 | The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
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| The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
Ubaidur Rob, Ph D and Marium ul Mutahara, MA. Population Council, House # CES (B) 21, Road # 118, Gulshan, Dhaka, 1212, Bangladesh, 880 2 882-3334, urob@pcdhaka.org
Bangladesh currently faces many significant population and development problems. Being one of the most density populated country, its resource base is also limited. The first Population Policy of Bangladesh was formulated in 1976 when the rate of population growth was approximately 3 percent per year. Since then Bangladesh has achieved remarkable success in lowering fertility to a medium level. Currently more than half of the eligible women are practicing family planning methods. From the independence to the present, Bangladesh’s Population Policy has evolved in two district phases. The first phase lasted through 1997 and it was guided by the objectives and strategies outlined in the 1976 Population Policies. During this period, development of mother and child health (MCH) based service delivery system, home visitation; expanding contraceptive choice and promoting multi-sectoral collaboration were emphasized. The second phase started in 1998 and has continued to the present. This stage is strongly influenced by the ICPD and it has been characterized by a transition from a target driven to a client centered approach. The objectives of this article are to describe the major population issues in Bangladesh and examine how the proposed population policies and programs dealing with issues, and discuss how the policies and programs can be improved to address the emerging issues more effectively.
Learning Objectives:
Keywords: Policy/Policy Development, Population
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.