Reception to one-child families and some relevant issues
Wednesday, 20 January 2010
Shamsul Huq Zahid
The government is planning to offer a few facilities and incentives to one-child families as a part of its multi-faced campaign to popularize family planning, state minister for health and family planning Mujibur Rahman Sarkar told the parliament last Sunday.
Sarkar said the government would hold 'receptions' in honour of one-child couples with a view to encouraging others to go for one-child family.
The plan unveiled by the state minister would draw appreciation from all quarters, including donors who make available funds for population control programmes.
But many tend to believe that such a plan would only be directed towards the educated and urban couples who are aware of the benefits of having small families. The families belonging to the poorer and uneducated section of the society are unlikely to be eligible for such incentives and reception.
This sort of elitist campaign aside, the government does need to strengthen the population control programme that in recent years has lost its way, to some extent.
The emphasis used to be given on the government's population control programme, particularly in terms of service delivery at the grassroots, between 1985 and 1995, is now largely absent. The slow progress in the reduction of population growth rate is a pointer to that fact.
According to the latest update of the World Bank's World Development Indicators, the fall in population growth rates has been uneven compared to that between 1985 and 1995.
In 1970 the growth rate was as high as 2.6 per cent. Instead of going down, it increased by .09 per cent to 2.69 per cent in 1975 and in the next five years it declined by a nominal 0.01 per cent. The population growth rate recorded the highest, ever fall between 1980 and 1985-0.37 per cent and the second highest during next five years, 0.32 per cent to 2.19 per cent. The rate for the first time came down below 2.0 per cent in next five years, 1.98 per cent. But the pace of reduction slowed down remarkably in next five years with the growth rate reaching 1.82 per cent. Between 2000 and 2005, the rate declined to 1.58 per cent. In 2008 the estimated growth rate stood at 1.41 per cent.
According to official statistics, the number of eligible couples in the country barring the areas under city corporations is nearly 25.1 million and out of them 18.5 million adopt various family planning measures.
However, there always exists a gulf between the ground realities and the government statistics. Scores of media reports in recent years highlighted the lack of the much-needed seriousness and enthusiasm about the ongoing population control programmes. The service delivery and motivational programmes at the field level that received worldwide appreciation between 1985 and 1995 are no more receiving adequate attention these days.
Hundreds of thousands of eligible couples, mainly living in rural areas, according to media reports, are being deprived of the services of field level family planning workers because of inadequate and erratic supply of birth control pills and devices. Allegations have it in the absence of supervision and monitoring from the above, the field workers have also reduced regular visits to their potential clients.
According to National Institute of Population Research Training (NIPORT) statistics, in 1993-94, the field-level family planning workers covered nearly 43 per cent of the country's households. In 1997-98, the coverage came down to 35 and in 1999-2000 to only 18 per cent. One of the reasons for poor coverage is attributed to shortage of field workers. Because of the increase in number of households over the years, it is not possible for a field worker to cover all the families in his or her designated area.
The government's lack of seriousness about the population control programme can be seen well from the prevailing manpower situation at the field level. It has not only ignored the need for increasing the strength of field level workers but also stalled recruitment of people in the vacant posts of field workers.
The campaign to popularize birth control programme through electronic and the print media, which was quite strong in the late seventies and eighties, has virtually ceased to exist these days. The campaign is considered a key element of the motivational programme in a country where the rate of illiteracy is very high.
What is worse is that many important posts in the family welfare department are reportedly lying vacant due to rivalry between cadre and non-cadre officials in the directorate. The clash of interests of these two groups has been, to a great extent, responsible for the present disconcerting state of population control programme. The members of the population and family welfare cadre are very much resentful that non-cadre physicians have been occupying important positions in the family welfare directorate.
The delay in the procurement of goods and medicines relating to birth control is also held, partly, responsible for the inadequate progress in birth control programme. The public procurement act and rules are cited as a major obstacle to the timely procurement done generally with funds given by donors.
There is no denying that the country will have to go a long way to reach the target relating to population control. The government, too, accepts that fact. But one or two centrally drawn programmes such as reception to one-child couples would not help much to attain the goal. Millions of eligible couples living in urban as well as rural areas are prone to having large families. These couples need to be convinced to take up birth control measures through motivational campaign and proper service delivery.
The government should put in place the right kind of policy actions, supported by a band of dedicated and sincere field level workers capable of delivering services at the doorsteps of eligible couples across the country. Only then the government can aspire to achieve the replacement level fertility rate by 2015.
