Fortifying Public Health : A Work In Progress

Poonam Muttreja, Executive Director, Population Foundation of India, in a conversation with Viveka Roychowdhury, elucidates about the need to focus on dispelling myths and misconceptions. She also talks about many benefits in terms of health and nutrition outcomes which will result in a better uptake of contraceptives and an increased shared responsibility within the family.

- Viveka Roychowdhury

What have been the major developments in family planning and reproductive health in India in the past year?

The year 2016 has been a significant one in terms of developments for family planning in India. To my mind, the most notable of these has been the Supreme Court verdict on the Devika Biswas Vs Union of India case, which has greatly encouraged many of us, who work in this field. What makes the judgment exceptional is the fact that it lays out the groundwork for organisations and people who anchor their work in a human rights framework, to come together – and work in concert to make sure that the guidelines that have been laid down are implemented and adhered to.

Additionally, the judgment has three critical directives that make it a defining moment in family planning legislation. It calls for: the phasing out of sterilisation camps in the next three years; asks states and Union Territories to desist from setting targets, which could be misused to coerce people into undergoing sterilisation; and lastly, directs them to make family planning programmes better in terms of access to doctors that are empanelled, availability of information in the vernacular, and making certain that the client has been fully informed about the pros and cons of the procedure before deciding to go for it – all these combine to tackle the challenges hitherto prevalent in this regard.

On the need to increase the method mix of contraceptives on India, we witnessed the forward-looking steps taken by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoH&FW) in the family planning programme, including the introduction of three new modern spacing methods, which included: injectable contraceptives, progestinonly pills and centchroman in 2015. These have all been supported by an implementation plan and a series of trainings to ensure smooth and effective delivery.