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Focus 1989 January - March |
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Bulletin of Fami Iy Planning Foundation Vol. III, No.1 January-March, 1989
Population Problem Imperils Nation's Survival
"The time has come for the Government of India and the
Parliament in Delhi and the legislatures and Governments of
the States to face the fact that the very survival of our country
as a united nation is threatened unless the population problem
is put on a war footing, hard decisions taken, implemented and
sustained, and given the same priority and urgency as those
involved in the security of the State", With these words
Mr. J. R. D. Tata, Chairman of the Family Planning Foundation,
underscored the over-riding need to forge a political will for
saving the nation from the disastrous consequences of the un-
checked population growth, in his Report at the Annual General
Meeting of the Foundation held on 7th November, 1988 at New
Delhi. We present below an abridged version of the Report:
It is a continuing cause for
regret and anxiety that 15 miIIion
souls are added to our population
every year, with persistently high
level of infant mortality and female
illiteracy. The bulk of our people
still do not regard a small family
as being in their or their children's
interest, and seem to consider
children mainly as participants in
the family's work output and
future providers for their old age.
Becauseof these and other factors,
our burgeoning population re-
mains our grievous and more
intractable problem.
While the nexus between ex-
cessive population growth snd
low economic growth is well re-
cognised, communications and
community participation remain
woefully weak, leading to short-
fall in the fulfilment of our plans
and policies. In short, national
eHart towa~ds our goals is of a
routine nature.
Demographic principle of posi-
tive relationship between the
couple protection rate (CPR) and
the birth rate does not seem to
hold good in some States where
despite high CPR of 60, the birth
rate is still in the range of 30 to
35 per 1,000 live births. ihis is
due either to inaccurate CPRfigures
or concealment of facts, while
our population growth continues
to exceed our resources.
No Major Thrust:
The findings of Foundation's
special study last year, analysing
the causes of persistently high
birth rate, when made public, were
noticed editorially in leading news-
papers, focussing attention on the
critical impact of a stagnantly high
birth rate on economic progress.
Gratifyingly, the Prime Minister,
designating family planning as one
of the country's seven stlategic
areas, directed the Planning Com-
mission on 8th April, 1988 to
prepare a policy paper on it. Even
the National Development Council
and Parliament discussed the issue.
Despite this, no major thrust to-
wards new solutions has as yet
emerged.
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!,n April 1988, I wrote to the cannot be won unless backed by of Bombay. These studies have
Prime Minister urg'ng more posi- an unswerving political will en- yielded a wealth of data which will
tive action by Central and State
Governments for population con-
trol and health programmes. His
dorsed by the whole nation. Tll is
has not been forthcoming up to
now, and J would appeal to the
enable health administrators to
aaopt more effective intervention
measures.
brief but most welcome reply in-
cluded the following:
"The serious dimensions of our
population problem need our un-
divided and urgent attention. Sus-
tained governmental efforts have
to be backed up by people's
participat'on to make a success
of programmes in this area."
Prime Minister to exercise his
authority and influence to forge
lhe politicaL will and harness it to
the task of saving the country
and its people from the calamitous
consequences of an unchecked
population growth,
It should also be possible to
have a multi-party consensus for a
During the year under review,
we gave careful thought to the
need of developing an Agenda for
Action for ourselves. In the last
17 years of its activity, the Founda-
tion has supported 236 projects all
over the country spending nearly
Rs. 239.89 lakhs. The Founda-
tion intends to take up pilot pro-
The Prime Minister's continued national populatron policy. But jects in several critical areas, and
general support to our cause' this must be followed by relent- make the results available to policy-
though encouraging, does not indi- lessly pursued and continuously makers.
cate Government's anxiety to in- monitored action, so that it does
corporate in the Eighth and succeed- not flounder, like other plans, due
ing Plans a more innovative to traditional failure at implementa-
approach and new strategies for tion.
achieving a lower birth rate and a
higher Couple Protection Rate.