The government is planning to offer a few facilities and incentives to one-child families as a part of its multi-faced campaign to popularize family planning, state minister for health and family planning Mujibur Rahman Sarkar told the parliament last Sunday.
Sarkar said the government would hold 'receptions' in honour of one-child couples with a view to encouraging others to go for one-child family.
The plan unveiled by the state minister would draw appreciation from all quarters, including donors who make available funds for population control programmes.
But many tend to believe that such a plan would only be directed towards the educated and urban couples who are aware of the benefits of having small families. The families belonging to the poorer and uneducated section of the society are unlikely to be eligible for such incentives and reception.
This sort of elitist campaign aside, the government does need to strengthen the population control programme that in recent years has lost its way, to some extent.
The emphasis used to be given on the government's population control programme, particularly in terms of service delivery at the grassroots, between 1985 and 1995, is now largely absent. The slow progress in the reduction of population growth rate is a pointer to that fact.
According to the latest update of the World Bank's World Development Indicators, the fall in population growth rates has been uneven compared to that between 1985 and 1995.
In 1970 the growth rate was as high as 2.6 per cent. Instead of going down, it increased by .09 per cent to 2.69 per cent in 1975 and in the next five years it declined by a nominal 0.01 per cent. The population growth rate recorded the highest, ever fall between 1980 and 1985-0.37 per cent and the second highest during next five years, 0.32 per cent to 2.19 per cent. The rate for the first time came down below 2.0 per cent in next five years, 1.98 per cent. But the pace of reduction slowed down remarkably in next five years with the growth rate reaching 1.82 per cent. Between 2000 and 2005, the rate declined to 1.58 per cent. In 2008 the estimated growth rate stood at 1.41 per cent.
According to official statistics, the number of eligible couples in the country barring the areas under city corporations is nearly 25.1 million and out of them 18.5 million adopt various family planning measures.
However, there always exists a gulf between the ground realities and the government statistics. Scores of media reports in recent years highlighted the lack of the much-needed seriousness and enthusiasm about the ongoing population control programmes. The service delivery and motivational programmes at the field level that received worldwide appreciation between 1985 and 1995 are no more receiving adequate attention these days.
Hundreds of thousands of eligible couples, mainly living in rural areas, according to media reports, are being deprived of the services of field level family planning workers because of inadequate and erratic supply of birth control pills and devices. Allegations have it in the absence of supervision and monitoring from the above, the field workers have also reduced regular visits to their potential clients.
According to National Institute of Population Research Training (NIPORT) statistics, in 1993-94, the field-level family planning workers covered nearly 43 per cent of the country's households. In 1997-98, the coverage came down to 35 and in 1999-2000 to only 18 per cent. One of the reasons for poor coverage is attributed to shortage of field workers. Because of the increase in number of households over the years, it is not possible for a field worker to cover all the families in his or her designated area.
The government's lack of seriousness about the population control programme can be seen well from the prevailing manpower situation at the field level. It has not only ignored the need for increasing the strength of field level workers but also stalled recruitment of people in the vacant posts of field workers.
The campaign to popularize birth control programme through electronic and the print media, which was quite strong in the late seventies and eighties, has virtually ceased to exist these days. The campaign is considered a key element of the motivational programme in a country where the rate of illiteracy is very high.
What is worse is that many important posts in the family welfare department are reportedly lying vacant due to rivalry between cadre and non-cadre officials in the directorate. The clash of interests of these two groups has been, to a great extent, responsible for the present disconcerting state of population control programme. The members of the population and family welfare cadre are very much resentful that non-cadre physicians have been occupying important positions in the family welfare directorate.
The delay in the procurement of goods and medicines relating to birth control is also held, partly, responsible for the inadequate progress in birth control programme. The public procurement act and rules are cited as a major obstacle to the timely procurement done generally with funds given by donors.
There is no denying that the country will have to go a long way to reach the target relating to population control. The government, too, accepts that fact. But one or two centrally drawn programmes such as reception to one-child couples would not help much to attain the goal. Millions of eligible couples living in urban as well as rural areas are prone to having large families. These couples need to be convinced to take up birth control measures through motivational campaign and proper service delivery.
The government should put in place the right kind of policy actions, supported by a band of dedicated and sincere field level workers capable of delivering services at the doorsteps of eligible couples across the country. Only then the government can aspire to achieve the replacement level fertility rate by 2015.