Threatening population boom: Steps needed for awareness

Speakers at a dialogue on population said the government should form a human resource development (HRD) commission to formulate a national HRD policy. The idea, they pointed, is to rationalise the country's human resource use. The experts stressed on the need for a 15-year masterplan, coordination with all HR-generating centres such as universities, and requirement for marketable and demand-oriented skill mix. The country's population could be transformed into positive human resource by introducing technical education and training and introducing technical skill among people for export after meeting the local demand. Bangladesh's present life expectancy averaging 65-66 years, the population of senior citizens would reach 28 million by 2051. Proper population management, thus has become imperative. At present the country churns out 2,800 doctors each year, which would rise to 60,896 doctors by 2020. The doctor-people ratio would reach 1.0 against 2,840. Similarly, the country would have one dental surgeon for every 37,397 people. It is necessary to set up technical training centre to impart about 20 skill sets with a six to 12- month training module. The country's technical and non-technical education centre ratio at present stands at 1:4. The country's present population stands at 152 million, with a growth rate of 1.45 per cent and a population density of 1,100 persons per square kilometre. This population would reach 225 million by 2015. High prices of oral pills and absence of the family planning programme deter the poor couples in the city from controlling birth and contributing to a high rate of population growth. Owners of different medicine shops in the city said many couples, mostly poor, used to prefer pills to other contraceptives, as it was cheap and easy to take. But prices of the pills are going beyond the reach of poor families. Pills of some brands were being sold at exorbitantly high prices. Among the available oral pills, Marvelon was being sold at Tk 75 per packet, Landiol at Tk 70, Deslon at Tk 60 and Nordette-28 at Tk 120 to Tk 140. Although the maximum retail price of Nordette-28 is fixed at Tk 28, the retailers are selling it at much higher price. Nordette-28 is very popular among couples and some dishonest businessmen are selling the pills at higher price cashing in on its popularity. The consumers are losing interest in oral pills due to increasing prices. The supply of Nordette-28 is much less than the demand for it. The prices of contraceptives are relatively higher in Bangladesh than other countries and the low-income group families cannot afford even the pills. A monitoring and regulatory cell must be set up to ensure fair prices of medicines. The family planning programme sponsored by the government does not cover Dhaka city although a large number of poor people live in the city. If the government could provide the poor with free pills, the rate of childbirth in the city would go down. The government assigned some non-government organisations to create awareness among the slum dwellers about the advantages of small family, but the NGOs have not been carrying out their responsibilities properly. Forty per cent people of the city live in slums and 75 per cent babies of the city are born in the slums. Considering the necessity of present time appointment of family welfare assistant in the city may help create awareness and take services of the family planning programme to the slums. A strong coordination efforts are needed to cut population growth in the city as the birth rate there is much higher than other parts of the country. All is not well with birth control initiatives both in the city and the country as a whole. According to a report in a national daily, population control in the capital, especially in the slum areas, hits a stumbling block for scarcity and high prices of contraceptives. Most of the couples prefer pills to other contraceptives, but prices of different brands of pills are so high that poor families cannot afford them. Absence of family planning programmes deters the poor couples from spacing childbirth. It is for this reality that about 75 per cent babies of the city are born in the slums, where only 40 per cent people of the city live. Bangladesh was once regarded as a success story in South Asia for its remarkable progress in bringing birth rates down to 2.7 per cent in 2007 from 6.3 per cent of 1971. This helped bring down the population growth rate to 1.39 per cent from 3.0 per cent in 1971. This was possible due to aggressive implementation of family planning programmes and door-to-door services by female family welfare assistants. But it failed to retain the achievements reportedly for the officials concerned, slow implementation of the programmes and non-availability of necessary methods. Only around 56 per cent of the eligible couples are now adopting birth control methods. With the present birth rate, population of Bangladesh is projected to reach more than 260 million by 2050. All development efforts of the country are likely to be negated by heavy population burden. Additional people mean additional pressure on resources. Cultivable land of the country is shrinking at the rate of one per cent per annum. This process will be faster with the fast growth of population. The country will face a serious social and economic crisis, if growth rate cannot be kept under control. Campaigns aimed at population control shall have to be beefed up in right earnest. Private counselling and methods should be made available to eligible couples. Campaigns should be continued to motivate hundreds of thousands of women and men who are entering reproductive age every year. Priorities shall have to be given to encouraging people to adopt permanent with preference for long-term methods. Reproductive health services should be in easy reach of couples. The writer is an economic analyst and can be reached at e-mail: anumahmud@yahoo.com