ABSTRACT The world is experiencing the dramatic growth in

human population from the very beginning. The world

population has exceeded 7 billion on March 12, 2012.

Today the world wide population is 7.2 billion, among

this, 6 billion in less developed countries & another 1.2

billion live in more developed countries. By 2050, the

world’s population is likely to reach an unprecedented

size between 8.3 billion and 10.9 billion people. Where

Bangladesh is a country of 158 million it is going to

experience the burden of 202 million of people by 2050.

But the country has the capacity to support with given

resources a population of about 178 million which will

be experienced by the year 2020. With the help of

secondary data this paper will discuss the population

challenges, policy rationale, missing links &

implementation strategies to limit the over population

in the context of Bangladesh.

MD. Mahir Faysal

Department of Population Sciences

University of Dhaka

Rationale of population

policy issues in Bangladesh

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Contents

Acknowledgment……………………………………………………………………….……2

Introduction ………………………………………………………………………….………2

.

Concept of population policy……………………………………………………….………. 2

Historical background of world population policy & in Bangladesh ………………………. 3

Reasons of failure previous policies & Current population policy of Bangladesh…………. 4

Major objectives of national population policy of Bangladesh……………………………....4

Challenges & rationale of Population policy in Bangladesh………………………………... 4

Population size & growth…………………………………………………………….……….5

Age structure………………………………………………………………………………… 5

Contraceptive use trend of Bangladesh ………………………………………………….….. 6

Economic performance…………………………………………………………………….… 6

Poverty level……………………………………………………………………………….… 7

Regional disparity of poverty…………………………………………………………….…....7

Household income & expenditure………………………………………………………….… 7

Depth & severity of poverty………………………………………………………………….. 7

Inequality in income……………………………………………………………………….…..8

Per capita per day calorie intake…………………………………………………………….... 8

Urban growth………………………………………………………………………………..…8

Environmental hazard……………………………………………………………………….... 9

Rationale of population policy In terms of the challenges……………………………….…....9

Policy and Programme Implications: some missing links……………………………….……10

New emerging issues which should be include in the policy looking at current situation….... 10

Implementation strategies…………………………………………………………………..….12

Conclusion …………………………………………………………………………………..…13

References ………………………………………………………………………………….….14

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Acknowledgment

First of all I am grateful to Allah who gives me sound mind & sound health to accomplish my

assignment. The completion of the assignment gives me much pleasure. But it is not my credit in

this endeavor. I would like to thank my honorable course teacher Nusrat Jafrin Prova for giving

an assignment of such kind comprehensive & for giving me a good guideline for assignment.

Introduction

The world is experiencing the dramatic growth in human population from the very beginning. We

can compare the world population growth with a gunpowder which has a long rope. Fire has been

already inflamed in that rope which is going to its destiny to the gunpowder sometimes very fast

and sometimes slowly. The growth rate of the world population as well as Bangladesh was not

same in its past, not at present not in near future. Now a days the world is more demographically

fragmented than ever. The United States census bureau (2014) estimates that the world population

exceeded 7 billion on March 12, 2012. Today the world wide population is 7.2 billion, among this

6 billion in less developed countries & another 1.2 billion live in more developed countries. The

total fertility rate worldwide is 2.5. Again Since 1970, the global infant mortality rate declined

from 80 infant deaths per 1,000 live births to 38 per 1,000 live births. By 2050, the world’s

population is likely to reach an unprecedented size between 8.3 billion and 10.9 billion people.

Where Bangladesh is a country of 158 million it is going to experience the burden of 202 million

of people by 2050 (Population reference bureau 2014). So there is no doubt that although we can

argue about Malthusian theory but the rapid growth of world population is a great cause to rethink

about the future hazard. But this pressure is not same for all regions. The present experience of the

developing countries has created much more pressure on them to control the limit of their

population growth on the other hand after the Second World War the developed countries are

suffering from less population growth. Some countries also wants to maintain their current

population growth. This is the population policy which reflects the view & policies of a

government concerning its population & development. The population policy of the government

of People’s Republic of Bangladesh shows that Bangladesh is trying to limit its population growth

by any means.

Concept of population policy

According to weeks (2002) a policy is a formalized set of producers designed to guide behavior.

