{"id":25971,"date":"2023-04-15T12:48:08","date_gmt":"2023-04-15T19:48:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=25971"},"modified":"2023-04-15T12:48:10","modified_gmt":"2023-04-15T19:48:10","slug":"spotlight-on-family-planning-as-india-surpasses-china-as-worlds-most-populous-country","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2023\/04\/15\/spotlight-on-family-planning-as-india-surpasses-china-as-worlds-most-populous-country\/","title":{"rendered":"SPOTLIGHT ON FAMILY PLANNING AS INDIA SURPASSES CHINA AS WORLD\u2019S MOST POPULOUS COUNTRY"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Challenges and opportunities amid India&#039;s population boom \u2022 FRANCE 24 English\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/i63obx3iAY4?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/dialog\/share?app_id=121241974571942&amp;href=https%3A%2F%2Ff24.my%2F9P71.F&amp;redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.france24.com%2Fen%2Fasia-pacific%2F20230414-spotlight-on-family-planning-as-india-surpasses-china-as-world-s-most-populous-country&amp;locale=en_US\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/web.whatsapp.com\/send?text=Spotlight%20on%20family%20planning%20as%20India%20surpasses%20China%20as%20world%E2%80%99s%20most%20populous%20country%20-%20https%3A%2F%2Ff24.my%2F9P71.W\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Ff24.my%2F9P71.T&amp;via=FRANCE24&amp;related=FRANCE24&amp;text=Spotlight%20on%20family%20planning%20as%20India%20surpasses%20China%20as%20world%E2%80%99s%20most%20populous%20country&amp;lang=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><\/a>Issued on:&nbsp;14\/04\/2023 \u2013 06:36 (france24.com)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Text by:<a href=\"https:\/\/www.france24.com\/en\/author\/joanna-york\/\">Joanna YORK<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>India is set to become the world\u2019s most populous country on April 14, a title China has held for decades. Faced with a large \u2013 and growing \u00ad\u2013 population of more than 1.4 billion, India\u2019s family planning service is under pressure to maintain a decreasing fertility rate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/population.un.org\/wpp\/Download\/Standard\/MostUsed\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">UN forecast predicts<\/a>&nbsp;that on April 14 the Indian&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.economist.com\/the-world-ahead\/2022\/11\/14\/india-will-become-the-worlds-most-populous-country-in-2023\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">population will reach 1,425,775,850<\/a>&nbsp;\u2013 a number that dethrones China from its long-held position as the world\u2019s most populous country. &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The exact population of&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.france24.com\/en\/tag\/india\/\">India<\/a>&nbsp;today is unknown \u00ad(a 2021 update on the decade-old census was indefinitely delayed by the pandemic) but all signs point to exponential growth. While China\u2019s formerly steep rate of population increase is starting to plateau, India\u2019s curve is still forging upwards.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It is estimated that India has added 210 million \u2013 almost the number of&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/data.worldbank.org\/indicator\/SP.POP.TOTL?locations=BR\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">people in Brazil<\/a>&nbsp;\u2013 to its population since the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/2023\/02\/15\/india-soon-worlds-most-populous-nation-doesnt-know-how-many-people-it-has.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">last census 12 years ago<\/a>. As of 2020, it has gained roughly 1 million inhabitants each month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>&gt;&gt; Read more:&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.france24.com\/en\/asia-pacific\/20230117-china-faces-demographic-crisis-as-population-shrinks-for-first-time-in-60-years\">China faces demographic crisis as population shrinks for first time in 60 years<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The population of India \u2013 and&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.france24.com\/en\/tag\/china\/\">China<\/a>&nbsp;\u2013 is now equivalent to the entire continent of Africa, and dwarfs that of Europe and the Americas.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/bathtubbulletin.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/image-43.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-48769\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>How India\u2019s population compares globally&nbsp;\u00a9 Studio graphique France M\u00e9dias Monde<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But over the same decades that population growth in India has soared, fertility rates have been falling. In 1964 Indian women had six children on average, today they have closer to two, in part, due to the state family planning service, which India claims it was the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/nhm.gov.in\/index1.php?lang=1&amp;level=2&amp;sublinkid=821&amp;lid=222\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">first country<\/a>&nbsp;to provide when it launched in 1952.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe primary goal was to slow population growth as a means of supporting the economic development of the country, which was only a few years old at that point,\u201d says Anita Raj, Professor of Global Public Health, Director of the Center on Gender Equity and Health, University of California at San Diego.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The scheme has had some successes: India\u2019s 2022&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/rchiips.org\/nfhs\/NFHS-5Reports\/NFHS-5_INDIA_REPORT.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">family heath survey<\/a>&nbsp;found that almost 100% of married women and men aged 15-49 are aware of at least one method of contraception. The public health sector is the provider for 68% of people who use modern contraceptives (products or medical procedures used to prevent pregnancy such as condoms, the pill and IUDs, as opposed to traditional methods such as the withdrawal or rhythm methods or abstinence).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Yet, faced with a soaring population there is work to do. \u201cTotal fertility rates have declined for years,\u201d says Raj. \u201cHowever, if the goal was truly reproductive choice and women\u2019s reproductive autonomy, then more should be done.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Sterilisation<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The most used form of pregnancy prevention in India is female sterilisation, which accounts for 38% of all contraception used. \u201cThe emphasis of the national family planning programme historically was on family size, and consequently, sterilisation was the focus,\u201d says Raj.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Yet, male sterilisation rates account for just 0.3% of all contraception methods. This is partly due to a patriarchal society \u2013 the family heath survey found more than a third of men regard contraception as \u201cwomen\u2019s business\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/bathtubbulletin.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/image-44-657x1024.