Family planning in India: The way forward

Abstract

Given the magnitude of the family planning programme in India, there is a need to strengthen the coordination of all its aspects, focusing on planning, programmes, monitoring, training and procurement. The quality of care in family planning must be a major focus area to ensure the success of family planning programmes. Despite serious efforts and progress, India has yet to achieve its family planning goals. Furthermore, there is a need for greater male participation both as enablers and beneficiaries and also address the sexual and reproductive needs of the youth. It is imperative for the government to ensure the prioritization of family planning in the national development agenda. Family planning is crucial for the achievement of the sustainable development goals, and subsequent efforts need to be made to improve access and strengthen quality of family planning services.

Keywords: Contraceptive choices; quality of care; sustainable development goals; unmet need.

Fig. 1

Effect of number of contraceptive methods on modern contraceptive prevalence rate (mCPR). (A) The graphic is a projection of the rise in modern contraceptive prevalence rate (mCPR) in India with every additional contraceptive method. This estimation is based on the mCPR of 47.8 from the National Family Health Survey 4 (NFHS-4). Source: Refs , . (B) Evidence on contraceptive method mix in developing countries South/South-East Asia. The mCPR has been represented on a scale of 100 percentage points to depict the distribution of contraceptive method mix for each country. Source: Refs , , .

Fig. 2

Allocation, expenditure and utilization of FP budget 2016-2017. POL, petroleum oil and lubricants; RMNCH, reproductive, maternal, newborn, child, health; FP, family planning; bcc, behaviour change communication; IEC, Information, Education and Communication; IUCD, intrauterine contraceptive device. Source: Ref. .