Masuda Kamal*
Abstract: Population can contribute to development if they are skilled and capable human resources but, in opposite situation they appear to be burden for the country. For these double edges role of population in the development process which is common in all developing countries, there should be a proper population policy with due emphasis on development. Population of a country can get fruitful employment especially in the over populated countries like Bangladesh only when they have linkage with development. The first and the second National Population Policy have been formulated in 1976 and in 2004 respectively. Finally, Bangladesh Population Policy 2012 has been taken into actions for overcoming the shortcomings of the previous policy. The current policy needs to cater to twin objectives such as keeping population size within limit and involving population as effective resources in the development process.
Keeping these in mind this paper tries to explore the government initiatives regarding population growth control, reproductive health, maternal and infant mortality, women empowerment as well as development emphasis and dimensions reflected in the current population policy. Information from secondary sources such as current population policy documents, reports, journals, articles, papers etc are used for this purpose.
Key Word: Population, Policy, Development, Human Resource, Empowerment.
Introduction
Policy is a well calculated and articulated futuristic statement of the government.
From this point of view, population policy of Bangladesh is the comprehensive guideline regarding its population where government’s intentions about development aspects are reflected. The current population policy was adopted in 2012 as a successor of the population policy 1976 and the population policy 2004 with gradual modification in accordance with the ever-changing national and international circumstances. However, the main objective of the study is to
* Dr. Masuda Kamal, Professor, Department of Public Administration, Comilla University.
Population and Development: An Analysis of the Policy of Bangladesh
identify the development orientation that has been echoed throughout the policy.
Undoubtedly, development and population became one of the top priority issues to the government of Bangladesh and the inclusion of development into population frontier got the utmost importance because of the prevailing realities of the country. In this context, the study classifies the development aspects of the policy that will be very conducive to understand the development orientation in a specific way. The study is qualitative in nature and content analysis method has been taken for the study which is very flexible in analyzing text data in such kind of study (Cavanagh, 1997). Development is a multidimensional concept addressing every aspect of human security and improvement. In this backdrop, the development aspects of the current population policy were seen in line with the national and global development agenda like universal healthcare, human resources development, environment etc. The paper will contribute to rethink the policy from development perspectives whether it is consistent or not along with the realization of its existing loopholes.
Relationship between Population and Development
Population and development are interlinked and, to a great extent, interdependent.
In the contemporary world, the symbiotic relationship between the two is very crucial and in explaining this context, a study of The United Nations Population Fund identifies four perspectives on Population and development namely macroeconomic, microeconomic, population-environment and social perspective.
These perspectives establish linkage between population and development in terms of economy, society, family, environment, gender issues etc. (Hayes &
Jones, 2015). High population growth is a highly prioritized issue in many developing countries because of its causal relationship with many other problems related to resources accumulation and distribution, environmental degradation, ensuring food security, decent employment and social services to its citizens. The governments of developing countries emphasize on reducing high population growth for releasing pressure on the resources with a view to preventing the system from being dysfunctional. In this regard, enabling institutional framework, addressing development planning with proper strategies, is the key requisite for the proper implementation of the population policy (DESA, 2010). Since 1991, the dependency ratio of the total population of Bangladesh has been declining and eventually it opens the window of opportunity for achieving demographic dividend or demographic bonus. The projection estimates that after 2026 the dependency ratio will start to rise and the window of opportunity will be going to shutdown. Without proper plans and policies, it is hardly possible to grasp the advantage of the dividend within this short period. At the same time, achieving the dividend is neither an automated process nor the opportunity for dividend will sustain forever. In this backdrop, the dream of getting expected dividend is only be materialized through the implementation of the proper human resource development policy along with other strategies but central focus should be on human resource development (Hayes & Jones, 2015). Population and urbanization has direct linkage in terms of development because unequal distribution of population and increased urbanization, which is mostly unplanned, is responsible
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for the creation of enormous problems on the earth. CPD-UNFPA Paper showed that, in 1974, more than six million people lived in urban area, which was less than ten percent (8.2%) of the total population. As the trending of urbanization was upwards, in 2001, more than twenty million people lived in urban setting, which was nearly a quarter (23.4%) of the total population. According to the projection, by 2027, nearly 36 percent of the total population will live in urban area (CPD-UNFPA). Controlling and stabilizing population deserve the utmost importance in the context of Bangladesh. In line with this, community and religious leaders can play very crucial and significant role with a view to changing and influencing behavioral norms. This approach can shift the cultural and behavioral norms from traditional and orthodox setting to liberal setting which is more conducive to using the modern technology oriented medical services.
People’s thinking, norms and priorities would be shaped in a positive way if the involvement of the aforesaid leaders can be ensured (Hasan et al. 2012).
Bangladesh shows remarkable progress in some areas; for example, life expectancy and literacy rates have been increased, and infant mortality, child mortality and maternal mortality rates have been declined along with improved health service delivery system, especially for pregnant women by trained medical officer (NIPORT et al. 2013). However, the broader and sustainable socio- economic development in the population sector may be achieved by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MOHFW) along with the National Population Council where strong coordination between public and private sectors is very crucial (Saharty, Ahsan & May, 2014). The concern and views of the governments of developing countries about the high level of fertility have been reflected in successive population policies after 1970 and eventually the fertility declines in many countries. Forty seven percent of the developing countries fertility was too high in 1976 and even the governments of fifty percent of developing countries, including Southeastern Asia, viewed the fertility as too high in 2009 (DESA, 2010). The high-level coordination among the concerned parties is needed with a view to ensuring multidimensional engagement of population and development issues including education, employment opportunities, skills development, social safety nets programmes etc. (Saharty, Ahsan & May, 2014).
