Help strengthen motivational programmes for family planning

Chief Adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed yesterday called for strengthening the motivational programmes for workers, landless and floating people, urban slum dwellers and the destitute in char and remote hilly areas to reduce the number of poor people.
The Directorate of Family Planning has taken up a good number of motivational programmes in this regard. But it is difficult for it alone to build up public opinion against the backdrop of low literacy rate, unemployment, unawareness, stigma and superstition, said Fakhruddin.
The chief adviser was inaugurating a programme at the Osmani Memorial Auditorium, marking the World Population Day 2008.
The theme of this year's population day is: “It's a right, let's make it real.”
Fakhruddin urged all concerned including different ministries, NGOs, non-government service-oriented institutions and various professional organisations to take up realistic programmes and implement those to achieve the objective.
The chief adviser suggested that population control programmes would have to be taken targeting the early-married couples.
The rate of unmet need in family planning now is 17.6 percent, which was 11.3 percent in 2004. This shows the rate of unmet need increased by over six percent in the last four years.
Juveniles, ranging from 10-19 years, constitute 23 percent of the country's population. The percentage of unmet need is higher among the married women aged between 15 and 19 and the rate is 19.8 percent.
Fakhruddin said despite there is a demand of family planning services among many couples, often it is not possible to reach such services to them.
The family planning services still do not reach 17.6 percent of couples and quick steps must be taken to this end, he said, adding that the rate of unmet need is much more in Sylhet, Chittagong and Barisal.
Health Adviser AMM Shawkat Ali, DG of Directorate of Family Planning Kamrun Nesa Khanam and UNFPA Country Representative Arthur Erken also spoke at the function, chaired by Health Secretary AKM Zafarullah Khan.
Earlier, the chief adviser distributed prizes among the seven best performers in family planning activities from seven categories in six divisions.
A total of 42 prizes were given for making special contribution to checking maternal and infant mortality and in family planning activities last year in the categories of family welfare inspector, family welfare assistant, mother and child welfare centre, upazila, union, union health and family welfare centre and non-government organisations.
Each prize carries a crest and certificate, while additional Tk 5,000 in prize bonds for family welfare inspector and family welfare assistant categories.
The chief adviser in his speech said population is a very important matter for the country in the perspective of its progress, people and standard of life and the efforts for development.
He said the necessity to keep population limited for alleviating poverty and attain socio-economic progress is recognised by all today.
The population would stand at 17.20 crore in 2020 and reach 21 crore in 2060, he said adding that the rate of population growth now is 1.43 percent with about 953 people living in a square kilometre area.
Fakhruddin said this increase in the country's population would aggravate the present crisis of meeting fundamental demands including education, food and health.
In order to save the future generation from such situation, the country would have to reduce population growth quickly and also have to build up skilled manpower keeping the population limited, he added.
The chief adviser called for putting highest contributions en masse to build a developed Bangladesh with a limited population.