KATHMANDU, Feb 15:  The first National Conference on Family Planning is scheduled to take place on coming March 18-19 in the central capital with the theme ‘Family Planning, Reaching the Unreached’. 

Around 200 people associated with this sector will be participating in the event to be organized by the Family Welfare Division, Department of Health Services under the Ministry of Health and Population. 

The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) is the major financial and technical assistance contributor to the event. The Conference is expected to be a milestone in increasing people’s access to family planning programs and towards the expansion and improvement of access to family planning services and information. 

Information about this was shared at a program here today. The gathering will dwell on the issues relating to the commitments in the Family Planning 2020 and the expansion of people’s participation in the family planning. 

According to the UNFPA, Nepal’s reproductive rate in 1996 was 4.6 percent and the figure dropped to 2.3 in 2016. Despite efforts, there is noticeable rise in the use of contraceptives. The latest statistics show that the use rate of means of family planning is 53 percent and users of modern means of family planning are below 43 percent. 

Family Planning Programs are in the top priority of the government, but their access to adolescents, new mothers and marginalized communities is still awaited. 

The organizers believed that the conference would come up with a new strategy to promote the use of means of family planning. RSS

 
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