Attila Karaosrr.anoglu, World
It is indeed a daunting task to
achieve a Net Reproduction Rate
of One by the year 2000 (already
postponed to 2011), requiting a
birth rate of 21 per thousand. But
the country can ill afford slackness
in fulfilling it, despite the virtual
certainty that our population will
reach or exceed a billion-and-a-
half before it stabilises.
The population problem is in-
deed complex, and so are its
possible solutions. This has been
The Foundation has endeavoured
to act as a think tank. Through
renewed debate in the country, w~
have been able to sustain public
interest and concern on the sub-
ject, We shall continue our efforts.
We are also involving the youth
in this national task through a
comprehensive project in colla-
boration with the Nehru Yuva
Sangathan. for inclusion in the
activities of youth organisations.
Bank Vice-President for Asia, ex-
pressed concern recently that the
region's "high repute in develop-
ment circles is beginning to cr~te
a sense of complaceny that all of
As~a is increasingly perceived as
rapidly traveIling up a powerful
growth path of rapid adaptation
and international market integra-
tion."
"There are in fact two Asias.
The first .. , is composed of the
newly industrializing, high-growth
amply brought out by numerous
High infant mortality rate is an economies. .. The second has
studies, discussions and debates. area of priority. It has been proved registered less impressive but
But, I submit, the time has come that mortality in child birth occurs steady gains, while contending
for action by all - Government mainly in women who are illiterate. with mas~ve development pro-
of India, Parliament and State poor and living in remote rural blems including hundreds of
Governments and legislatures. The areas with limited access to health millions of the world's absolute
very survival of our country as a and family planning facilities, With poor", he said.
united nation is under a threat.
This has to be met through hard
decisions and their sustained im-
plementation on war footing as if
the security of the State is involved.
Calamitous Consequences:
a view to persuading the Govern-
ment to deal with this tragic pro-
blem, the Foundation undertook
studies, in collaboration with the
International Development Re-
search Centre of Canada, in eight
varying socio-economic segments
He noted three major problems
"which torment the development
potential and prospects"of the
second Asia: poverty, rapid popu-
lation growth and environmental
degradation.
History has shown that in wars in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh,
or struggles for freedom, victory Ortssa, Karnataka and in the slums
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PAC Unhappy over Implementation of
Family Welfare Programme
"Evan though the Family Welfare Programme has been in
operation for more than 35 years with an expenditure of over
Rs. 2,400 crores incurred thereon upto the end of Sixth
Five Year Plan, it has not been able to check the growth of
Suggested Measures to
Improve Performance
* Improve Programme Manage-
population at all". This rather unflattering opinion has been
expressed by the Public Accounts Committee under the
ment.
* Adopt multiple strategies and
chairmanship of Mr. Amal Datta, in its 139th report on Family
Welfare Programme recently presented to Parliament.
flexible approach.
* Popularise non-terminal methods
among younger age-g roups.
* According to the Committee, the Programme according to realities - Ensure effective inter-sectoral
nature of the population problem
has not been perceived in the right
perspective in spite of the initial
urgency of population control ex-
pressed by the planners in the First
Five Year Plan. The Programme
has been implemented without any
of the situation.
The method of sterilisation has
been the main plank in the Govern-
ment stratetgy of family plann'ng
targets, Since the young 3r age
g~oups may not be inclined to
adopt sterilisation, being a terminal
coord ination.
* Use all official mass media
channels more effectively.
* Proper delivery of services a
must.
* Create a special cell for poor
performance States.
enthusiasm as if this were any
other routine programme, with the
result that the growth rate of
population remains unabated. The
Programme being a 'Centrally
Sponsored Scheme' though imple-
mented by State/Un'on Territory
Governments, the Min'stry of
Health and Family Welfare should
take steps to identify the weak-
spots in the prog'amme manage-
ment fiom every possible angle,
method, the Committee has sug-
gested that efforts to promote non-
terminal methods should be direct-
ed towards these target groups.
