Lead
Bangladesh's once-praised family planning program is buckling under severe contraceptive shortages, raising fears of a rise in unplanned pregnancies in one of the world's most densely populated countries, according to reports from Dawn and the South China Morning Post.
Government clinics across the country of 170 million people are running out of basic contraceptives after procurement failures and administrative disruption left supplies depleted in nearly a third of districts, both outlets reported.
Coverage Comparison
Both Dawn and the South China Morning Post reported the core facts of the crisis: clinics across Bangladesh are facing shortages of condoms, oral pills, emergency contraceptive pills, intrauterine devices and injectables. The reports agree that procurement failures and administrative disruption are the primary causes of the depleted supplies.
A family planning officer at a health complex in Dhaka, quoted by both outlets, said his facility has not had supplies of condoms for the last four to five months. "We are continuously requesting service seekers to buy them from dispensaries," said Ahmed Bin Sultan, 33, who oversees a population of 100,000 in Savar, many of them garment workers.
Dawn's report adds contextual details about Bangladesh's demographic history and the impact of recent political upheaval, which the South China Morning Post's extract does not include.
Key Claims
According to government figures cited in Dawn's report, condoms, oral pills, emergency contraceptive pills, intrauterine devices and injectables are unavailable in about a third of the country's 64 districts as of May. Stocks in other districts are also running low.
The fertility rate in Bangladesh, which had been declining for decades, has recently begun to rise for the first time in years, according to Dawn. The total fertility rate dropped from 6.3 children per woman in 1975 to 3.0 within 30 years, and stood at 2.3 by 2022. It has now risen to 2.4, according to UN data.
Dawn also reported that a 2024 uprising overthrew the country's autocratic government, leading to administrative setbacks. The suspension of family planning activities during the Covid-19 pandemic was another contributing factor to the shortage, Dawn reported.
Additionally, Dawn noted that abortion pills are being sold without prescription, contributing to widespread use without proper medical guidance.
Perspectives
The situation reflects a broader decline in a program that was once hailed as a success for slashing birth rates through expansive state-backed family planning services, including door-to-door field workers distributing pills, condoms and advice on birth spacing. As Dawn noted, the center in Savar is barely functioning, like most government-run facilities that have offered nearly free family planning services to underprivileged people for decades.
The crisis raises concerns about unplanned pregnancies in one of the world's most densely populated countries, where the fertility rate has already shown signs of reversing its long-term decline.