Its purpose is either to maintain consistency in behavior or to alter behavior in order to achieve a

specific goal & population policy represents a strategy for achieving a particular pattern of

population change. That means population policy influences population growth & distribution

involving a wide range of decisions & actions by governments both direct & indirect. Several

definitions show that population policy has three distinct features

1. Structure

2. Composition

3. Humanistic

Which should be rational to the socio economic change & balanced situation. Again a population

policy is based on three arguments “pro-natalist” which is promoting growth, “anti-natalist” which

is retarding growth & third one is “laisez-fire” that means maintaining current growth without any

governmental intervention. (Sikder 2003). A task force on Bangladesh’s development strategies

proposed different strategies and options and set of strategic approaches in order to design a

realistic population policy for Bangladesh (Khuda 1991)

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Programmatic approach: increase of supply and demand for contraception by integration

of family planning with health service.

Social transformation approach: attempt to change societal values, reduction in fatalistic

attitude related to fertility and generally promotion of secular thought, change in female

age at marriage are important aspects to be considered.

Institutional change approach: provision of poverty alleviation measures, reducing risk

inherent in people’s life means and risk of insurance as alternatives to child bearing,

promotion of welfare institutions and development of secured financial markets are option

to be sought for policy formulation

Historical background of world population policy & in Bangladesh

The Bible says “God created male and female in His image, and He blessed them and said, ‘be

fruitful and multiply, fill the earth and subdue it, rule over the fish in the sea, the birds in the heaven

and every living thing that moves upon the face of the earth.’ This was the primitive population

policy. Ancient Population Policy history says that Emperor Augustus, Rome, 9BC - 18AD tried

to encourage more births among Roman citizens there were laws that removed any barriers to

marriage of children. Made marriage a civic duty; unmarried men cannot hold public office or

receive inheritance, Gave fathers preferential public positions & Awarded mothers distinctive

ornaments. In 17th - 18th Century Europe there was pronatalist policies under Louis XIV, 1666.

Some of mentionable those are 1.Penalties for celibacy 2. Partial tax exemption for early marriage

3. Lifetime tax exemption for father of 10 children, and, pension for father of 12 children (10

legitimate), provided none are celibate priests or nuns 4. Emigration forbidden under penalty of

death etc. (Mosley W.H. 2006). Beginning in the 1960s and 1970s, a number of countries adopted

explicit policies of “population control,” often with inadequate consideration of the impact on

women’s reproductive rights, which are disproportionately and often negatively affected as a

result. The International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD), held in Cairo in

1994, was a major turning point in the history of population policies. At the ICPD, countries

agreed that the advancement and protection of women’s human rights should be central to

government efforts to address population and development issues. Today, most population policies

continue to implicate women’s reproductive health and rights. In addition to stating the

government’s broad objectives on population, these policies often provide the framework for the

delivery of reproductive health care. (Abrams P. 2003).

Population Policy in Bangladesh was first articulated in 1953 at private and voluntary organization

level to limit fertility. After the war of independence, later the First Five Year Plan (1973-78)

declared that “no civilized measure would be too drastic to keep the population of Bangladesh on

the smaller side of 15 cores for the sheer ecological viability of the nation” (Government of

Bangladesh 1973).in that time population was 7.64 corer & growth rate was 2.48%. The target was

to decrease the growth rate lower than 2.00% although it took a long time to do so.(Sikder 2003)

The current growth rate of the population is Bangladesh 1.2% (World Bank 2013). The

International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) had a strong impact on the

development of population policies in Bangladesh. The Programme of Action (PoA) had an

important influence on the population section of Bangladesh’s Fifth Five Year Plan (FYP) that

started in 1997, the Health and Population Sector Programme (HPSP) that began in 1998, and the

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draft of the New Population Policy (NPP) that is currently being finalized. Each policy document

incorporated some important components from the ICPD document but also excluded others

(UN,1995; Mabud and Akhter, 2000).A full population policy has been recognized by the

government in 2004 (Bangladesh population policy 2012).

Reasons of failure previous policies & Current population policy of Bangladesh

As it was mentioned before after independence in 1971 a large number of new policies were

incorporated into first & second FYP (1973-78) & 1980-85 respectively. In June 1976 the

government came out with concrete proposal on a national population policy. But the policy in the

time of Martial law in 1982 from previous population policy there were some specific reasons for

failure.

