HT Bureau
GUWAHATI, July 11: ‘World Population Day’ was observed in Dima Hasao district to raise awareness among the people about issues of overpopulation related to health. The program was organised by the District Health Society in the office of the Joint Director of Health Services, Haflong on Thursday. The theme for this year’s World Population Day is ‘Health Timing & Spacing of Pregnancies for the well-being of mother and child’.
The program was attended by the joint director of Health Services, Dr Duleshwar Gogoi, SDM&HO Medical and Health Services Dr Leena Hakmaosa, district immunisation officer Dr Marina Changsan, nurses, ASHAs, medical staff, and health beneficiaries.
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The celebration of World Population Day this year is divided into 4 phases: Preparatory Phase, Community Mobilisation Fortnight, Service Delivery Forthright, and Rewards & Recognition Phase.
Dr Marina Changsan said that this day is observed to raise awareness, encourage action, and highlight issues related to the impact, urging people to opt for sustainable choices. While the growing population opens up new avenues of opportunities, it also poses challenges. She said, “We need to understand the impact and take measures accordingly, including client mobilisation and house-to-house contact carried out by frontline workers of NHM, ASHA, and other health workers.”
During the program, Dr Leena Hakmaosa emphasised the importance of awareness among eligible couples about the benefits of a smaller family and encouraged them to consider modern family planning. Overpopulation has many overall issues, particularly related to health, increasing the risk of infections like tuberculosis, malaria, cholera, dengue fever, and more. She added that we need to make eligible couples aware of the numerous benefits of birth control and the importance of delaying marriage, especially in rural areas. We need to encourage women’s decision-making and male engagement in family planning.
The objective of celebrating World Population Day is to address issues related to family planning and women’s rights to decide when to start a family, the age of marriage, and youth development. To create an enabling environment in the community to prevent early marriage by spreading awareness about the harmful consequences of early marriage on the family and its effects on society. To increase awareness levels among the community on the age of marriage, various methods of family planning, and the roles and responsibilities of each couple and the community as a whole.
It is also informed that there are various sterilisation options available where compensation can be received for both female and male sterilisation. For female sterilisation, compensation includes Laparoscopic sterilisation/Mini Lab Rs 2000, post-partum sterilisation (PPS) Rs 3000, Intrauterine Contraceptive Device (IUCD) Rs 20, Post-Partum Intrauterine Contraceptive Device (PPIUCD) Rs 300, Post Abortion Intra-uterine Contraceptive Device (PAIUCD) Rs 300, and Antara Rs 100 per dose. For male sterilisation, No-scalpel Vasectomy (NSV) Rs 3000. Services are available at Haflong Civil Hospital.
The program ended with a vote of thanks delivered by DPM, Dima Hasao, Rukmini Difoesa.
Our Tezpur correspondent adds: Advocating a strict population control law in the country, the nationalist non-political organisation Jansankhya Samadhan Foundation (JSF), Assam State Committee, on the occasion of World Population Day, Thursday, sent a memorandum to the Prime Minister of the country through the district commissioner of Kamrup (Mahanagar) at the District Commissioner’s Office, Hengerabari, Guwahati.
Participating in this nationwide programme where more than 400 memorandums have been submitted in 23 different states of the country, the activists of Jansankhya Samadhan Foundation (JSF), Assam, mentioned various aspects about the need for the law. The activists said that the All India Organisation, Jansankhya Samadhan Foundation (JSF), has been conducting various campaigns across the country under the leadership of its national president Anil Choudhury for more than 10 years advocating the Population Control Act. The programmes undertaken under the guidance of Dr Indresh Kumar, national executive member of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and chief patron of JSF, have been supported by people from all parts of the country.
It is informed that a joint delegation of the organisation and Parliament met the President of India on August 9, 2018, and submitted a petition signed by 125 MPs for a strict population control law in the country. In support of the law, mass signatures were collected across the country, and on October 29 last year, pages with more than 10 million signatures collected nationwide were taken to the Prime Minister’s Office in a massive rally from Ghaziabad near Delhi. After the rally, JSF national president Anil Choudhury was forced to go on a hunger strike, and later after 21 days, the hunger strike was lifted with the intervention of Union minister Giriraj Singh, on the promise of the Prime Minister’s Office showing interest in enacting a population control law. In the Union Budget Session last February, the Union Finance minister announced the formation of a high-level committee to discuss the proceedings of the Population Control law.
Assam JSF president Pankaj Talukdar and the activists said that they are very hopeful that the Prime Minister will enact a strict population control law in the country at the beginning of his third term. In this programme, JSF Assam president Pankaj Talukdar, organising secretary Mrinal Goswami, vice president Ranjan Kumar Medhi, general secretary Anirban Goswami, Parag Deka, JSF Assam Mahila Shakti Jhoola Sarma, and a few activists were present and handed over a memorandum to the Prime Minister through the district commissioner, Kamrup (M).
