Family planning key to reduce maternal and child mortalities: Nadda

There has been a paradigm shift and family planning has now emerged as a key strategy to reduce maternal and child mortalities and morbidities, said union health minister JP Nadda while inaugurating a two-day national summit on family planning in the national capital.

Nadda launched the new revamped logo for family Planning media awareness campaign along with the 360 degree communication plan for enhanced awareness regarding various issues surrounding family planning in the country. Highlighting the importance of communication in addressing such issues, he said that a comprehensive strategy has been worked out where maternal and child health and well being have been placed at the centre point of the new approach.

He also informed that India has made notable progress in several health indicators. “Considering that 45% of the maternal deaths occur in the age group 15 to 25 years where 52% of the total fertility is also clustered, we are moving from limiting to delaying and spacing for wider health benefits,” Nadda said. There has been a sharp decline in decadal growth rate from 21.54 percent in 1990-2000 to 17.64 percent during 2001-11, the health minister added. The Total Fertility Rate (TFR) has also come down from 6 in 1951 to 2.3 in 2013.

The health minister also launched the new packaging of contraceptive Nirodh to increase its uptake and use. He said, “As a part of our continued efforts to offer Indian women a broader basket of choice, a method mix of contraceptives - injectables, centchroman (estrogen receptor modulators) and POPs - have now been introduced into the public health system under the National Family Planning program. The improved access to contraceptives will address all the development dimensions”.

Nadda also said that family planning reinforces people’s rights to determine the number and spacing of their children. “The freedom to personally determine the timing of a pregnancy strengthens above all the position of women in society. It helps reduce child mortality and improve maternal health, because many pregnancies in quick succession put mother and child at risk,” he said.