The Committee has further
desired the Government to intro-
duce necessary administrative
machinery for securing effective
inter-sectoral coordination at all
levels to attack the multi-dimen-
sional population problem. Such
a system should ensure that the
messages appropriate for accep-
tance of family planning.
The Committee has pointed out
that proper delivery of services is
very essential not only to enlarge
the acceptability of programme in-
trastructure but also to generate
demand in favour of adoption at
family planning. Therefore, en-
deavour will have to be made to
ensure the suitability of a person
for a particular family planning
Taking note of the wide varia-
tions in the programme acceptance
and demographic situation in diffe-
rent States, the PAC has expressed
the view that population problem
socio-economic development pro-
grammes of various Ministries/
Departments are restructured to
motivate people in favour of small
fami Iy norm.
method so as to avoid any mishap
creating demoralising effect 00
others.
Expressing deep concern over
the poor performance of Family
in the poor performing States and
1he Committee has viewed that Planning Programme in the four
regions cannot be understood or promotion of Family Welfare Pro- major States of Uttar Pradesh,
tackled by a single uniform national gramme has to be obligatory for Bihar, Rajasthan and Madhya
strategy and as such there have all official mass media channels Pradesh, the Committee has view-
to be multiple strategies to suit especially radio and television ed that programme management in
inter-state and inter-regional diver- which can not only cross the these States needs serious atten-
sities. The Committee has accord- barriers of illiteracy but also have a tion for improving their current
ingly, desired that the flexibility in comparatively wider and more levels of performance. The Commi-
approach and financial powers in powerful reach than other channels. ttee has therefore, recommended
implementing special schemes for It has therefore advised the Ministry a special cell at the central level
different regions and areas and of Information and' I3roaqcasting exclusively for these States to
specific groups should be provided to take appropriate steps for greater ensure proper supervision and
to State Governmen~s to enable and effective utilisation of these effective implementation of the
them to effectively implement the channels for -sprea<;ling the Programme.
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UNICEF Proposes World Summit on Child Health
The 1989 State of World's Children Report
mitigated by the "continued econo-
Presents a Grim Picture
mic progress of most nations in
Asia, home to more than half the
world's ch i1dren". Average incomes
Mr. James P. Grant, Executive march of human progress has are slOWly rising in China, India,
Director of UNICEF, proposed a become a retreat".
Malavsia. Pakistan, Sri Lanka and
summit of world ieaders to add
fresh impetus to the child health
achievements of the e'ghties, while
releasing the 1989 State of World's
ChHdren report from New Delhi on
December 20, 1988.
With the political will of world
leaders and greater direction, the
physical and mental growth of
children could trigger off social
and er:onomic development of
societies, Mr. Grant said.
Th:oughout Africa and Latin
America, average family incomes
have fallen by 10 percent to 25
percent over the past 12 months.
For the poorest, this has meant
cutting down of necessities with
the result that in many countries
child malnutrition is actually on the
increase, the report pinpoints.
Meanwhile Prime Minister Mr.
Rajiv Gandhi welcoming the release
of UNICEF's report, has called for
a fundamental restructuring of the
world Older to ensure that children
and their rights are looked after.
He siad people must be sensitized
to look for a new order which will
give equality and justice to al/
sections of society across the globe.
Thailand. Ye·tAsia continues to be
home to the majoritY of the world's
poor with more than half of the
world's children. One third of all
child·' deaths, the report warns,
occur in just three countries, viz.,
Bangladesh, India and Pakistan.
Nonetheless, the UNICEF and
other agencies have had a specta-
cular success in Southeast Asia.
The report pointed au t that in the
past 10 years, the proportion of
the developing world's infants who
have been immunized had increased
by 50 percent. The result in real
terms: 1.5 million young lives
saved and another 2 lakh cases of
polto averted.
