Health Minister Banna Gupta while speaking as the chief guest at the Mission Parivar Vikas campaign cum State level honour ceremony organised at Public Health Institute, Namkum, Ranchi on Wednesday said that increasing population is a matter of concern for the whole world. Illiteracy, lack of awareness and desire for sons are important reasons for population growth.
Gupta also said that it is necessary to eradicate dowry system from the society as due to this evil practice, the desire to have a son becomes strong in people. The Minister also said that the role of women in the society cannot be underestimated. Daughters are making the country proud by becoming Kalpana Chawla and Deepika, so it is the responsibility of every man to respect women and provide them with proper opportunities to move forward.
During this speech, he also recited his poem ‘Manav-Manav Se Pyar Kare’. Expressing concern over the increasing population, Gupta said that the more arrangements are being made, the more the pressure is increasing. Population control is very important for all to access the resources and also for ecological balance.
Praising the work of health sahyas, the Health Minister said, “I am always worried about the fact that sahya sisters are working on a meager incentive amount. I have also talked to the Union Health Minister regarding increasing their incentive amount.”
In the program, Health Minister Banna Gupta, Campaign Director Abu Imran, Director Chief Chandra Kishore Shahi and other officials of the Health Department flagged off the awareness vehicle Sarathi on Wheels related to Mission Parivar Vikas Abhiyan. In the program, the district doctors and other personnel who performed well in the State were also honored with certificates. The role of medical college in strengthening the family planning program was also discussed in the function.
Abu Imran, Campaign Director of National Health Mission, Jharkhand said that as much as public awareness is necessary for family planning, it is equally important for the family to be educated and that women need to know and understand their rights.
The NHM Campaign Director also informed that since the beginning of Mission Parivar Vikas Program, as many as 11083 male sterilizations and 641631 female sterilizations have been done and 708245 women have been provided the benefit of Antara. He also said that due to the fertility rate being more than 3, Mission Parivar Vikas Program was started in Jharkhand in the year 2017- 18 in 9 districts namely Chatra, West Singhbhum, Garhwa, Lohardaga, Pakur, Sahebganj, Dumka, Godda and Gumla. From the year 2022, this program is being operated in the whole of Jharkhand. Director General, Health Services, Chandra Kishore Shahi said that the population is increasing in a limited area and the land is shrinking, due to which the eco system is getting affected. If the country has to be made happy, then population control is necessary. Dr Pushpa, State Nodal Officer of Family Planning Cell, said that according to the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-3-2005-06), the total fertility rate of Jharkhand has come down from 3.3 to 2.3 now and it is a matter of happiness that the residents of the State are aware and conscious about population growth. She also said that due to the addition of new options in family planning methods like Antara (contraceptive injection) and Chhaya (weekly pill), the achievement of family planning has increased. In the year 2017- 18, the achievement of Antara was 2263 which increased to 243291 in 2023- 24, similarly the Chhaya pill increased from 34844 to 483767 in 2023- 24.
In the program: Project Director of Jharkhand AIDS Control Society Pawan Kumar, Administrative Officer of National Health Mission Laxmi Narayan Kishore, Director of Medicine Ritu Sahay, Deputy Director of Health Department Dr. R.N. Sharma, Dr. Lal Manjhi, Dr. Anil Kumar, Dr. Pradeep Kumar, Dr. John F. Kennedy, Dr. Kamlesh Kumar, Dr. Ranjit Prasad, Dr. Uma Sinha, Dr. Pankaj Kumar, State Program Manager Anima Kisku, State Program Coordinator Akay Minj, State Family Planning Coordinator Gunjan Khalkho, RH Coordinator Nawal Kishore Yadav along with other nodal officers, consultants, coordinators and officers and employees of health department were present