New Delhi: Government has launched two new free contraceptives, an injectable drug and a pill, expanding the basket of choices for the country’s population to meet their family planning needs.
The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has launched the injectable contraceptive MPA under the ‘Antara’ programme and a contraceptive pill, ‘Chhaya’, in the public health system.
And also to help improve the supply and distribution of contraceptives, the Ministry had recently launched a new software, Family Planning Logistics Management Information System (FP-LMIS), designed to provide robust information on the demand and distribution of contraceptives to health facilities and ASHAs.
The contraceptives are available for free in Medical Colleges and District Hospitals at present, have so far been launched in 10 states that includes Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Haryana, West Bengal, Odisha, Delhi and Goa.
The contraceptives are safe and highly effective, the ‘Antara’ injectable being effective for three months and the ‘Chayya’ pill for one week, and will help meet the changing needs of couples and help women plan and space their pregnancies. Training of healthcare practitioners from all the states has been completed as well, with a pool of state and district level doctors and staff nurses being trained to support the roll-out.
The move has received a lot of applauses. On the other hand India’s population has already reached 1.26 billion in the current year and considering the present growth rate, by 2028, the country’s population will be more than China, according to a recent report from the UN. And at this crucial moment government releasing more options for family planning is what the population demands.
History of Family Planning in India
Population growth has been a cause of worry for the Government of India since a very long time. Just after independence, the Family Planning Association of India was formed in 1949. The country launched a nationwide Family Planning Programme in 1952, a first of its kind in the developing countries. This covered initially birth control programmes and later included under its wing, mother and child health, nutrition and family welfare.
In 1966, the ministry of health created a separate department of family planning. The then ruling Janata Government in 1977 developed a new population policy, which was to be accepted not by compulsion but voluntarily. It also changed the name of Family Planning Department to Family Welfare Programme.
But it seems like India in the past were friendlier with contraceptives than in recent years.
Over eight years to 2016, as India’s population surged, the use of contraceptives declined almost 35%, as abortions and consumption of emergency pills – both with health hazards and side effects – doubled, according to health ministry data.
While condom use declined 52% over eight years and vasectomies fell 73% – indicating greater reluctance among men to use birth control – the use of oral birth-control pills fell 30% between 2008 and 2016, the data showed.
34% Fall in oral Contraceptives from 2008 to 2016.
73% Fall in Vasectomy from 2008 to 2016.
The data shows that just over 4% of women using modern contraceptives relied on the oral contraceptive pill, 1.5% on IUDs (intrauterine device or coil) and 5.6% on condoms. Female sterilisation – more than 4m a year – makes up 86% of modern contraceptive use. In some states, the use of methods like the pill has declined by more than half in the past decade.
The high rate of female surgical sterilisation also illustrates a continuing trend: the onus is still on women to be responsible for family planning. While men are provided larger financial incentives to go for a vasectomy – an easier operation with a quicker recovery time – it remains unpopular, partially driven by myths surrounding the procedure.
At this time Government’s effort ‘Antara’ and ‘Chhaya’ is seen as hopes for increase in the use of modern contraceptive methods.