1. Inadequate availability of contraception

2. Lack of field related services & service related activities

3. Neglect & inadequate follow ups in case of complications and side effects

4. Fear & anxiety over the efficiency of the available methods of contraception

5. Lack of sufficient motivations and demand for family planning

6. Improper & untimely introduction of various contraceptive methods

7. Corruption & inflated reporting

8. Lack of commitment & dedication of the workers from up to grass root level

9. Negligible involvement & participation at a mass scale etc. (Nabi 2003)

Major objectives of national population policy of Bangladesh

The objectives of the National Population Policy are to improve the status of family planning,

maternal and child health including reproductive health services and to improve the living

Standard of the people of Bangladesh through making a desirable balance between populations

and development. They are:

1. Increasing the use of family planning to 72%, reduce TFR in 2.1 & achieve NRR =1 by

2015

2. Ensure availability of family planning & reproductive health service with making

awareness about STD & HIV among adolescents.

3. Reduce ,maternal & child mortality & improve their health services

4. Ensure gender equity, women’s empowerment & decrease gender discrimination

5. Transform population into human resources by taking short & long term steps

6. Ensuring availability of family planning & reproductive health service to all.

(GoB 2012)

Challenges & rationale of Population policy in Bangladesh

Population size & growth

Bangladesh experienced a slow population growth until the end of World War II. However, the

growth rate took a galloping pace after that. The historical trend of population growth rate suggests

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that the estimated population of 17 million in 1700 took 230 years to double in 1931. The second

doubling took only 43 years, i.e., the population of 1931 doubled its size in 1974.Third doubling

occurred in just about 30 years in 2005.Each year, the population increases by 1.8 to 2.0 million

(The Daily Star, 31 October 2011, p10).Through the observation it can be said that Bangladesh

has passed and passing three phases of its population history. The first phase, till 1940 was the

period of very low growth rate and very high mortality levels. The second phase between 1931

and 1981 was the period of rising growth characterized by falling mortality rates with constant

fertility rates. And then following the second phase until the present third phase is characterized

by declining population growth rate with continued slow falling mortality levels and falling

fertility rates. This indicates that currently Bangladesh is now moving into the third phases of

demographic transition from a high mortality–high fertility regime to low mortality – low fertility

one.

Age-sex structure

Created by author using excel & Data Source: http://data.un.org/

Age distribution of Bangladesh shows that this pyramid looks wider at the base than its top and

narrows slightly at the youngest age group. The largest reproductive segments are 10-14 &15-19

which refers to the adolescents group according to UN definition (10-19 aged group) constitute

about 19% of the total population. The pyramid shows that Bangladesh is experiencing youth bulge

as a result of declining population growth & transition from high stationary to late expanding (3rd

stage of demographic transition) where it is already going to enter into demographic dividend. It

will last till 2033. Today 33 % of the population belong to age group 0-14 years, while 18.8% to

age group 15-24 years & 37.6% to age group 25-54 years. (The financial express 2015).In terms

of number of youth population, Bangladesh is among top ten countries of the world and top five

within Asia. Again the Age dependency ratio of Bangladesh was 54.56 in 2011. Over the past 51

years, the value for this indicator has fluctuated between 97.18 in 1976 and 54.56 in 2011. (Dey

2013). The pattern of the pyramid also indicating an alarming focus on the aging population.

Increasing longevity and declining fertility both are increasing proportion of elder persons in the

pyramid. Data shows that the life expectancy of women is greater than male. Although Bangladesh

has shown a remarkable progress to decline fertility from 6.3 in 1975 to 2.3 in 2011 (BDHS 2011)

but it is safe to assume that future fertility decline will not be as rapid as it was in the last decade.

