30 November 2024 : The Hindu Editorial Analysis
1. Indians need to share contraceptive responsibility
(Source – The Hindu, International Edition – Page No. – 4)
| Topic: GS2 – Social Justice- Health |
| Context |
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Introduction: Evolution of Family Planning in India
- India initiated its national family planning programme in 1952, focusing initially on maternal and child health before shifting towards population stabilization.
- Permanent contraception methods, especially vasectomies, were widely used during the 1960s, with 80.5% of sterilisation procedures being vasectomies in 1966-70.
- However, vasectomy usage has significantly declined, standing at just 0.3% in the NFHS-4 (2015-16) and NFHS-5.
Gender Disparity in Sterilisation
- Female sterilisation constitutes 37.9% of contraceptive use, whereas male sterilisation remains at 0.3%, revealing a stark gender disparity.
- This disparity challenges the National Health Policy 2017 goal of increasing male sterilisation to 30% and hampers India’s progress towards SDG 5 on gender equality.
Awareness Initiatives for Vasectomies
- Global and national campaigns like World Vasectomy Day (November 15, 2024) and India’s ‘Vasectomy Fortnight’ in 2017 aim to increase awareness and demand for the procedure.
- Despite such efforts, ground-level challenges prevent substantial progress in male sterilisation adoption.
Challenges and Ground Realities
- Social Perceptions: Field studies in rural Maharashtra revealed that sterilisation is viewed as a woman’s responsibility, while men are reluctant due to work-related hardships and misconceptions.
- Lack of Awareness: Many men and women are unaware of cash incentives for vasectomy or its role in shared reproductive responsibilities.
- Service Accessibility: Rural areas lack skilled providers, and even community health workers are often unfamiliar with no-scalpel vasectomies.
Suggested Solutions
- Awareness and Sensitisation:
- Introduce gender equality and reproductive responsibility education during adolescence.
- Organise sustained campaigns to debunk myths and destigmatize vasectomies as a safe, simpler alternative to tubectomy.
- Enhanced Incentives:
- Increase conditional cash incentives to offset economic losses for men undergoing vasectomy.
- Example: Madhya Pradesh raised incentives by 50% in 2022, and a 2019 study in Maharashtra showed increased uptake due to incentives.
- International Best Practices:
- South Korea: Progressive norms and gender equality contributed to the highest vasectomy prevalence globally.
- Bhutan: Vasectomy acceptance improved through camps and quality services.
- Brazil: Awareness campaigns via mass media increased uptake from 0.8% in the 1980s to 5% recently.
Way Forward
- Strengthen national health systems and policies to align with objectives, ensuring practical implementation and service delivery.
- Invest in training healthcare professionals and adopting advanced techniques like non-scalpel vasectomies.
- Combine public awareness with concrete policy actions for sustainable outcomes in male sterilisation adoption.
| PYQ: Discuss the main objectives of Population Education and point out the measures to achieve them in India in detail. (250 words/15m) (UPSC CSE (M) GS-1 2021) |
| Practice Question: Despite being a safer and simpler alternative, male sterilisation remains vastly underutilised in India. Examine the socio-cultural and systemic barriers to vasectomy adoption and suggest policy measures to address this gender disparity in family planning. (250 Words /15 marks) |
