Return
to Story Page
To print: Select File and then Print from your
browser's menu
Nirmala George
NEW DELHI, JUNE 21: In Bihar, regular users of contraceptives such as condoms and oral contraceptive pills average around 2 per cent of the population. In Andhra Pradesh, the figure hovers around 1 per cent, in Rajasthan it averages 4 per cent of the population.
Five decades since Independence and since the implementation of family welfare programmes, the statistics culled by a nation-wide survey on people's access to different contraceptive methods remains abyssmal, with a disturbingly high number of people resorting to sterilisations as a method of contraception.
In the last five years, the Department of Family Welfare has effected a complete turnaround in its family planning policy. Jettisoning the earlier policy of setting targets to be achieved by the states, the new directive called for a "target-free" approach. This radical change in the approach to implementing family welfare schemes, it was widely felt, would result in more honest estimations of targets achieved.
The three-pronged strategyadopted by the government aims at addressing three key factors of family welfare, namely maternal health, child survival and contraception.
While contraception directly helps to avoid unwanted pregnancies, maternal survival and health would enhance the child's chances of good health. But the most convincing factor in inducing parents to adopt a limited family norm would be to ensure the survival of their existing children.
Gone is the "take it or leave it" attitude with regard to contraception. We want to offer quality and choice to the people", says Y N Chaturvedi, Secretary, Family Welfare.
The statistics are the result of an independent country-wide survey conducted by a consortium of 15 institutions headed by the International Institute of Population Sciences, Mumbai. It was commissioned by the Department of Family Welfare to provide the Health Ministry with an assessment of the district level health scenario.
Taking up the health indicators of half the districts of every state, the survey bringstogether data relating to infant and maternal mortality, anaemia in adolescent girls, pre and post-natal medical check-ups, immunisation of children and access and usage of contraceptive methods.
Chaturvedi agrees that the number of sterilisations is very high in many states and that a balance has to be struck between those using condoms, intra-uterine devices and oral pills.
The survey and its findings will be utilised in sensitising district officers, state government officials and others involved in the family welfare programmes and in identifying districts which are not performing well.
This is the first time that such a detailed study has been made at the district level and the findings would provide invaluable inputs for state governments to zero in on problem districts and accord them greater priority or specific assistance.
The remaining half of the districts would be surveyed next year, so that all districts are covered in alternate years. The findings of the survey would be made available toDistrict Medical Officers of every district at a series of workshops in July-August this year, so that weaker districts can step up their efforts at providing access to contraception.
Copyright © 1999 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
------------------------------------------------------------
This story was printed from Net Express located at http://www.expressindia.com. Net Express provides a portal to India, with news from The Indian Express and The Financial Express along with sites on travel and tourism, the entertainment industry, the power sector, the environment and much more.
------------------------------------------------------------