The use of family planning methods, known as contraceptive prevalence rate (CPR), has increased eight times in the country in the last four decades.
According to a survey of Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey
(BDHS)-2018, the CPR was only 7.7 percent in 1975 which increased to 63.1 percent in 2017.
Family planning experts observed that various awareness campaigns taken by the government and non-government organizations helped increase the contraceptive prevalence rate in the country.
The government pledged on increasing contraceptive access and use among poor people in urban and rural areas, improving choice and availability of long acting and permanent methods (LAPMs).
The government plans to increase LAPM use through an increase in supply of materials and instruments for LAPMs, targeting low performing areas, increasing awareness and outsourcing programs to non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to cover hard-to-reach and low performing areas.
As a result from July 2018 to June 2019, the government witnessed that 6.75 lakh male or female took permanent or long-term family planning methods in just one fiscal year.
Of them, 33,035 male and female received permanent methods while rest 5,42,043 male and female took long acting methods.
Results from the 2014 BDHS showed that knowledge of family planning methods were widespread throughout Bangladesh, with almost all ever-married and currently married women were able to identify at least one modern method of contraception.
Health and Family Welfare Minister Zahid Maleque said the use of different family planning methods have been increased due to various initiatives taken by the present government.
Besides, the rate of save birth has increased to 47 from 23 percent while rate of tasking post delivery care raised to 43 from 19 present due to skilled midwifes and primary health workers.
The current preferred family size for women in Bangladesh is 2.1 children, which has declined slightly over the last decade from 2.4 children.
The BDHS 2014 reports that 74 percent of pregnancies in the five years preceding the survey were wanted or intended and 26 percent of pregnancies were unintended.
The family planning department has taken programmes to reduce the family size by 2 children within 2020.
Director General of the Directorate General of Family Planning (DGFP) of the Ministry of Health and Family Planning Quazi AKM Mohiul Islam said they are working relentlessly to increase the rate of family planning users through organizing different awareness programmes like pre-marriage counselling seminars, street drama, screening movies and puppet shows.
