to be harmful rather than beneficial. Government should limit the no. of universities per city. For example, twin cities do not need any more universities. There should be a ban on the establishment of any new university in big cities. On the contrary, small cities are in dire need of universities. Building universities in small cities has a lot of advantages. In long term, this will help reduce the population and traffic issues in big cities. At present, more than 50% of students and faculty members are from other cities. This will open up the employment opportunities for the people of small cities. It will be more convenient and economical for the students to study in their own cities. This will help reduce the education expenditures of the students.
Short fall of electricity is one of the major problems of Pakistan. Water and development Authority (WAPDA) is responsible for the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity to all Pakistan excluding Karachi. K-Electric is responsible for the same in Karachi. Also, there are 16 independent power producers who contribute in the generation of electricity. Pakistan is unable to achieve balance in its supply and demand of electricity. Making the matters worse, electricity generation in Pakistan has decreased by 50%. Due to these energy crises, a decline in developmental process has been observed.
An increase of 40 % in electricity demand will occur by 2030 in developing countries. Pakistan lacks the resources to fulfill its current need let alone the future power requirements. Only 25% of total electricity demand is being generated in Pakistan. A large amount of money is spent to import 75% of remaining electricity. These power crises impact the lives of people both mentally and economically. Load shedding results in sleep deprivation which leads to psychological disorders and agitation. On the other hands, insufficient power supply to commercial units results in the destruction of industries, agriculture and technological advancements [4].
Population explosion is a real threat to Pakistan. In 1950 it had a population of 33 million which exploded to 210 million in 2018, making Pakistan 6th most populous country in the world. On the other hand, Pakistan occupies only 0. 6 percent of total world area. Population growth rate of Pakistan is 1. 9 percent and with this rate population is expected to get double in next 37 years. Major reasons of population explosion include lack of awareness about family planning, early marriages, unavailability of contraceptive resources, high fertility rate, polygamy, customs and traditions. Government has failed to implement its population planning policies. As a result Pakistan is facing many problems like decrease in resources, increase in poverty, slow economic growth, and an increase in corruption and crimes.
As stated by International Monetary Fund (IMF) in a recent report, Pakistan is positioned on number three among countries facing the scarcity of water. According to a report of United Nations Development Program (UNDP), countries of South Asia will approach absolute scarcity by 2025. Research predicts that Pakistan will hit water scarcity line by 2040. Pakistan has the fourth highest water usage rate among the world countries. Agricultural lands are irrigated using canal system which wastes a lot of water. To avoid this wastage of water drip irrigation and other advance methods need to be used.
In addition to poor water management system, climate change and lack of political willingness to overcome these crises has exacerbated the matter. On one hand ground water resources are depleting rapidly and on the other hand no new dams are constructed to store the available rain water. This water scarcity is also resulting in the climate change. Increase in temperature and heat waves are affecting people badly. In 2015, a heat wave took away the life of at least 1200 people [6].
Pakistan is facing many problems due to its rapid urbanization. One such problem is the outbreak of different diseases. According to World Health organization (WHO), disease outbreak is defined as an abnormal increase in the occurrence of a disease than expected. As a result of mismanagement, drinking water gets contaminated which leads to fatal diseases. Natural disasters such as flood also contribute to disease outbreaks. Wastewater which is being used in agriculture carries the risk of contagious diseases. In a study of southern Punjab, most of the farmers were found suffering from these diseases. One example of disease outbreak is Dengue fever and Congo hemorrhagic fever. In 2004-05, more than 3640 patients were observed with the symptoms of dengue fever. Disease outbreaks can be controlled by implementing waste water management system. Other disease which spread through contact should be handled carefully. Awareness programs and seminars must be conducted to spread information against these diseases.
Pakistan faces natural disasters such as earthquakes, depletion of glaciers, smog, dust storms, floods and climate change regularly. Human intervention in nature by cutting trees and building a large number of embankments has led to climate change and global warming. These disasters not only drain the country financial but also result in causalities. Pakistan suffers from smog in winters. This smog is the main cause of many health issues. Poor visibility due to smog results in accidents. Nature has blessed Pakistan with a large number of glaciers. Due to climate change these glaciers have started depleting turning these blessing into disasters. Depletion of these glaciers results in floods which destroy the agricultural lands. Earthquake is another natural hazard which occurs in Pakistan. On October 2005, a high intensity earthquake rattled Northern Pakistan. This earthquake affected the lives of people mentally, physically and financial.
