Abstract

PIP: All available data to date indicate that the Family Planning Program of the Public Health Department, together with the rest of the Health Institutions which offer this type of service are having great success at the national level and, consequently, in the border states. The Public Health Department Program and the Programs of the Institutions as a whole are enrolling approximately 15% of the eligible couples/year, this number compares very favorably with that reported internationally. The rapid progress observed in the rural areas has been particularly stimulating, especially if we consider the fact that it is this area that the greatest resistance was expected. At the present time, one of the prime activities of the Public Health Department is to extend the Program to a greater number of rural communities through an established network of community promoters. There is a clear difference in the yield, extension, etc. between the different health units within the same state. This variation includes the border states as well. The directed efforts to understand and detect these differences systematically are still being studied. Presently we can state that the coverage reached by the Program has not yet begun to stagnate or indicate negative growth, although there is some indication of this in the urban areas. Acceptor characteristics point to the necessity of extending the Program to an economically weak population and not to restrict it to the privileged people. This is supported by the results obtained in a National Contraceptive Prevalence Study done by the Coordination of the National Program for Family Planning, which shows that 60% of couples in urban areas use contraceptive methods, 20% of rural couples, and 40% at the national level. These numbers are equal or even greater in the border states. (author's modified)