In an attempt to bring down the Prayagraj district’s Total Fertility Rate (TFR) from 2.4 to 2.1, the officials of the Health department have taken up an extensive campaign to identify eligible couples for family planning under the population stabilisation fortnight exercise. Ironically, Prayagraj is the most populous district of state and its TFR is more than state of UP (2.2).
The total fertility rate (TFR) of a population is the average number of children that would be born to a female over their lifetime if they were to experience the exact current age-specific fertility rates through their lifetime they were to live from birth until the end of their reproductive life
District Programme Manager (National Health Mission) Vinod Kumar Singh said, “After Prayagraj being placed as most populous district in the state as per the census authorities of the Health department have taken up an extensive campaign to identity eligible couples (those couples who have completed their families) in all 21 blocks and urban pockets of the district to promote family planning.
He said, “Basic health workers i.e. ASHA, ANMs and Aganwadi workers are knocking the doors to identify eligible couples in villages, blocks and urban areas and convincing them for family planning methods to restrict their families. The identification of eligible couples will be done till July 10.
Singh said “After the identification of eligible couples and maintaining eligible couple registers, the Health department will take up the use of safe and secure family planning methods, both temporary and permanent, including family stabilisation treatment, NSV, IUCD, PPIUCD and Antara among eligible couples. Singh said “The department has also set an estimated level of achievements block wise and urban pockets including FST ( 2875), NSV ( 367), IUCD (4,800), PPIUCD (1,123) and Antara ( 2,989).
A senior health official said, “We are persistently approaching and convincing eligible couples telling them the benefits of small family.” He said, “Health officials are exhibiting various methods of family planning and awakening masses about reproduction rate, child health and HIV.”
Health officials said counselling is an important factor to convince eligible couples for family planning methods and teams of doctors will be doing the same during the fortnight at government hospitals and community health centres.
Interestingly, health workers concerned are focusing on high fertility areas for population stabilisation fortnight. Health authorities are focusing on efforts to create awareness and persuade eligible couples to have smaller families for the betterment of health of mother, child and the entire family.
The measures that have contributed to the lowering of fertility rate includes improving literacy levels, empowerment of women, delaying of the first child birth, enhancement in the compensation package for sterilisation, encouraging male participation in sterilisation and involving village level community health workers in promoting family planning. Meanwhile, health officials also laid stress over pre-marital counselling for to-be-married couples regarding family size and gap between two children. There should also be counselling of lactating mother who cometo hospital either for immunisation or for treatment of children and counselling and services of postpartum intrauterine contraceptive device (PPIUCD) before discharging them from maternity wards.
Although women are a step ahead in adopting family planning measures, officials of the Health department are now promoting and encouraging males for no-scalpel vasectomy (NSV), terming it a safe and sound method for family planning. In fact, the department has come up with 6S’ (advantages) of NSV, including scalpel-less, stitch-less, safe, sound, simple and short formula among males.
OATH ADMINISTERED: Professor of Zoology, Deendayal Upadhyay Government Post Graduate College, Saidabad, Prayagraj, Dr Ashok Kumar Verma has been made a member of the Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission (UPPSC). Governor Anandi Ben Patel has ordered this appointment of Dr Verma in exercise of the powers conferred under Clause (1) of Article 316 of the Constitution of India.
The Personnel department of the state sent the appointment letter to Dr Verma. Public Service Commission Chairman Sanjay Srinetra administered the oath of office and secrecy to Dr Verma on Saturday.
Dr Verma was awarded the highest Saraswati Samman of the Education department in 2017 by the Government of Uttar Pradesh. Dr Verma has more than 100 research papers/ review papers and a dozen books published. He has also received the Human Excellence Golden Award by the American University in the international seminar organized at Rani Durgavati Vishwavidyalaya, Jabalpur (Madhya Pradesh) last month. He has received more than 50 awards so far. Dr Verma’s research papers have so far received more than 2200 Google Scholar citations, including 26 H-index and 74 I-ten index. This is an excellent record in itself.
Dr Verma’s research on Sarus Crane is quite famous. That is why he has been invited to Indonesia to present his research paper. Scientists, professors and researchers from many countries have been invited to the international symposium on ‘ Natural Resource Management and Sustainability’ organised by Udayana University, Bali (Indonesia) in November 2023.