Contraceptive crisis looms as donors cut aid
Tuesday, 29 September 2009
Officials fear more unplanned births-3
AZM Anas
A full-blown contraceptive crisis in Bangladesh appears likely as major donors hammered by the global recession have halved aid devoted to family planning services, warn authorities.
Family planning officials also fear that the potential crisis in the availability of modern contraception such as oral pills, condoms and injectables could result in thousands of unintended births, thereby undercutting the government's campaign for population control.
Mohammad Abdul Quayyum, director general at the state family planning directorate, said the World Bank has agreed to provide just US$65 million in loans for the contraceptive purchase, half the country's requirement.
"It's going to be a difficult balancing act. We've already curtailed our programmes," Mr Qayyum said.
The bank's loan will be enough to meet the two years' financing needs, even though there would be a crisis after 2011 fiscal year, he added.
Over the years, Bangladesh has been relying on overseas assistance for contraceptive purchase, with bulk of the money coming from the International Development Assistance (IDA), the World Bank's soft lending arm.
The government and a pool of donors took up the $4.0 billion a five-year health and population programme in 2005, but officials said the implementation lag forced the government to extend it to 2011.
Scores of donors promised to finance up to $1.2 billion for the programme including $750 million in a pooled funding, managed by the World Bank.
The World Bank officials said that the worst global recession in decades has hit the western world, making it difficult for them to finance the programme.
"Some donors including the DFID can't finance the programme extension," said Dinesh Nair, health specialist at the World Bank.
But Dr Nair played down the fear, saying the global lender doled out the money to cater to the need of government's contraceptive import of Tk 2.5 billion.
Fran McConville, a senior health adviser at the Department for International Development (DFID), said the programme has no shortage of funds for the next two years and can cover a period of extension.
The donor community including the DFID has pooled $750 million into the five-year Health, Nutrition and Population Sector Programme (HNPSP), originally scheduled for completion in 2010.
"It is up to the government to determine how to use these funds including for family planning," Ms McConville said.
"The UK is one of a number of donors supporting HNPSP and we are fully meeting the commitments we made to the
programme," the DFID official said in an e-mailed response.
Family planning officials said the directorate finalised its budget for the import of contraceptives at $130 million, but the global lender agreed to provide only $65 million, citing slump in assistance from other donors to the fund.
Officials say the increased aid is crucial for sustaining the import as procurement regime remains cumbersome.
They say it takes at least 18 months to buy family planning commodities, requiring 65 signatures and three key approvals from the World Bank's headquarters.
Officials said access to contraceptives is essential if Bangladesh wants to control its burgeoning population that hit 162 million in mid-July.
But supply of modern family planning appliances in the country, particularly in Sylhet and Chittaging Hill Tract regions, has fallen short of the demand.
Today, 17 per cent of 32 million couples across the country want contraceptives but don't have access to the modern birth-control methods, according to the Demographic and Health Survey of 2007.
Mahbubur Rahman who directs the clinical contraception division at the directorate said if stocks of contraceptives dry out it would lead to unplanned pregnancies, which topped 49,000 in 2007.
AZM Anas
A full-blown contraceptive crisis in Bangladesh appears likely as major donors hammered by the global recession have halved aid devoted to family planning services, warn authorities.
Family planning officials also fear that the potential crisis in the availability of modern contraception such as oral pills, condoms and injectables could result in thousands of unintended births, thereby undercutting the government's campaign for population control.
Mohammad Abdul Quayyum, director general at the state family planning directorate, said the World Bank has agreed to provide just US$65 million in loans for the contraceptive purchase, half the country's requirement.
"It's going to be a difficult balancing act. We've already curtailed our programmes," Mr Qayyum said.
The bank's loan will be enough to meet the two years' financing needs, even though there would be a crisis after 2011 fiscal year, he added.
Over the years, Bangladesh has been relying on overseas assistance for contraceptive purchase, with bulk of the money coming from the International Development Assistance (IDA), the World Bank's soft lending arm.
The government and a pool of donors took up the $4.0 billion a five-year health and population programme in 2005, but officials said the implementation lag forced the government to extend it to 2011.
Scores of donors promised to finance up to $1.2 billion for the programme including $750 million in a pooled funding, managed by the World Bank.
The World Bank officials said that the worst global recession in decades has hit the western world, making it difficult for them to finance the programme.
"Some donors including the DFID can't finance the programme extension," said Dinesh Nair, health specialist at the World Bank.
But Dr Nair played down the fear, saying the global lender doled out the money to cater to the need of government's contraceptive import of Tk 2.5 billion.
Fran McConville, a senior health adviser at the Department for International Development (DFID), said the programme has no shortage of funds for the next two years and can cover a period of extension.
The donor community including the DFID has pooled $750 million into the five-year Health, Nutrition and Population Sector Programme (HNPSP), originally scheduled for completion in 2010.
"It is up to the government to determine how to use these funds including for family planning," Ms McConville said.
"The UK is one of a number of donors supporting HNPSP and we are fully meeting the commitments we made to the
programme," the DFID official said in an e-mailed response.
Family planning officials said the directorate finalised its budget for the import of contraceptives at $130 million, but the global lender agreed to provide only $65 million, citing slump in assistance from other donors to the fund.
Officials say the increased aid is crucial for sustaining the import as procurement regime remains cumbersome.
They say it takes at least 18 months to buy family planning commodities, requiring 65 signatures and three key approvals from the World Bank's headquarters.
Officials said access to contraceptives is essential if Bangladesh wants to control its burgeoning population that hit 162 million in mid-July.
But supply of modern family planning appliances in the country, particularly in Sylhet and Chittaging Hill Tract regions, has fallen short of the demand.
Today, 17 per cent of 32 million couples across the country want contraceptives but don't have access to the modern birth-control methods, according to the Demographic and Health Survey of 2007.
Mahbubur Rahman who directs the clinical contraception division at the directorate said if stocks of contraceptives dry out it would lead to unplanned pregnancies, which topped 49,000 in 2007.