Diarrhoeal disease which conti-
nues to be the number one cause
of death among the world's
children, is being finally conquered
as more parents are getting aware
The UNICEF, according to Mr.
of the low cost oral rehydration
Grant, had chosen New Delhi to
therapy. Almost unknown in scienti-
launch the report because the
fic circles at the start of the eighties,
ga'ns in the country had been
aRT is now be:ng used by more
remarkable, so far as chi Id develop-
than 25 percent of the world's
ment programmes are concerned.
families and is saving almost a
"A veritable revolution has begun
here. In two years from now it is
possible to visualise three million
children not dying as a result of
immunization and education," he
said.
The UNICEF report presents a
grim picture of countries sliding
backward into poverty and the child
paying the price. According to the
Mr. James P. Grant
Executive Director, UNICEF
Indebted governments have also
cut down expenditure on social
services and this too has hurt
children most. Forty of the world's
least developed countries have
slashed spending on he·alth by 50
percent per head over the last few
years and in almost half of the de-
million lives every year, the report
highlights.
These achievements suggest,
according to the UNICEF report,
that it is possible to protect the
lives of children at a very tow cost.
"However, the individual develop-
ment and social contribution of
millions of chi:dren is being shaped
by economies of now"'.
report recession and the debt crisis veloping nations enrolment in pri-
As a way out of the debt crisis
in Third World countries has stifled mary schools is fal/ing.
the report has suggested a combina-
chi!d development programmes.
However, the harsh picture in tion of debt reduction and increased
"For one-sixth of mankind, the large palts of the Third World is aid.
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For each of the major vaCCines, immunization
coverage has increased dramatically in the 1980s.
Increase in immunization coverage
of under-one children' , developing
countries, 1981-87
Q) 50
o0>
(j)
o> 40
()
C 30
Q)
()
(j)
a.. 20
I'MWN 1981
tt~:(n1986
~1987
Lives saved by immunization
The chart below shows the estimated number of
deaths each year and the estimated number of
deaths being prevented each year from the three
main vaccine-preventable diseases of childhood.
The fourth column shows the number of cases of
polio which are being prevented by immunization
and the number of cases which are still occurring
for the lack of it. All estimates exclude China.
Estimated deaths and prevented
deaths from vaccine-preventable
diseases, developing world, 1988
2.5
o Prevented
~ Occurring
2
1.5
'c"
.Q
~
.5
China not included in 1981 data.
*TT2 is given to pregnant women and protects new-barns.
Source: UNICEF, September 1988.
Measles Neonatal Whooping Polio-
tetanus cough myelitis
"We must recognise that
most of the world's major health
problems and premature deaths
are preventable through changes
in human behaviour and at low
cost. We have the know-how
and technology but they have to
be transformed into effective
action at the community level.
Parents and families properly
supported, could Si,vetwo thirds
of the 14 mil/ion children who
die every year - if only they
were properly informed. Immu-
nization alone could save 3
million lives - and another 3
mil/ion deaths a year could be
prevented by oral rehydration,
a simple and cheap technology."
- Dr. Hiroshi Nakajima
Director-General,
World Health Organization
Today's Children-Tomorrow's World
At this moment, many millions of children are growing up in
circumstances Which mean that they will never fulfil the mental
and physical potential with which they were born. And that is a
human tragedy which contains within itself the seeds of its own
renewal.
Breaking this self-perpetuating cycle is central:to the deve-
lopment struggle. Without it, all other investments in water supply
or food production, education or basic community services, will te
less effective simply because a significant proport1on of people will
not be able to contribute fully to them or benefit fully from them.
Investing in the development of children today - by meeting
their most obvious needs and attending with all the wisdom and
resources at our command to their physical, mental and emotional
development - is action which both' meets pressing human needs
today and leads to the pre-emption of what may otherwise become
the almost insolub!e problems of tomorrow. For this reason, a summit
meeting m:ght address itself to the overall theme of 'Today's Children,
Tomorrow's World',
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Health S,ervicesJn R!emote Poverty-Stricken Areas
Study Advocates
Alternative Strategies
In-depth casestudies on pregnant
mothers in 12 sample villages re-
veal that Antenatal Care registra-
remote and isolated poverty-
stricken areas at lesser COSt and
people's confidence can be wor.