War on terrorism is a serious challenge to sovereignty of Pakistan. Pakistan involvement in Afghan-Soviet war is the main reason of terrorist attacks. Terrorists have attacked indiscriminately religious places, educational institutes, markets and hotels. Global terrorism index has ranked Pakistan at number three. Pakistan has been struggling in the war on terrorism for many years. This so called “war on terror has affected people of Pakistan severely. Consequently, Pakistan is struggling with developmental policy making, brain drain, poverty, unemployment, religious minorities and psychological issues.
According to an estimates Pakistan has 103 million citizens below the age of 25 years [10]. Young people from different backgrounds are falling prey to the terrorist organization. Most of the terrorist attacks are done by the young people. Policy makers need to make policies to engage this disconnected youth through constructive activities. Another dangerous outcome of terrorism is the fear of violence. Due to terror of these attacks, many people who can afford migrating to other countries are leaving their homeland. There are no any effective policies to retain the talent within the country. According to daily times report in 2009 nearly 3500 medical graduates have moved abroad. Total number of migrants is 4156957, involving 5795 teachers, 29377 engineers and 9040 doctors.
People with good health are assets of a country. Unfortunately, health care system in Pakistan is not up to the marks. Patients are expected to pay heavy fee for their treatment of any disease. A major part of population lives in rural area, where medical facilities are not available. Pakistan has 3rd highest infant mortality rate. In 2015, 276 deaths per 100,000 births have been recorded [11]. Reasons of healthcare issues involve lack of awareness, insufficient health budget, poor management of health care units and lesser numbers of doctors. Children health is the most important issue in Pakistan. A large number of children are suffering from malnutrition. One of the reasons is lack of mothers’ education.
Other factors which affect the health of children include pneumonia and air pollution. Keeping in view the current status of healthcare system, a lot of efforts need to be done for improvement in health issues. Healthcare system in Pakistan needs to be digitized. For example, if doctor attends a patient, he/she should have a system which is computerized and that system will have an entry of the patient, its prescription and meeting dates. Moreover, if the doctor asks for some tests, these tests should be digitally uploaded as soon as they are done by the laboratory. It will make the patient life easier by decreasing the waiting time. If a patient has multiple meetings with the doctor, the system should have previous entries so that doctor can compare the results of tests and improvements in the conditions of patient.
Another major challenge for Pakistan is the accessibility of clear drinking water. An estimated 44% of the population is drinking contaminated water. This polluted water is the root cause of a lot of disease. According to a report released on world water day 2018, Pakistan is among top ten countries which have lowest access to clean water. The level of water pollution is higher in industrial cities. Poor quality water has forced a large number of people to buy bottled water. Consequently a rise in bottled water companies has been observes in past few years. Nine of these companies were accused of selling contaminated water. Four of these companies had higher level of arsenic in the water. Arsenic in water results in many diseases such as kidney failure, skin disease, hypertension and cancer. To overcome this problem, government has assigned the quarterly monitoring task to Pakistan council of Research in Water Resources (PCRWR).
Agriculture industry has been a major role in development of Pakistan. A major part of the population of Pakistan relies on the agricultural industry. However, a decline in agriculture industry has been observed in past few years. In last two decades, the government has been focusing on the industrialization of the country while completely neglecting the agriculture. Natural disasters such as floods have played their part in the destruction of fertile land. Production rate of different crops is very low as compared to other countries in world. Pakistan produces 3. 1 tons of wheat per hectare while France produces 8. 1 tons of wheat on the same area of land. Pakistan now imports cotton to supply its textile industry. A similar trend is found for rice, sugar can and cotton crops. Possible reasons may include lack of subsidized resources, unavailability of water and unenthusiastic marketing. Although government has promised to provide extra funding for this industry, but still there remains a need for modern agricultural policy.
The Problems Pakistan Is Facing in 21St Century. (2024, Feb 25). Retrieved from https://studymoose.com/the-problems-pakistan-is-facing-in-21st-century-essay
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