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Contraceptive use trend of Bangladesh

Year Percentage

modern

method %

1975 8

1983 19

1985 25

1991 40

1993-94 45 19.6

1996-97 49 27.8

1999-2000 54 31.2

2004 58 34.1

2007 56 37.6

2013 61 52

Sources: BDHS 2011, population reference bureau 2012, Dey 2013

Data shows us that there was a rapid change in the year of 1975 when the contraception use rate

was only 8% but in 1983 after 8 years the rate rapidly increased into 19% .again it increased to

25% in the year of 1985. An amazing rapid change is also found from the year of 1989 to 1994,

the contraceptive use rate increased from 31% to 45%. The last rapid increasing trend was found

from 1994 to 2000 when the rate increased from 45 % to 54% after that time there is a slow rate

of contraceptive use is found in Bangladesh. Bangladesh has shown a great performance in modern

contraceptive use from 1993 to 2013 among this 20 years the modern contraceptive use rate has

increased from 19.6% to 52%. If we analyze this trend with fertility rate we can found a negative

relation between this two. Contraceptive use rate increased 8 % to 49% within 22 years and TFR

decreased 6.3 to 3.3 between these years. Our current TFR is 2.3 & population growth rate is 1.3

where our contraceptive use rate is 61% and modern method use rate is 52% that means more than

a half part of our population use contraceptive methods.

Economic performance

In Bangladesh, economic growth in Fiscal Year 2014 (ended June 2014) is provisionally estimated

at 6.1%, slightly improved from 6.0% in FY2013. Agriculture expanded by 3.3%, aided by good

weather and continued government support. Industry growth slumped to 8.4% from 9.6% a year

earlier, however, because political unrest before the parliamentary election in January 2014

disrupted the supply of materials and undermined consumer confidence. Services advanced by

5.8%, up slightly from 5.5% the year before, mainly on stronger trade in the second half of the

year. On the demand side, net exports added to growth as garment exports grew briskly. A decline

in remittances and weak consumer confidence ahead of the election held down growth in consumer

spending. Investment rose slightly to 28.7% of the gross domestic product (GDP) in FY2014 from

28.4% in the previous year, as private investment slipped to 21.4% of GDP from 21.8% in FY2013

while public investment rose from 6.6% to 7.3%. Private investment was constrained by the

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unsettled political environment, difficulties with infrastructure and skills deficits, and procedural

problems that inhibit investment. Rising public investment came as the government stepped up its

implementation of election pledges. Foreign direct investment remained low. (ADB 2015)

Poverty level

Bangladesh has made strides in the fight against poverty during the last two decades. The incidence

of poverty has dropped from 56.6 percent in 1991-92 to 31.5 percent in 2010. However, decline in

the aggregate poverty in the subsequent period was associated with decline in urban poverty

(Zohir, 2011).57 percent of Bangladesh's population was below the poverty level in 1990. If the

rate remains the same, the number of population living below the poverty line might stand at 59.8

million by 2021. Increased population of 17.1 million and 21.7 million by 2013 and 2021

respectively living below the poverty line (GoB 2013).

Regional disparity of poverty

There is no denial that geography, culture and politics have been historically intertwined to result

in differences across region. Therefore, a different result is also found in case of the incidence of

poverty according to the division. The estimates of head count rates (CBN) by divisions using

upper poverty line reveals that the incidence of poverty is higher in Barisal division with 39.4

percent among all other divisions followed by Rajshahi including Rangpur (35.7 percent). Khulna

(32.1 percent), Dhaka (30.5 percent) and Sylhet (28.1 percent). However, the incidence of poverty

is the lowest in Chittagong division with 26.2 percent. Climate change might be a dominant factor

responsible for the higher incidence of poverty in those areas (Barisal, Khulna and Rajshahi).

Whereas the incidence of poverty in Chittagong division is lower than other divisions, which might

be due to the business activities centering on natural resources and the seaport. (Unnayan

Onneshan 2011)

Household income & expenditure

The monthly household income has increased from Tk. 4366 in 1995-96 to Tk. 11,480 in 2010 at

national level whereas it has increased from Tk. 3658 to Tk. 9648 in rural areas and Tk. 7979 to

Tk. 16,477 in urban areas during the same period. It is evident that monthly household income,

expenditure and food expenditure have increased between 1995-96 and 2010. However, food

expenditure has increased at a faster rate than that of income. During the period of 1995-96 to

2010, the monthly household income has increased with a growth rate of 10.86 percent, 10.92

percent and 7.10 percent at national, rural and urban level respectively. At the same time, the

monthly household expenditure has risen with a growth rate of 11.58 percent at national level,

