World Population Day: India’s Strides in Addressing Rapid Population Growth
Every year on 11th July, we celebrate World Population Day since 1989.
Image Credits: HerZindagi
The celebration of this day is inspired by “Five Billion Day” when the world population reached five billion. The purpose of celebrating this day is to acknowledge the stemming issues, conduct a constructive discussion regarding the growth of the population, and come up with credible solutions.
Rapid population growth is one of the major concerns in a country like India. Even though India is rich in terms of natural assets and is considered one of the countries with a young population, the hasty growth of the population is the leading cause of the scarcity of natural reserves, the poor condition of the healthcare system, and insufficient infrastructure.
With a median age of 28.2 years, India is considered a relatively young country, with 65% of the population in their adolescence. As youngsters are responsible for future population growth, they need to be educated about family planning, planned parenthood, and the impact of overpopulation. The government initiated family planning programs necessary for education and economic incentives and policies to encourage a population decline, such as a single girl-child policy and providing reimbursement to government employees with two wards. The government also promotes PSAs to increase awareness of contraceptive methods, the family age minimum age gap between two children, and more.
The government initiated the Mission Parivar Vikas, launched in July 2016 in 146 districts in seven states (Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Assam, Uttar Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh) with a total fertility rate of 3 or more.
This includes the distribution of Nayi Saheli kits to newlyweds, Saas Bahu Sammelans spreading awareness of family planning, awareness-on-wheel campaigns like Sarthi Vahan, and Clinical Outreach services in the interiors of India. This resulted in a breakthrough improvement in reproductive health and a decline in the total fertility rate. The government was able to provide the special focus that was highly needed in the concerning areas.
The government introduced the Indian oral contraceptive pill, Centchroman (Chhaya), as well as the injectable MPA contraceptive (Antara program), which empowered women to make their own reproductive decisions. Mission Parivar Vikas was highly successful and resulted in a decline in the total fertility rate by 0.3 to 0.4 points, and four highly focused states were able to achieve a TFR of less than 2.1. The reason for the success of this mission was the availability of a variety of contraceptive methods, and two more methods, Subdermal Contraceptive Implants and Subcutaneous Injectable Contraceptives, were launched. The government is putting effort into making these available in India.
India has prevented more than 6 crore unwanted pregnancies, more than 20 lakh unsafe abortions, and more than 20,000 maternal deaths as a result of family planning. These applaudable results were possible because of ASHA workers and other public servants.
This year’s theme for Population Day is healthy timing and spacing of pregnancies for the well-being of mother and child, which highlights the significance of reproductive awareness and the necessary gap between pregnancies. The Sugam model, launched today, was chaired by Union Health Minister Shri JP Nadda in a virtual discussion on issues of family planning and population control with states/UTs. He said Sugam is a unique and innovative display model for Family Planning awareness. The model can be utilized by healthcare providers (gynecologists, medical officers, staff nurses) and counselors in the ANC Ward, PNC Ward, OPDs, and also by the front-line health functionaries at Ayushman Arogya Mandirs–Community Health Officers, ANMs, and ASHAs.
Currently, the government is focusing on women’s reproductive health by providing an abundance of contraceptive varieties available for women in the Indian market to increase the decision size of the family and avoid unwanted pregnancies. This would lead India into a healthier and more prosperous country.
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