Bangladesh faced enormous challenges in 1971, grappling with poverty, limited resources, poor healthcare access, food insecurity, and a rapidly growing population. At the time, one in five children died before they turned five, more than five in 100 mothers died during pregnancy or childbirth, and women gave birth to an average of seven children.
In this context, the government of the young country prioritized family planning, a pivotal decision that set the stage for the economic growth and improved health and education outcomes that Bangladesh is known for today.
On World Contraception Day, September 26, the United States congratulates Bangladesh on developing a successful family planning program that helps families plan the timing and number of children with the help of a range of modern and effective contraceptive options. The US government, through the US Agency for International Development (USAID), is proud to have contributed to this world-renowned success throughout our 50-year partnership.
Why does family planning matter and how did it help Bangladesh?
Access to voluntary family planning and reproductive health services provides families with the freedom to choose how many children they want to have, and when to have them. This is a crucial component for promoting safe motherhood and healthy families. Having children spaced too closely together can negatively affect the health of both mothers and children.
When parents can focus on long-term goals for their children rather than focusing solely on survival, they invest in education and specialized skills training, save for their futures, and enable children to maximize their potential in life and become productive members of tomorrow’s workforce.
This benefits families, communities, and entire countries. No country has emerged from poverty in the last 50 years without expanding family planning access. This is why family planning matters.
As the world’s largest bilateral family planning donor, the US government provided expertise to support Bangladesh’s vision to expand access to high quality family planning methods. Alongside the government of Bangladesh, we worked with non-government organizations, the private sector, and other donors to build knowledge of and demand for family planning, while simultaneously helping the health system to deliver better quality services.
How did Bangladesh achieve their family planning goals?
First, by collecting and using robust evidence. Where the global evidence was scarce, Bangladesh invested in research to build an evidence base. USAID worked with the government of Bangladesh for decades to collect demographic and health data to inform service delivery programs and reach out to people through popular radio and television campaigns.
These efforts helped elevate family planning from a taboo topic to an essential health service that has saved the lives of millions of mothers and children.
Second, Bangladesh expanded access to health services and commodities, even in hard-to-reach areas. The country proved to the world that rural women not only benefit, but can effectively deliver health services, including family planning, in their communities.
This model method became an essential vehicle to deliver health and family planning service delivery around the world.
Bangladesh continued to add different methods of family planning to the available services, understanding that men and women have different needs, and not every family planning method is right for everyone.
Now, in addition to health workers providing family planning commodities in rural communities, many family planning methods are widely available in pharmacies, and clinical methods are offered from both public and private sector facilities.
To ensure a stable, steady supply of contraceptive products, USAID helped Bangladesh build a supply chain management system to effectively deliver family planning commodities when and where they are needed.
Bangladesh’s pioneering family planning program advanced global knowledge, and those lessons reduced maternal and child deaths in many other countries around the world. While Bangladesh’s family planning story continues to be written, it is clear that robust family planning programs helped lift an entire country.
Beyond improving the health of women and children, access to contraceptives has given Bangladeshi families the freedom to choose the number of children they want to have and when they want to have them.
This opened educational and economic opportunities for millions of women. And when incomes and opportunities for women increase, entire communities and countries benefit.
Today, most people say they want two children, which is the average family size in Bangladesh. This is a testament to the hard work and dedication of Bangladesh and those who have supported its vision over the past 50 years.
Kathryn D Stevens is Mission Director, United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in Bangladesh, United States Embassy, Dhaka.