11.78 percent at rural level and 7.57 percent at urban level while food expenditure has increased

with a growth rate of 10.64 percent, 10.63 percent and 8.32 percent at national, rural and urban

area respectively. (Unnayan Onneshan 2011)

Depth & severity of poverty

The poverty gap was 12.8 percent in 2000, which decreased to 9.0 percent in 2005 and further,

decreased to 6.5 percent by 2010. The decreased rate in the percentage of poverty gap during 2005

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to 2010 was lower than that of 2000 to 2005 at national level. This rate was 5.94 percent between

2000 and 2005 whereas it was 5.56 percent between 2005 and 2010. Similar results were also

found in case of squared poverty gap, which was 4.6 percent in 2000, decreased to 2.9 percent and

2.0 percent by 2005 and 2010 respectively. The rate of reduction in the percentage of squared

poverty gap between 2000 and 2005 was 7.39 percent, which was higher than the rate of reduction

(6.26 percent) of last five years at national level. (Unnayan Onneshan 2011)

Inequality in income

Gini co-efficient of income has increased from 0.393 in 2000 to 0.430 in 2010 at rural areas with

the growth rate of 0.94 percent, whereas it has decreased from 0.497 to 0.452 at the same period

in urban areas with the growth rate of -0.91 percent. Gini co-efficient of income has increased from

0.451 to 0.458 at national level and the growth rate is 0.16 percent during the same period. The

Gini co-efficient of income has decreased at national and urban level over the last five years (2005

to 2010) while it has slightly increased in rural areas during the same time. Again female labour

force participation & income is lower than male.(Unnayan Onneshan 2011)

Per capita per day calorie intake

According to the ‘State of Food Insecurity (SOFI) 2012’ 8 jointly prepared by the FAO, IFAD and

WFP, Bangladesh has halved the prevalence of hunger over the last two decades. The report

indicates that the proportion of hungry people in total population of Bangladesh has reduced

from 34.6 percent in 1990 to 16.8 percent in 2012. During the same period (1990-2012), the

number of hungry people in Bangladesh has reduced from 37 million in 1990 to 25 million in

2012. According to SOFI 2012, Bangladesh fared well when compared in the global and regional

perspective. In 1990, the number of global hungry population was one billion, which now stands

at 868 million, while the number of hungry people in South Asia was 325 million in the base year,

which still remains as high as 304 million. The prevalence of hunger in terms of proportion of total

population is 17.6 percent in South Asia, which is higher than the hunger prevalence of 16.8

percent in Bangladesh as mentioned earlier.

Urban growth

Bangladesh had an urban population less than 5 million. By 1990, this had increased to 22.4 million

and a decade and a half later, urban population stood at 42.3 million. At an annual growth rate of

3.7%, urban population growth in Bangladesh has been higher than all other countries in South

Asia barring Nepal.2 A revised definition of urban has put current urban population at 23% .but

population density per sq. km which rose to 964 in 2011 from 834 in 2001 points towards an

overall urbanized reality that is larger than that indicated by the formal definition of urban area.

Projections show a possible urban population of nearly 100 million (98.6) by 2030 (Rahman 2014).

According to Nabi (2011) Rate of population movement is much higher than the national

population growth rate. National population growth rate is 1.37% per annum, while the national

internal migration rate is 4.5%. For Dhaka, the in-migration rate is about 6.0%. The urban growth

rate is 3.5% per annum, while the slum growth rate is 7.0%. Dhaka was the second fastest growing

mega city between 1975-2007 with 5.65% urban growth and Dhaka would be the fastest growing

mega city up to 2025 in spite of having lower growth rate of 2.72% from 2007 to 2025.

