Health dept to re-launch family planning prog

LUCKNOW: The state health and family welfare department has decided to re-launch the family planning programme that was stopped in March due to the lockdown to fight coronavirus pandemic.

The frontline health workers including ASHA, ANM and other staff who screened the migrant workers during home quarantine and vaccinated the infants and pregnant women under the routine immunization programme, have been entrusted with the task to distribute oral contraceptive pills and condoms among the people. Principal secretary, health and family welfare, Amit Mohan Prasad said except the female sterilization techniques (minilaparotomy and laparoscopic) and male sterilization (vasectomy) organized under fixed day sterilization, all other methods of family planning would be promoted as earlier with social distancing in all the 75 districts. In the blocks and towns in which cases of coronavirus infection had been reported, the family planning activities would be limited to distribution of pills and condoms.

The ASHA workers, ANMs and health staff who have been deputed in containment areas, those who reside in the hotspots or who have symptoms of coronavirus infection will be not deputed for the family planning work.

The district magistrates and chief medical officers have been directed to organize temporary familyplanningmethods,including postpartum intra-uterine contraceptive devices (PPIUCD), post abortion intra-uterine contraceptive devices (PAICUD), spacing methods, condom distribution and oral pills at the non Covid delivery units in urban and rural areas.

He said the oral contraceptive pills and condoms would also be distributed in districts in which village health and nutrition day (VHND) session was being launched following the guidelines of social distancing and sanitization.

The supply of family planning commodities would be made by Family Planning Logistics Management Information System (FPLMIS) portals in all the districts and the district administration and health officers would implement the Covid- 19 guideline issued by the central government, he said.

Another health department officer said a large number of migrant workers who had returned to UP would also be included in the family planning programme after they completed the 21-day home quarantine. The front line health workers would create awareness among the migrants during screening programme, he said.

Family planning had become key factor to reduce maternal and infant mortality and morbidities. The states having high contraceptive prevalence rate had lower maternal and infant mortalities. It also mitigated the impact of high population growth and helped women avoid unintended and mistimed pregnancies, he said.

Uttar Pradesh has a 3.3 total fertility rate (TFR) and contributes to the country’s high population growth. It has been categorized as a high focus state by the central government. The family planning also aimedto bring down the TFR to check population growth, he said.

THE ORAL CONTRACEPTIVE PILLS AND CONDOMS WOULD ALSO BE DISTRIBUTED IN DISTRICTS IN WHICH VILLAGE HEALTH AND NUTRITION DAY (VHND) SESSION WAS BEING LAUNCHED