"Important To Make Informed Choice": Health Minister On Family Planning

The government on the occasion of World Population Day asked citizens to work collectively towards ensuring good family planning choices.

Union Health Minister JP Nadda said the Centre and state governments should work collectively to ensure that women can exercise their right to make family planning choices and are not burdened by unwanted pregnancy.

He said contraceptives should be made available at areas where they are most needed, especially in the high-burden states, districts and blocks.

"India's population is one-fifth of the world. So we shoulder a huge responsibility on population control; 65 per cent of India's population is adolescent. This can be taken as an opportunity also, as the young population can be sensitised and in the coming times we are able to control population," Mr Nadda said at an event on World Population Day.

"When I say family planning, I mean a healthy family and a healthy life. We can then take better care of our children. It is important to make an informed choice," the Union Minister said.

The young population will help a lot in making India a developed nation, he said, adding it is also true that developed families can take the country forward.

"We need to address the younger population on family planning properly so that in future we are able to maintain consistency, but also give better results as far as population control is concerned," he said.

According to the United Nations, in 2011, the global population reached the 7 billion mark, and it stood at almost 7.9 billion in 2021; it is expected to grow to around 8.5 billion in 2030, 9.7 billion in 2050, and 10.9 billion in 2100.

This dramatic growth has been driven largely by increasing numbers of people surviving to reproductive age, and has been accompanied by major changes in fertility rates, increasing urbanisation and accelerating migration. These trends will have far-reaching implications for generations to come, says the UN.