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Environmental hazard

At present there is only 13.20 percent of land in Bangladesh having tree cover with density of 30

percent and above. The proportion of terrestrial and marine areas protected is 1.83 percent which

is much less than the target of 5 percent. Another 13,395 hectares of terrestrial and 173,800

hectares of Marine Protected areas are under process of declaration. Thereby additional 3 percent

area will be under Protected Area system by 2014. Data show that without considering the arsenic

contamination, 98.2 percent population of Bangladesh is using improved drinking water source;

arsenic adjusted gore is 86 percent in 2011. Moreover, 63.5 percent of the population is using

improved sanitation in 2011. However, access to safe water for all is a challenge, since arsenic

contamination and salinity intrusion as a consequence of climate change fall out will exacerbate

the problem of availability of safe water especially for the poor. (GoB 2014)

Rationale of population policy In terms of the challenges

Conceptually, population, in terms of quality and quantity, and development, in terms of resource

potentials and choices, are interrelated and interdependent (GoB 2004). The interrelationship

between population and development, though complex, is understood mostly by the concept that

“development is a continuous process with an aim to improving the well-being of the people.” The

concept of development thus presupposes that while a healthy, well-nourished, well-educated and

skilled labour force is the best foundation for sustainable development, the development efforts of

a nation need to increase people’s development choices with regard to quality of life, education,

health, environment, etc. in order to enable them to render further contribution to development.

Hence, in the design and pursuit of development policies and programmes, the population

perspectives deserve to be treated as an integral part.

The rapidity of fertility decline has earned Bangladesh a ‘demographic bonus’, and as a result

Bangladesh today can claim one of the highest growth rates in per capita income level among the

low-income countries of the world. Moreover, containing the size of the population has meant

that, even with limited domestic resources and dwindling foreign aid, fiscal adjustment as part of

economic reforms did not compel government to squeeze the budgetary share of the social sectors,

namely health, education and targeted food distribution. Thus, aggregate gains from reduced

population growth are genuine enough, although continuing widespread poverty and poor living

standards coupled with the low level of aggregate economic development has prevented the

gains from the “demographic bonus” from being equitably distributed. Poor people particularly

lose out since they are neither able to take full advantage of smaller completed families, because

of inability to invest in children, nor able to compensate for the reduction in children’s

contributions to their present and future consumption because of the absence of well

developed markets and institutions that provide security in old age and risk insurance

against income erosion. This is, of course, a part of the general development challenges facing

Bangladesh. Now this time government should review o past policy rationales and the new

challenges facing policy.

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Policy and Programme Implications: some missing links

The three components of human development are: health, education and standard of living. The

proposed population policy deals with health only without making any realistic attempt to take

account of other two components that can provide necessary inputs for population-development

interrelationships. In other words, education and income generating activities of the population

should be integral part of both the development strategies and population dynamics. Malnutrition

is identified as one of the major concerns of the population policy, but without addressing

the issues of education and income generating activities, little can be achieved in reducing the

level of malnutrition in Bangladesh. The positive association between education and economic

growth, use of contraception, age at marriage, status of women, utilization of health care

facilities, nutritional status and negative association with level of fertility, morbidity/mortality,

family size, poverty, etc are well documented from various studies. In this case, education does

not mean only general education, it may include basic education with different kinds of skills that

can enable common people to be engaged in income generating activities. Non-farm activities need

to be encouraged by the government. NGOs can be instrumental with active support from the

government to decrease the level of poverty through well planned programs linking education

and income generating activities . We have a number of such projects being operated by

different NGOs from which the population dynamics can be linked with the development

strategies. It is evident that access to non-agricultural income in rural areas can provide the means

to reduce poverty among the landless and poor people (World Bank, 1997). The proposed

population policy refers to multispectral approach, but from our past experience it can be

visualized that with a disjoint approach, the synergistic impact of the role of education and

income generating activities can not be materialized. The government can take lessons from some

successful non-government examples before generalizing the concept at the national level.

Again, although the problematic rationale behind past population policy and current population

policy there should be two priority is a must. First one clear and explicit declaration of policy

goals, distinct from means or strategies and another one is financial security and programme

sustainability. Financial security ensures the pace of the running programme or planning any

programme on the other hand programme sustainability ensures a better outcome of the policy.

