Family planning in India

The government of India is paying increasingly more attention to family planning in the country. For the years 1969-1974, the so-called Fourth Development Plan Period, the budget for family planning and population control is nearly 12 times that for the previous 5-year period. A total of $432.75 million has been appropriated for family planning and population control during the Fourth Development Plan. A large percentage of this money has been marked for research and development of new methods and means for the most practical family planning and fertility control. Most of this research is coordinated by the Indian Council of Medical Research. Fertility control in India consists of public education, family counseling, and direct medical aid.     

Family planning in Hong Kong

Hong Kong is one of the most crowded corners in the world, with the population ratio fluctuating due to the coming and going of refugees from Mainland China, but always very dense. There probably is not a place in the world in which family planning is needed more than in Hong Kong. There is no official government policy regarding population control in this island colony. Every year, however, the government agencies budget money for the support of family planning programs. A voluntary organization, the Family Planning Association of Hong Kong, founded in 1936, is the main spiritus movens behind the family planning activities in the colony. The organization is run by an executive committee with many subcommittees for publicity, education, training, family life, social work, research and clinical care. The organization has a total of 200 full-time paid staff employees, not counting the members of the Executive Committee who serve without pay. Acceptance of the programs offered is not overly enthusiastic. Out of this very 1 large, crowded population area, in 1971 only 29,973 women used the services of the Family Planning Clinic. Of these, 21,664 used it for purposes of spacing children, and 8309 used it for limiting the family size. The most popular means of birth control in Hong Kong is the IUD method;W However, all other methods are being used, including the oral contraceptive pill. The colony is far from the ideal birth rate or ideal population-growth index for the area. Education programs are needed to increase acceptance of the available population-control programs and services. These are now being intensified and extended, especially into the group between the ages of 25 and 35.     

Family planning/contraception

It is the position of the Canadian Medical Association (CMA) that family planning advice and assistance should be readily available to all residents of Canada. This is viewed as a responsibility of practising physicians that is to be shared with other health and educational agencies. CMA has recommended the establishment of facilities in addition to physicians' offices for the dissemination of advice on family planning. These facilities should be developed in consultation with and under the supervision of the medical profession. CMA believes induced abortion should not be an alternative to contraception as a method of responsible family planning. In the event of an unwanted pregnancy, full counselling services should be provided. Within the context of preventive medicine, CMA supports the development of educational programs in family living and the promotion of sex education in the school system by knowledgeable persons sensitive to the needs of students.     

Family planning attitudes and action

This paper presents the findings of 2 small-scale surveys of contraceptive usage in an urban area of Papua New Guinea. The 1st survey included the parents of 27 infants and children admitted to a local hospital, while the 2nd focused on 27 families from a squatter settlement. The mean number of children desired was 3.5 in the former survey and 3.9 in the latter survey. Only 15% of families in the hospital survey and 11% of families in the settlement survey were using a modern contraceptive method. Lack of information about such methods was the major reason cited for their nonuse. Moreover, 44% of parents in the hospital survey and 33% of those in the settlement survey were unaware of any adverse affects of having too many children. Despite these findings, 100% of families in the 1st survey and 96% of those in the 2nd were in favor of a community-based distribution scheme for contraceptives. The low level of contraceptive usage demonstrated in these surveys indicates that families' desires for small family size are likely to be unfullfilled. It is suggested that provincial family planning committiees be established in Papua New Guinea to plan, establish, and coordinate local family planning programs.     

Family planning and public health in Georgia: an enlarged commitment

County clinics reached an estimated 4% of eligible women in 1964 in Georgia. Continuing high crude birth rate showed a large gap between those eligible and interested and those, particularly nonwhites, being served. Although family planning was offered in 133 of 157 counties, the statewide postpartum return rate was only 24% in 1963-4. The maternal mortality rate in Georgia in 1964 was 5.7/10000. Of the 57 maternal deaths, 14 were associated with abortion and 15 with parities of 5 or more. Infant mortality rates were also higher than national figures, 29.2/1000. In November, 1974 State Health Department officials and prominent doctors reorganized the program to offer newer, more modern methods, e.g. oral contraceptives and IUDs, summarized the terms of state subsidization, and enabled clinics to consider systematically all the medical requirements for use of modern methods. Because of cost efficiency and ease of use, the IUD was the mainstay of the program. County acceptance increased steadily since June 1965. By 1966, 96 counties had plans for expanding services. By the end of 1965, 2434 devices were inserted, 832 women accepted oral contraceptives, and 4649 women were using traditional methods.