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-48770\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Contraceptive methods used by married women in India&nbsp;\u00a9 NFHS India Report, 2021<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But there is also resistance to male vasectomy due to lingering \u201cstigma and taboos\u201d, says Debanjana Choudhuri, a gender rights specialist based in India.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the 1970s, economic and social stagnation led the Indian government to launch a mass drive to sterilise men as a population control method. Heavy-handed enforcement saw men pressured into having vasectomies on pain of having their salaries docked or losing their jobs. Poor men risked being picked up by police from railway and bus stations before being&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.asianstudies.org\/publications\/eaa\/archives\/india-the-emergency-and-the-politics-of-mass-sterilization\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">sent for sterilisation<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The result in modern India is that \u201cno scalpel vasectomies have a very poor uptake\u201d, Choudhuri says. \u201cMen aren\u2019t doing enough.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>State efforts still shy away from diversifying contraceptive methods. Sterilisation for men and women is&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/bmchealthservres.biomedcentral.com\/articles\/10.1186\/s12913-022-08401-8\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">incentivised<\/a>&nbsp;with payment, and some states have introduced a&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2021\/jul\/14\/india-states-considering-two-child-policy-and-incentives-for-sterilisation\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">two-child policy<\/a>&nbsp;with penalties such as bans on holding government jobs for those who do not comply. The private health sector is the main provider of contraceptive of pills, injectables and condoms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Recent public health provision of UDIs could be a \u201cgame changer in achieving method mix\u201d, says Choudhuri, \u201cbut it will take 5-10 years to become popular. There is an immediate need for a healthier method mix, sensitisation, and awareness of long-acting reversible contraception and other short-term methods.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Contraceptive control<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Aside from placing the burden on women, reliance on female sterilisation limits women\u2019s options. \u201cSterilisation does not support birth spacing, which is important for maternal and infant health and survival. It also is not a solution to ensure women\u2019s control of timing of pregnancies, only limiting of them,\u201d says Raj.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIf sterilisation is the women\u2019s choice and supports women\u2019s health, then that is fine; but too often these decisions are built on family and community expectations.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Socio-economic conditions also define many women\u2019s choices around family planning. The 2022 family health survey found poorer, less educated women living in rural areas are likely to have more children at younger ages and have less exposure to family planning messages than their wealthier, educated and urban counterparts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Geography also plays a role, with women in the poorest parts of east India less likely to use any contraceptive methods at all, and especially less likely to use modern contraceptive methods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cEvidence from all over the world shows when women are given the choice to control their fertility and the opportunities around it [such as education and economic opportunity] you\u2019re always going to see family sizes coming down,\u201d says Alistair Currie, campaign manager from Population Matters, a UK-based charity that addresses population size.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Lowering the fertility rate<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Daily newsletter<\/strong>Receive essential international news every morning<a href=\"https:\/\/emailing.france24.com\/en\/subscribe\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Subscribe<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Forecasts predict that India\u2019s population will continue to increase for decades to come. The UN\u2019s \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/population.un.org\/wpp\/DefinitionOfProjectionScenarios\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">medium variant<\/a>\u201d projection puts the peak of growth at 1.7 billion people in 2064. \u201cLow variant\u201d projections would see the growth curve start to flatten in 2047.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As they are, efforts from the Indian government are&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/india\/indias-population-growth-slows-world-reaches-8-billion-2022-11-15\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">slowing<\/a>&nbsp;population growth at an increasingly rapid rate, but data indicates family planning has a greater role to play. There remains a significant gap between the wanted fertility rate (number of children women want to have) of 1.6, and the actual fertility rate of 2.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe would hope to see a situation in which all pregnancies are wanted and that people have the capacity to make a choice [to get pregnant],\u201d Currie says. \u201cIf that were the case, then we would see a lower fertility rate in India.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In addition, a population growth spurt looms: nearly half of the Indian population is below the age of 25, likely to have children of their own in coming years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At the moment, many of this demographic lacking vital information about contraceptives, Choudhuri says. \u201cThere\u2019s a prejudice that comes with the family planning programme \u2013 because it\u2019s called family planning many people feel that it is not aimed at them. The adolescent population needs to be brought into the contraception conversation. Right now, they are excluded, and that\u2019s alarming.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Issued on:&nbsp;14\/04\/2023 \u2013 06:36 (france24.com) Text by:Joanna YORK India is set to become the world\u2019s most populous country on April 14, a title China has held for decades. Faced with a large \u2013 and growing \u00ad\u2013 population of more than 1.4 billion, India\u2019s family planning service is under pressure to&#8230; <a class=\"continue-reading-link\" href=\"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2023\/04\/15\/spotlight-on-family-planning-as-india-surpasses-china-as-worlds-most-populous-country\/\"> Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr; <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[419,420],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25971"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25971"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25971\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25973,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25971\/revisions\/25973"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25971"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25971"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25971"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}