New emerging issues which should be include in the policy looking at current situation

Focus on youth : The young population across the globe has reached a remarkable 1.8 billion out

of 7.3 billion, and most of them live in developing countries like Bangladesh. India has the most

numbers of youth population in the world. According to UNFPA (2014) 47.6 million or 30 percent

of the total 158.5 million people in Bangladesh are young (10-24 years), and it will be between 10

and 19 percent by 2050. This means that Bangladesh needs to invest right now in the human capital

of its young people if it wants to reap the benefits of a large demographic dividend. Nabi 2011 said

that this demographic bonus could bring a huge dividend, if this raw capital is converted into

circulatory capital. This window of opportunity opens for a population only once. If we fail to

grab this opportunity immediately, this young population could create a disastrous hazard for the

nation. Again UNFPA (2014) says that the youth population of Bangladesh need at least five

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criteria. They are: 1.Quality education, 2. Better health service, 3.opportunities for jobs &

employment, 4.nutritious foods, 5.honest & responsive government.

Focus on alarming proportion of aging population: Bangladesh’s elderly population is one of the

largest in the world in terms of absolute numbers. According to Unnayan Onneshan (2008)

currently older people account for around 7% of the country’s total population, amounting to

roughly 10 million people. By 2050, the 60+ population will account for 20% of the total

population a four-fold increase from the present time. The increase in elderly population in

Bangladesh during the period 1990-2025 is projected to be much faster (219%) than that of

European countries such as Sweden (33%), UK (45%) or Germany (66%).While changing

lifestyles, urbanization, and the decline of traditional family support system have increased the

plight of the elderly people, especially the poor and the women, little attention has been given by

the policy makers to their health and social needs. There should be much focus on pension, old

age allowance programme, micro credit, health, nutrition, and population sector programme,

community empowerment etc. should mostly take for some direct and indirect benefits of the

elderly population.

Focus on child marriage & adolescent fertility: Worldwide, more than 700 million women alive

today were married before their 18th birthday. More than one in three (about 250 million)

entered into union before age 15. Child marriage among girls is most common in South Asia and

sub-Saharan Africa, and the 10 countries with the highest rates are found in these two regions.

Niger has the highest overall prevalence of child marriage in the world. However,

Bangladesh has the highest rate of marriage involving girls under age 15. South Asia is home to

almost half (42 per cent) of all child brides worldwide; India alone accounts for one

third of the global total. (Unicef 2010)

Child marriage effects adolescent fertility. In the past few years the issue of adolescent pregnancy

has been increasingly perceived as a social problem for Bangladesh. Following the international

conference on population & development in Cairo 1994 much concern has been expressed about

the importance of the life cycle stage of adolescence. Adolescence pregnancy involves a great cost

to society & has significant ramifications art personal & societal level. About 58 percent of

adolescents by age of 19 begin childbearing while 51 percent have given birth, 7 percent get

pregnant with first child and 8 percent have two children. About 194 pregnant mother die while

giving birth in every one lakh pregnant mother in the country. And most of them are adolescent

mothers. Of 580 million adolescent girls in the world, eighty per cent live in developing countries.

Bangladesh ranks third in the adolescent pregnancy in the world-highest in the Asia (The news

today 2015). Policy makes need to focus in this issue while making policy.

Focus on disable population: 5th Population and Housing Census 2011 showed the number of

people with disability is only 1.4 percent of Bangladesh's total population. The percentage is far

below the estimation of Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics' (BBS) Household Income Expenditure

Survey (2010) that had found people with disability at 9.07 percent of the population. However,

the percentage was 0.6 percent in the 2001 census. This alarming rate is creating pressure to rethink

about the existing policy on disabled population.

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Implementation strategies:

1. Service oriented strategies: to address the problems of high fertility, mortality and morbidity,

RH-FP services service oriented strategies is needed. Door to door service should start again.

Maternal, child and reproductive health services, coverage of safe delivery through skilled birth

attendants, social services to the couples with one child for their adopting small family,

establishment of Union level Health and Family Welfare Centers, required medicines, coverage of

child immunization etc should be service oriented.

2. Adolescent Welfare Services: such as providing information and services, including counseling

services aimed at (I) delaying age at marriage; (ii) delay in first birth as far as possible; (iii)

adequate spacing between children and iv) improved access to reproductive health education and

methods of preventing STIs, HIV/AIDS infection etc.

3. Gender Equity and Empowerment: ensuring equal access to nutrition, health care education,

income, labor force 7 social status compare to male.

4. Welfare Services for Elderly and Poor: focusing on pension, old age allowance programme,

micro credit, health, nutrition, and population sector programme, community empowerment etc.

