DHAKA, Jan 11, 2024 (BSS) - Swapan Das and Mankhushi Das, residents of Lalbagh Rishipara of the capital, are blessed with two children. Mankhushi took their one-year-five-month baby girl Ankhi to Azimpur Matri Sadan and Child Health Training Institute for vaccination. Their elder son is four years old.
 
Talking on various issues regarding mother and child health protection and future of their child, Mankhushi said, she has no interest to have more children. Thanks to the campaign of DGFP (Directorate General of Family Planning) to make her aware about the chaild and mother's health.
 
Swapan, who runs his family with a small business, said he and his wife do not want to have another child.
 
This scenario is not only the case of any particular couple, but also most of the families across the country including capital city Dhaka.
 
About 80 percent of women in the country are now reluctant to have more than two children. At the time of independence in1971 Bangladesh’s total fertility rate (TFR) was 6.9 percent. In 1975 it was 6.3 percent and came down to 6.2 percent in 1981.
 
The latest Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey in 2020 showed declining of TFR to 2.3 percent, lowest in South Asia.
 
The survey found about 79 percent fertile women with two children are reluctant to have another child, which was 67 percent in 2004.  
 
Bangladesh government has undertaken a plan to bring the TFR to 2 percent by 2025. That means a mother in every household will give birth only two children in her life span. Overall success in reducing child mortality rate and wining of the MDG award is contributing a lot to achieve the TFR goal.
 
Now focus has been given on improving the maternal mortality as described in the SDGs. The government and field workers of the DGFP are working hard to achieve the target.
 
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has announced the target of bringing down the maternal mortality rate in childbirth to 70 per lakh by 2030 from 163.
 
For this, three things were given emphasized with a goal to contain early marriage, early pregnancy and frequent child bearing of women.
 
The main objective of the DGFP is to reduce infant and maternal mortality rate. Apart from family planning, the directorate also deals with maternal and child health, reproductive health, adolescent health and nutrition services. Planned family formation is the core of family planning.
 
As a planned family is an enlightened family, planned family formation help prevent unwanted pregnancies and reduce maternal and child mortality. To ensure safe delivery, 24-hour safe delivery services have been ensured at 2,860 health and family welfare centers under the DGFP.
 
Besides, 70 out of 96 mother and child welfare centers are providing emergency obstetric services. In this regard, the great success of the DGFP is that the total fertility rate in the country has decreased by about two percent due to the various activities of the organization.
 
The history of family planning programs in Bangladesh began in the early fifties as a voluntary initiative. Considering the importance of the program, family planning was nationalized in 1965 and family planning services started officially.
 
Rapid population growth was identified as one of the major problems in the First Five Year Plan of 1973-78 and multifaceted steps were taken to accelerate the family planning program under the leadership of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. The Five Year Plan was the first step to officially control the country's population.
 
Following this, the first National Population Policy was formulated in 1976. Realizing the importance of family planning, the next population policy was formulated in 2012 involving 25 ministries. Currently, family planning programs are being implemented in the light of this policy.