High level of illiteracy, especially
among the rural women, res-
tricted access to health infrastruc-
ture and low motivational leve I of
health cadres have been identified
as the major r.onstraints on the
proper utilisation of health and
family welfare services in Orissa.
That is the main conclusion of
the recently completed study of two
districts of Orissa - Dhenkanal
and Keonjhar .- conducted by
the Council for Tribal and Rural
Developmont, Bhubaneswar, on
behalf of the Family Planning
Foundation.
Dr. (Smt.) B. Jena, a veteran
in the field of public health, who
tion during the first four months
of pregnancy is not reported due
to lack of timely identification of
pregnancy and poor level of aware-
ness among -the mothers.
The study has concluded that
alternative strategies to serve the
poor in the economically back-
ward and tribal areas are urgently
required. It recommends using
multi-delivery systems in preference
to a single, conventional static
system. In other words, in addi-
tion to hospital or clinic-based
services, mobile services and com-
munity-based distribution
of
supplies can achieve better results
by extending the outreach in the
by recognising human factors and
socio-cultural characteristics of
diverse communities.
The Foundation's study has also
laid great emphasis on improving
management at all levels and intro-
duction of carefully structured
training courses for doctors posted
at Primary Health Centres, health
workers as well as community
leaders to bring about significant
improvement in the level of utilisa-
tion of scarce resources. The find-
ings of this study, the Foundation
hopes, will be useful for reviewing
the situation in Orissa as a whole,
and in intensifying utilisation of
health and family welfare services.
directed field investigations, has
brought out that the present
THE STUDY
service delivery system is not only
inadequate, but also ill-suited to
the needs of isolated communi-
ties; and that negative publicity
by dissatisfied users, in the absence
of systematic follow-up by quali-
The Study "Village Level Utilisa-
ti()n of Health and Family Welfare
Services in relation to Mortality and
Fertility" was undertaken in two"
districts of Orissa, viz., Keonjhar
and Dhenkanal, with the objec-
high p~rformance district of Keon-
jhar and the P.H.C. Analabereni
for its poor performance in the low
performance district of Dhenkanal
were taken up for this contrastive
study.
fied doctors, or imaginative infor-
mation, education and communica-
tion effort by health workers, is
driving away existing and poten-
tial Usersof public facilities, creat-
ed at great cost.
tive of identifying factors relating
to utilisation or non-utilisation of
the health and family welfare infra-
structure created by the State
government or voluntary organ:sa-
ti()ns, and suggesting measures for
Finally, six sample villages cate-
gorised intO the three strata were
selected from each of the two
sample P.H.C.s. The villages in
stratum I were P.H.C. headquarter
and nucleus villages availing all
The study had also aimed to improvement of the system. It was the health services at first hand
discover wheth(H socio-cultural also intended to look into the while those under stratum II were
and economic factors relating to socio-cultural and economic factors intermediary villages located in
differential fertility behaviour among relating to differential fertility be- G.P. and sub-centre headquarters
the scheduled tribes, scheduled haviour among Scheduled Tribes, and away from the P.H.C. head-
castes and general castes couples Scheduled Castesand general caste quarters. The villages under stra-
had been considered at the time of couples.
tum III were the outreach villages
planning rural health programmes. The districts Dhenkanal with low located far away from P.H.C. and
Th is aspect, the study notes, has totai average of family planning sub-centres.
been neglected leading to denial performance (10.9) and Keonjhar As many as five sets of structure
of basic preventive and curative with high performance (14.2) were schedules, viz., couple schedule,
health services, especially aimed selected as sample districts for the community leader schedule, health
at reducing infant mortality and survey.
personnel schedule, village sche-
promoting voluntary family plann-
In the next phase the P.H.C. dule and PHC/sub-centre/N.G.O.
ing, to the people who need it with high annual average F.P. schedule, were developed to elicit
most.
performance - Jhumpura - in information on related matters.
