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Health Ministry targets 146 districts to improve India's population control drive

 

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The health ministry is ready to deploy "Mission Parivar Vikas" in these districts to improve access to family planning services, raise awareness and make family planning options available. To achieve the goal of faster population control, the government has decided to accelerate family planning measures by identifying 146 districts where the total fertility rate (TFR, the number of children born per woman) is more than three, 28% of the population.

The “high-focus” districts are in the seven states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Assam. “These 146 districts are an obstacle in population stabilisation (sic),” Union health minister J P Nadda said. High fertlity rates are also related to adverse indicators and these districts account for 25-30% of maternal deaths and 50% of infant deaths.

According to government data, India's total fertility rate has declined from 2.6 in 2008 to 2.3 today. India is now only 0.2 points away from reaching the replacement level of 2.1.

So far, 24 states have already achieved replacement fertility. Nearly 60% of the population resides in states where replacement fertility is achieved or soon to be achieved. These include the southern states, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Gujarat

“The greater the TFR, the more will be the MMR and IMR. Hence, reducing TFR would lead to decrease in maternal mortality and morbidity and infant mortality and morbidity,” Nadda said.

 

As part of the program, the ministry of health will distribute a kit containing family planning and personal hygiene products among newlyweds. The teams will be distributed by ASHA workers to foster communication between spouses and consensus-based decision-making regarding their reproductive and sexual health, as well as delaying the birth of the first child and the second space, said a senior ministry official of health.

“Saas-Bahu Sammelans” will be carried out to facilitate better communication between mothers-in-law and daughter-in-law and bridge the gap in their attitudes and beliefs about reproductive and sexual health. In addition, special buses called “Saarthi-Awareness on Wheels”will travel through these districts to raise awareness, sensitize the community and disseminate family planning messages

Messages about it will be disseminated with the help of local actors who can have an impact on the community. The government will also increase sterilization services through an improved HFD (High Fertility District) compensation scheme, launch injectable contraceptives at the subcentral level, and raise awareness about condoms.

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