Year-long family planning campaign to begin 1 December

The government will launch a year-long nationwide family planning campaign from 1 December to encourage smaller families, with Prime Minister Tarique Rahman set to inaugurate the programme, Health Minister Sardar Sakhawat Hossain said today (7 October).

The campaign will run until 30 November next year under the slogan, “No more than two children, one is better”, the minister told journalists at the Secretariat.

He said the initiative would focus on strengthening family planning activities nationwide, including expanding access to related services and materials.

Sakhawat said family planning had been one of the weakest areas of government efforts in recent years.

“Our weakest area was family planning. We could not do much there. Unfortunately, the birth rate, which was once low, has increased by more than 2%,” he said.

The campaign will begin at the primary level and use various forms of public engagement, including street songs, group songs and sports, to promote the message.

The minister said the programme would not be limited to awareness-building.

“We will not just talk about it. We will also supply all kinds of materials. We will arrange to deliver services such as tablets and ultrasonography to people’s doorsteps,” he said.

Sakhawat said the government wanted to make family planning programmes more widely accepted and accessible across the country.

He said the government would seek support from the media and other communication channels to spread the campaign’s message and encourage broader participation.