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Population and Development Orj'entation
Plea for Declaring
Courses for Legislators
Nineties as the Family
The Centre for Parliamentarians ing people's behaviour patterns to Planning Decade
on Population and Development stall the adverse impact of popula-
organised an or:entat'on course tion trends on development pro-
Institute of Marketing and
for legislators trom Karnatakafrom cesses.
Management, New Delhi, has come
19th to 25th January, 1989.
Smt. Sheila Dikshit, Min'ster of
State for Parliamentary Affa:rs
inaugurated the course while Ms.
Saroj Khaparde, Minister of State
for Health and Family Welfare,
presided over the inaugural func-
tion.
.
The course has three main objec-
tives: (i) to enable the participants
to acquire proper understanding of
interactions between Population
processes of growth, mortality,
fertility and migration on the one
hand, and the inter-related pro-
cesses of economic, social, cul-
tliral and environmental develop-
ment on the other; (ii) to sensitise
the parliamentarians to the urgent
need of their active involvement
Acco:'ding to·Shri Sat Paul Mittal,
M.P., Cha;rman of the Indian
Association of Parliamentarianson
forward with a suggestion to de-
clare the decade of the '90s as the
'Family Plann;ng Decade' in order
Population and Development, a to achieve the objectives and
great responsibility devolves on targets of the family welfare pro-
parliamentarians as representatives· gramme. The Institute with over
of people, to take initiative in
mounting social action at the grass-
roots level. The course should
6,000 members and 25 Chapters
in the country, has decided to
involve itself whole-heartedly in
enable them to launch this social the all-important task of popula-
action in an informal, concerted tion control.
and systematic manner.
Similar courses are propcsed to
be conducted for legislators of four
major northern states, viz., Uttar
Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh
and Rajasthan where family wel-
fare programme needs to be
intensified.
Family Planning Foundation has
On December 6, 1988, the Insti-
tute conducted a national work-
shop on family Planning Pro-
gramme in India, Which was attend-
ed by a number of experts asso-
ciated with planning, implementa-
tion and follow-up action on
various family planning schemes.
"\\
in social action at the level of the forged a close tie-up with the
There was consensus among the
people in their own constituen- centre for Parliamentarians on participants that family planning
cies, and (iii) to identify feasible Population and Development to being a non-political issue should
operational strategies for influenc- make these courses a success.
be treated as· a national problem
and tackled on a war-footing
A Ray of Hope
India's birth rate had declined
from 32.6 per thousana in 1986 to
32 per thousand in 1987, Mr.
MotiLaI Vora, till recently Union
Minister for Heah:h and Family
Welfare, told a press conference on
the highlights of his Ministry dur-
ing 1988. "We want to bring it
down to 21 per thousand by the
tumof the century and by 1990,
we want to reduce it to 29.1 per
thousand," he said.
As per the sample registration
study by the Registrar General of
India, the birth rate went down
from 33.7 in 1980 to 32.9 in 1985,
32.6 in 1986 and 32 in 1987. The
1988 birth rate is not yet available.
"It is only when poor people are
assured of their livelihoods that
they will help us to safeguard their
natural environments. So rong as
people rema;n hungry it is very
difficult to talk to them about con-
servation. Only when conservation
takes on a dimens:on of helping
the poor, the downtrodden and the
destitute, will it have an enduring
impact." M. S. Swaminathan,
President, International' Un:on for
Conservation, Nature and Natural
Resources, quoted in International
Agricultural Development.
(World Development Forum.
Vol. 6 No. 19, 1988)
without allowing petty interests of
regions, States, communities,
ethnic groups, etc. to come in
the way.
The workshop recommended
that the family planning pro-
gramme should be given a total
marketing and • management orien-
tation and that the governmental
efforts should be supplemented by
corporate sector for doing an effec-
tive sales promotion and market-
ing job for the programme. It also
suggested better involvement and
motivation of the recipients as
well as the providers of the services
and better utilisation of various
media channels for the spread of
audience-specific messages.
