Date: Fri, 20 Oct 95 07:23:01 EDT To: , From: "G.PHN.POP.PE" Subject: Press Clips-- Oct. 19 X-Incognito-Sn: 643 X-Incognito-Format: VERSION=2.01a ENCRYPTED=NO Forwarded to: Internet[POPENV-L@INFO.USAID.GOV] Internet[ppn@csf.colorado.edu] cc: Comments by: Richard Cincotta@G.PHN.POP@AIDW -------------------------- [Original Message] ------------------------- India's population plan falls short - survey By Nelson Graves NEW DELHI, Oct 19 (Reuter) - India's unrelenting emphasis on female sterilisation as a means of birth control is hampering efforts to rein in rampant population growth, according to a path-breaking study released on Thursday. The National Family Health Survey said India, the second most populous nation behind China with about 925 million people, had made strides in curbing both child birth and mortality, but remained far from its goal of stabilising population growth. Described by a diplomat as India's largest social science survey, the study was conducted in 1992-93 and covered nearly 90,000 married women aged 13 to 49. In an unusual twist, the survey gives a state-by-state snapshot, underscoring glaring regional disparities, with the north lagging in many respects behind the south. Funded by a $3.5 million grant from the U.S. Agency for International Development, the survey paints a disturbing picture of India's family health policies. It underscores widespread ignorance of both the Acquired Immono-Difficiency Syndrome (AIDS) and modern contraceptive methods, and concludes that 30 million Indian couples use no birth control even though they want no more children or wish to space out births. It also highlights the plight of girls, who die at an alarmingly higher rate than boys, apparently because of a stubborn preference among many couples for boys. The survey concludes that "women's status in India is still poor." The central conclusion relates to India's efforts to control its population, which at current rates will exceed one billion by 2000 and surpass China by 2035. Fertility has fallen to about four children per woman in the early 1990s from five in 1980. But many women say they are having more children than they would like, and in the most populous state, Uttar Pradesh, women continue to have about five children on average. "Fertility levels will need to decline dramatically to reach the country's long-term goal of two children per woman," it said. If all unwanted pregnancies were eliminated, India's population would nearly stabilise, it added. But only four in 10 women practice family planning. Fully two thirds of those resort to sterilisation -- an irreversible method which has been the method of choice among Indian policy makers for two decades. One quarter of the women had never heard of the pill, Inter-uterine Devices (IUDs) or condoms. The survey said that in 11 of 13 states where women were asked about AIDS, the majority said that they had never heard of it. In Assam state, only eight percent knew of it. "If the AIDS virus continues spreading at current rates, an estimated five million persons in India will be infected by the year 2000," it said. The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates 1.5 million Indians are currently infected by the HIV virus, which causes AIDS. Half of Indian children under four are undernourished. While infant mortality rates have declined 22 percent in the past decade, one in every 13 children dies within its first year, the survey said. The risk of dying between ages one and five is 43 percent higher for girls than boys. "Many couples prefer boys over girls and are more likely to take their sons than their daughters for medical treatment when they are ill," it said. "The country is doing poorly in the provision and utilisation of health care services," it said. "These findings reveal the magnitude of the task ahead for India in improving the quality of life of its population."