Right to plan for family

Bangladesh seems to have run out of steam in its quest for downsizing its population. Although the World Population Day-observed annually on July 11 -- reaffirms the human right to plan for a family, this country cannot be said to be well on its axis to get the message across where it is needed most. However, this was not the case earlier when international organisations and aid agencies generously supported the country's family planning programmes with money, materials and strategic policies. At some point, political leaders and policymakers came to recognise population explosion the number one problem. But no longer. Today the impression is that the proliferation of population poses no danger to the country's geographic entity and other conditions for a peaceful living.

This surely is a misconception. True, the country has overcome to a large extent the crisis of food-mistakenly thought to be cereal or food grains. Balanced and healthy foods are still beyond the reach of the majority of the people. Even the country's graduation to a middle-income country (it has already achieved the lower-middle status) will be no solace, if the quality of life of all its people does not improve to match its economic status. The population size is already far too large for its small geographic area. In the absence of a proper plan with its increasing population, it tends to be a time bomb waiting to go off in the near future.

Options for the nation are few. In the likely scenario of a rise in the seas on account of global warming, the prospect simply looks scary. It is better to get prepared for an uncertain future. So, it is essential to practise planned parenthood in order to avoid an ugly eventuality arising out of no ceiling on family size. This has its many benefits for the country in its present context. The quality of life aspired by most citizens will be easier to achieve both at the family and national levels. Small family size has the advantage of taking care of the needs of its members properly.

While this is true, citizens have their own concerns as well where they must expect the state to be more caring if not play the role of a welfare one. With the existing yawning social disparities remaining as it is, there is no possibility of making people convinced of the merit of keeping family size small. All segments of society need education and greater attention has to be given to the bottom half in order to pull it out of the rut. Child marriage and similar other vices proliferate in the absence of education and proper facilities. All such issues have to be taken care of before asking them to respond to the call of downsizing their family in their and the nation's interests. Before this becomes a reality, the government should take up the family planning issue more seriously. If funds from donors are scarce, the government should be ready to finance its field-level programmes such as regular door-to-door visit by family planning workers and distribution of contraceptives.