Dis-incentives for small family - family planning policies from a different light
There has been all kinds of opinions to analyze the reasons that are responsible for the relatively big sizes of the families and how to control it.
If you ask any of the consultants that comes from overseas to oversee different family planning projects - mostly funded by development partners, the first thing you will be told is that its the lack of education and recreation facilities that were primarily responsible for big families. There has been many research and studies, again done by mostly foreign funded projects, which conclude that these are indeed the reasons for having big families. With the lead from the western thought leaders, our local ones have lost the ability to think for themselves long back. (Off course, we are talking statistics here. There are indeed some forward thinkers who are doing excellent job so far. But they have been outnumbered by stupid ones, so far).
We beg to differ with that premise that its the lack of education that encourage couples to have more children. Believe me, its not. Its the lack of security that gives incentives to the couples to make more babies. Let us explain a little bit.
When it comes to security in life - both in social and personal life - we as a human being prefer to have the answers in certain terms. We like to make sure that our homes are secure. We like to make sure that we have food in our plates - now and specifically in old age. Also, we like to make sure that we have health care facilities when we are sick - now and specially in old age.
How to make sure this three major security concerns?
If there are law and order system in the society - we feel secure at home. When there is not enough security being provided by the social and state mechanism, people tend to have more sons - who still are a measure of strength in many rural areas. If somebody has five sons and the neighbor has five daughters, go ask them about their sense of security.
If there are pension scheme in place for old age support - every young couple would feel that they will have food in their plate during their old age when they will no longer be able to work. If that system is absent in large scale, you will find people trying to have make more babies in the hope that some of them (at least one of the children out of many) will be able to do it well economically so they can take care of their older parents. Believe me - it may sound weird to think that some young parents are having babies with a thought that someday the baby will feed them(!), but its true. For the same reason, they are happier if the kid is a boy since the boy stays with the parents, usually.
If there were health insurance scheme in place to take care of older citizens - the young couples would feel that they will have proper health care during their old age when they will no longer be able to work. If that system is absent in large scale, you wil find people trying to buy indirect health insurance by making babies - just like the same way they do to compensate for a pension scheme.
Now - what is the proof for these claims and if true, what should be done?
If we believe that the family size decisions are primarily related to economics and safety concerns, it has big implications for policy makers.
How about this?
Government can not make social security for all. But it can make a policy that it will start providing extra social security for those parents who have only one child. In other words, our system gives negative incentives for having small families. Government can try to turn that around and give positive incentives for having small families.
It can be started now without wasting any more time. Government can find out the older couples who did not have more than one child and provide a social security net. This project should be publicized well. We think if government does this - it can stop spending all those money that it spend in enlightening the people about family planning. There would not be any need for extra spending - just start the project by diverting some of the resources from family planning projects to news created projects to providing social safety net for older people with single or no children. You have to make sure that it is well publicized.
There will be many would question the logic. Just support the proposed projects in plain words. Those who had more children they had more chances to have security. While they increased their probability to have a secure life in older age, the also created extra burden for the state. So, those people who did not have much chance (since they did not have more children) and since they did not create extra burden and since the state do not have much resources right now, the state will start supporting the old people who had one child or no child. Makes sense?
Even if a pilot project like this one is taken in a single district, you will see the result within a very short time. Yes, you will see that within the year - if the pilot project is well publicized.
Bottomline: Identify peoples who have a very small size family (Start with one or no children. Depending on the size of the budget, it could be extended to more couples who had maximum two children and fulfill some income / asset criteria). Once a group of couples are identified, they will be provided with social safety net (food, residence and health, as needed basis). The budget will have to come from the promotional activities of the family planning projects. The idea is these new pilot project will act as a promotional item for the overall family planning programs. This proposal, if implemented properly, would attack the problem from demand side - instead of current approach of solving it from supply side. This would also be helpful for the incumbent governments since it would allow for the government to provide more direct support to the struggling portions of the population than before.
If you thought some of the ideas are worth of your reading time, please forward it to others. If you have an ear to the columinsts in regular traditional media, please forward it to them. If you have an ear to the journalists and news editors of the electronic media, discuss it with them. Hope they would look at the suggestions and give due diligence.
Thanks for your time,
Innovation Line
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Note: This is a freelance column, published mainly in different internet based forums. This column is open for contribution by the members of new generation, sometimes referred to as Gen 71. If you identify yourself as someone from that age-group and want to contribute to this column, please feel free to contact. Thanks to the group moderator for publishing the article.
Dear readers, also, if you thought the article was important enough so it should come under attention of the head of the government please forward the message to them. Email address for the Chief Advisor: feeedback@pmo.gov.bd_ or at http://www.cao.gov.bd/feedback/comments.php . The more of you forward it to them, the less will be the need to go back to street agitation. Use ICT to practice democracy. It is already proven that this government responds to the feedback.
Also forward it to:
Directorate General of Health Services
info@dghs.org.bd_
Directorate General of Family Planning
dgfp@dekko.net.bd_
Brac
research@brac.net_
Asa
asabd@dhaka.net_
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