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I1HUMAN SURVIVAL VALUESIl
A th;'ee-day in-house training
The programme culminated in
programme was conducted for group discussions on strategy to
Youth Coordinators of Nehru Yuva take this pr.ogramme to tIle rural
Kendra Sangathan at the Pusa masses through the youth volun-
Institute, New Delhi from December tary action. It was decided that
19 to 21, 1988.
this would be achieved by first
The purpose of train;ng pro- concentrating in the areas where
gramme was to impart knowledge Nehru Yuva Kendras were runnillg
about the project "Human Survival Adult Literacy Centres of National
Values" and skills with regards to Literacy Mission. It was felt that
the conducting of Youth Leader- integrated informaticn base and
ship Tra'ning Programmes in their tra;n:ng materials was necessary
respective Regions/Districts. A and that there was a need to
total of 28 participants attended develop area-specific training mate-
the programme (Uttar Pradesh: 1 rials which could sharpen the focus
Regional Coordinator and 14 Youth on message as well as on options/
Coordinators, Haryana: 1 Regional choices for people's action.
Coordinator and 12 Youth Co-
The project envisages spread of
ordinators).
the message to the rural communi·
While inaugurating the pro- ties through a wide range of acti-
gramme, Shri Harish K.hanna, vities organised by the Youth Co-
Executive Director, Family Planning ordinators, exposed to different
Foundation (EP.F.) brought under aspects of the crisis and tra;ned t~
sharp focus the issues threatening transmit human survival concerns
the very survival of the human to youth leaders working at the
race: ecological imba:ance, en- grass-roots level.
vironmental degradation, deple-
The project has initially been
tion of forests and other natural launched in four States, namely
resources, excessive population Bihar (32 Districts), Rajasthan
and poverty etc. He expressed the (27 Districts), Madhya Pradesh
hope that the project which the (30 Districts), Uttar Pradesh (56
Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan had Districts). In Uttar Pradesh and
undertaken to implement in close Rajasthan, 50 per cent centres will
collaboration with the FPF, will be female centres and in Haryana,
go a long way in creating in the which has been selected to run a
rural youth awareness of the para'iel demonstration-cum-train-
fast developing ·crisis and commit- ing programme, a/l female centres
ment to conservation objectives. have been chosen. It has been
The participants were exposed estimated by the Nehru Yuva
to the training material developed Kendra Sangatnan that the fi rst
for the initiation of the project and phase of the project is likely to
were given practicai demonstration cover over 40 lakh youth.
to use the same. Exclusive sessions The first phase of the project has
were held to discuss communic- been funded by a grant from the
ation strategies in the rural context Family Planning Foundation to the
and the use of electronic media.
tune of Rs. 5 lakh which will be
Unique Expos\\.lre
On the concluding day when
'focus' co~respondent met a
cross-section of the participants
to gauge their reactions to the
issues of human survival pro-
jected during the training pro-
gramme, he found them very
enthusiastic and responsive to
the exposure they received. A
sampling:
Ms Poonam Chawla (Dis-
trict Youth Coordinator.
Alipur) : This training pro-
gramme is unique in the sense
that never before had we realis-
ed the gravity of the issues of
human survival such as over
population, imbalance of natural
resources and human needs and
environmental derJradation. We
are now better motivated and
equipped to communicate the
message to the rural youth.
Mr. Chander Shekhar Pran
(Regional
Coordinator,
Allahabad) : We have indeed
received a very beneficial ex-
posure not only to the issues
but also. to the appropriate
techniques to communicate the
same to our youth leaders.
Involvement of the/ youth is
absolutely essential to tackle
these knotty problems. Right
now, I am in the process of
organising a camp of 300 youth
leaders at the forthcoming
kumbh mela at Allahabad and
we hope to educate and enthuse
them about these issues. The
process will continue in the dis-
tricts with full vigour .
largely utilised for producing appro-
priate communication materials and
organising training camps first at
the district leve! and in due course
at the village level using Nehru
Yuva Kendra's time-tested set-up.
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