5. Urban Migration and Planned Urbanization: Slow down the rate of migration from rural areas

to Dhaka and other major cities. To this end, there is a need to mitigate the push factors from rural

areas by ensuring rural employment opportunities in agriculture and agro-based industries.

Simultaneously satellite towns and growth centers should be established with adequate facilities

to provide alternative destinations to rural migrants. Roads and communication systems should be

linked with the growth centers; along with health, education housing and other welfare services

created in those places. Headquarters of important Government and nongovernment

Organizations, educational institutions and industrial units may also be shifted or relocated to other

cities

6. human resource development: In view of the importance of quality family planning, maternal

and child health and reproductive health service delivery, population and development linkages

and behavior change communication at all level of policies and programs, a large skilled workforce

need to be created to sustain population activities within the framework of the population policy.

7. Environmental sustainability: shortage of housing, poor water supply and sanitation facilities,

air pollution etc are constantly affecting environment. Strengthening social afforestation programs

in villages and take appropriate steps to create a pollution free environment in all towns and cities,

Reducing vehicular pollution by implementing appropriate law, Regulating the growth of slums

and encourage environment friendly activities, Supporting the programs for re-excavation of

canals and ponds in rural area and to undertake measures against soil and river erosion etc are

needed.

8. Decentralization of Population Policy Activities: Decentralization and community involvement

are essential in order to ensure that women, children and other vulnerable groups have adequate

access to all governmental & non-governmental services.

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9. Participation of NGOs and Private Sector: Participation of NGOs and Private Sector is needed

for health, Nutrition and Population sectors, motivational works and services particularly for the

poor and other vulnerable groups, wareness creation activities regarding the benefits of delayed

marriage and delayed birth, health and nutrition issues as well as of STIs, RTIs, HIV/AIDS,

community mobilizing programme etc.

10. Role of Different Ministries in Population Activities: Bangladesh national population policy

mentioned 15 ministries to integrate the implementation activities. Ministry of Health and Family

Welfar, Ministry of Primary and Mass Education and Ministry of Education Ministry of

Agriculture, Ministry of Information, Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Co-

operatives, Ministry of Planning/Planning Commission Ministries of Social Welfare, Women and

Children Affairs, Youth and Sports and Cultural Affairs, Ministry of Environment and Forest,

Ministries of Defense and Home Affairs Ministry of Labour and Employment, Expatriate’s

Welfare and Overseas Employment, Ministry of Religious Affairs, Ministry of Land, Ministry of

Industries, Ministry of Science and Information and Communication Technology, Ministries of

Communication and Water Transportation

11. Institutional Arrangement for Implementation: Directorate of Family Planning (DFP) shall

play a major role in overseeing and coordinating different programs mentioned in the national

population policy. DFP shall ensure family planning, maternal and child health and reproductive

health services needed for the people through its different service centers and providers. The

National Population Council (NPC) will monitor the implementation of the national population

policy. With this end in view the NPC headed by the Honorable Prime Minister is already in place.

This has as its members, concerned Ministers and Secretaries, departmental chiefs, leading private

sector organizations and population experts, social scientists and public health specialists. The

NPC will provide necessary guidelines for implementation of the population policy and programs,

monitor the progress, and evaluate the impact of the policy. The MOHFW shall act as the

Secretariat of the NPC and be responsible for implementing the recommendations and decisions

of the NPC in cooperation with concerned Ministries (GoB, 2004 & 2011).

Conclusion

The Government of Bangladesh has coined two popular family planning slogans “Two is good

enough – boy or girl” and “One child is good, but no more than two”. These campaigns are not

enough. The government must expand its public awareness campaigns and improve provision of

contraception and associated information. The key to population control is to improve the social

status of women ensuring gender equity. Although Bangladesh has quite better several population

policies but the implementation is always problematic. The institutional weakness, lack of political

will as well as inadequate resources impacts on policy implementation. The bureaucracy in

administration is also challenging actor in policy implementation. It is crying need to make

efficiency and effectiveness in administration. An alarming statement will end this paper,

according to Nabi (2003) the country has the capacity to support with given resources a population

of about 178 million which will be experienced by the year 2020. So policy makers better know

that what to do.

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