With an aim to give more control over their reproductive choices, the Union health ministry will launch injectable contraceptives and birth control pills for women that will give them freedom from unw
With an aim to give more control over their reproductive choices, the Union health ministry will launch injectable contraceptives and birth control pills for women that will give them freedom from unwanted pregnancy. The new injectable contraceptives and “mini pills” would be available at all primary and community health centres and sub-divisional and district hospitals free of cost.
The health ministry recently got an approval from the drug controller general of India.
Union health minister J.P. Nadda will now launch the three-monthly birth control technique to be introduced in the national programme this week.
The health minister will also launch centchroman and progesterone pills — the other effective method for regulation of ovulation.
Officials say that the new technique will empower women, who have so far been dependent on sterilisation.
The introduction of effective “pool of contraceptives” for women gains significance in the country which sees a huge gender divide when it comes to sterilisation.
Recent surveys have found male sterilisation going down every year, with India recording as low as 0.4 per cent male sterilisation and about 60 per cent women opting for tubectomy.
So far in India, sterilisation has been the most-preferred method.
“Women sterilisation still remains the most sought after family planning method preferred in India. The new intiative will empower them. One shot lasts three months. Birth control pills is another easier but effective method to control pregnancy. The plan is to expand the basket of contraceptives by providing more choices for birth control,” a senior health ministry official said.
So far in India, sterilisation has been the most-preferred method. The latest National Family Health Survey (NFHS-IV) in Andhra Pradesh female sterlisation stood at 68.3 per cent. Similarly, in Tamil Nadu too, female sterlisation is preferred by 55 per cent. The story is no different in Andaman and Nicobar Islands where 39.9 per cent preferred female sterilisation.
Ironically, male sterilisation is not preferred at all, in fact the survey foud only a handful of men going for sterilization, even in the states where literacy rates were quite significant. In Bihar, 23.8 per cent female sterilisation is recorded. In Goa, too female sterilization stands at 25.8 per cent. The story repeats in Haryana too, where females sterlisation stands at 38.2 per cent. Similarly, in Karnataka female sterilization is recorded at 57.4 per cent here.
