By Kashish Agarwal
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World Contraception Day, celebrated every year on September 26, aims to increase awareness about available contraceptive methods and empower the youth, especially women to make informed choices regarding their sexual and reproductive health. Launched by the World Health Organization in 2007, the day centers around a vision where every pregnancy is intentional. It is essential that women and couples are conscious of all the contraceptive methods, and determine the approach for themselves based on such information if the well-being and autonomy of women is to be secured.
The
importance of availability and information about contraceptive methods can
directly be linked to indispensable human rights such as
the right to life and liberty, and freedom of opinion and expression, apart
from significant health benefits such as prevention of the spread of sexually
transmitted diseases and a sustainable rate of population growth.[1]
Apart from this, the use of modern contraceptives can also help reduce the
infant mortality rate, that is, the rate of babies which die before the age of
one. The mortality of infants is directly affected by the age at which women
give birth and the length of interval between the births. The percentage of use
of contraceptives has shown a strong negative correlation with the infant
mortality rate.[2] A
growth in the use of contraceptives also leads to augmentation in women’s
agency, education and labor force participation. A study by the Illinois State
University indicated a direct negative correlation between fertility rates and
labour force participation. The use of contraceptives, which would also have
the same result of avoiding unwanted pregnancies, also has similar
consequences, that is, an increase in the participation in the labour force.
The possible reasons for the same are an inclination of women to leave the
workforce in the interest of taking care of the children.[3]
Contraceptives have a large number of other advantages such as prevention of
unwanted pregnancies in the interest of safeguarding health and avoiding undue
financial strain. Despite the advantages, the use of contraceptives is meagre
in comparison to the demand and need of the same.
Pregnancies,
when planned and spaced properly with the employment of modern contraceptive
methods, reduce the chances of high maternal mortality, as demonstrated by the
successful outcome of the Millennium Development Goals. As a part of this
campaign, the maternal mortality ratio was decreased by nearly fifty percent in
the last decade of the twentieth century, a feat which could not have been
achieved without an escalation in the figures of contraceptive awareness. As a
result of a colossal campaign by WHO and other organizations, the global
figures of contraceptive use have increased from 55 to 64 percent between 1990
and 2015. In the same period, the use of contraceptives in South Asia has
increased from 39 to 59 percent.[4]
According to the figures provided by the United Nations, in 2019, 1.1 billion
women worldwide have a need for contraceptives, among whom only 842 million
have access to modern methods of contraceptives. The percentage of women who
have unmet contraceptive needs touches double digits inspite of the fact that
access to contraception and satisfaction of family planning needs are crucial
for the fulfillment of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which calls
for universal access to reproductive health. In 2019, the median availability
of contraceptive methods among women who have need for the same was only 48.5
percent, with the availability in India being even lower at 42.6 percent.[5]
In India, the spread of the use of contraceptives faces the challenge of
overcoming the taboo associated with the use of the same. This problem is
further supplemented by the lack of responsibility of men in family planning,
with three out of eight refusing involvement in family planning. In 2016, The
National Family Health Survey reported that the use of Intra Uterine Devices,
Condoms and Contraceptive pills are as low as 2%, 5% and 7%. This acceptance of
male methods of contraception is hindered by myths and misconceptions
associating contraception use with the loss of virility.[6]
This indicates a situation wherein the contraceptive needs of women are acutely
unfulfilled, despite the years of efforts by regional and global agencies, and
acceptance of the need to spread awareness about contraceptives as a global
phenomenon.
The
importance of contraceptives coupled with the lack of access and use of the
same point towards a need for increased awareness. India being a country where
women are often unable to make decisions upon the disapproval of men and
society, awareness about contraceptives is of prime importance in order to
shatter the taboos related to the same. Population planning is the need of the
hour in the country with the second largest population in the world and
inadequate resources to cater to the needs of the growing population. Apart
from the health benefits, a check on unwanted pregnancies also helps break the
cycle of poverty in families and communities.
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Kashish Agarwal is a second year student at National Law University, Delhi. Being a law student, she loves to keep up with the legal affairs in the country and abroad. Apart from this, she spends her time adding to the seemingly endless list of movies she has watched.
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