Different strategies and options are proposed by a task force on Bangladesh’s development strategies for a realistic population policy for Bangladesh namely programmatic approach, social transformation approach and institutional change approach (Khuda 1991).
Population Policy: Conceptual Discussion
A policy is the collection of general statements about priorities, written regulations and guidelines which is appropriate for the pursuit of desired goals within a particular context. It is the set of producers for guiding the behavior (weeks, 2002) and it is seen both as text and as discourse (Ball, 1993). Public policies are directly and significantly related to the interest of the citizens. Public policy is a complete framework for implementing government actions with a view to achieving public goals (Cochran & Malone, 2014). It is what the government chooses to do, or not to do. It improves the accountability of governments to
Population and Development: An Analysis of the Policy of Bangladesh
citizens. It is aimed at ensuring its goal that is very much aligned with the best interest of the citizens. It determines every aspect of its citizen’s lives and tries to ensure the quality of every services being provided. From this point of view, we eat, drink and breathe public policy as all things are being influenced by it (Torjman, 2005).
Population policy, which is public policy in nature, is very crucial for controlling and managing population of a certain country. It also provides guidelines for population related developmental aspects with a view to ensuring balanced relationship between population and environment and transforming human beings into human resources. Population policy is deliberately constructed institutional arrangements and specific programs through which governments influence demographic change (Demeny, 2003). It is a set of actions taken by public authorities in order to prevent and address imbalances between demographic changes along with social, economic, and political goals (Saharty, Ahsan & May, 2014). It represents a strategy for achieving a particular pattern of population change (Weeks, 2002). Population policy is based on three arguments namely pro-natalist through promoting growth, anti-natalist through retarding growth and laisez-fire through maintaining current growth (Sikder, 2003).
Population Policy of Bangladesh: An Overview
Bangladesh begins its journey as an independent state along with a fastest growing population and a number of population related problems but could not formulate any population policy instantly which was not also possible in a war damaged country. The first National Population Policy is formulated in 1976 with a view to reducing the population growth rate through family planning programs with reproductive health issues. Later, in 2004, the second Bangladesh Population Policy is enacted for achieving Net Reproductive Rate (NRR) = 1 by 2010 in order to have a stable population by 2060. Following the failures of the target fixed in the Population Policy 2004, Bangladesh Population Policy 2012 has been taken into actions.
The current population policy covers three things – vision, mission and implementation strategies that will be discussed briefly as following.
Vision
The prime vision of Bangladesh Population Policy 2012 is to develop a healthier, happier and wealthier Bangladesh through planned development and control of the nation’s population (GOB, 2012). Here two things are clearly mentioned for healthy and happy Bangladesh. One is planned development and another one is controlling population. So, without proper developmental orientation, it will be a halfhearted attempt to achieve the desired goals.
Objectives
The vision of the policy is visualized by some specific and time bound objectives, which can be materialized through the strategies articulated in the policy for implementation. The objectives of the policy are
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Lowering the Total Fertility Rate (TFR) to 2.1 and achieving Net Reproductive Rate (NRR) = 1 by the year 2015 through improving health care for mothers and children along with reducing maternal and infant mortality rate.
Ensuring family planning methods to eligible couples along with easy access to reproductive health services and information web of healthcare system.
Building awareness and providing counseling services among the poor and the adolescents about reproductive health, family planning and reproductive tract infections.
Transforming the population into human resources with the participation of different stakeholders along with women’s empowerment and gender equity
Strategies
A number of strategies have been incorporated under the policy objectives that can be summarized as following:
Client-Centered Service: Client-centered service is a modern strategy for ensuring better health care service and it will be effective when service center practice and door-to-door service will be improved along with proper family planning methods.
Urban Health Care: Especially urban health care services will be provided to slum dwellers and other extremely poor people living in urban areas
Area-Based Plans and Strategies: specific plans will be taken for particular regions, relatively backward and marginalized area in line with greater national plans. Special consideration will be given to the people of coastal areas in family planning materials and child health program.
Behaviour Change Communication (BCC) Program: It will be carried out through various motivational, educational and informative programs. For example, “No more than two children, but one is better” – this slogan will be popularized for establishing a positive notion in human psychology for controlling the population growth. Regular dissemination of important messages about family planning, population and healthcare services will be ensured through government and non-government mass media platforms like radio, television, print media etc.
Family planning and healthcare related issues will be incorporated in educational curriculum and test books.
Adolescent Welfare Program: The government organization along with non- government, religious and social organization will work for the development of adolescent in the society. Employment opportunities will be generated for unmarried women in rural area through developing their skills with a view to reducing their dependency and encouraging them in favor of late marriage.
Population and Development: An Analysis of the Policy of Bangladesh
Participation of Non-Government and Private Sectors: The non-government sectors will be encouraged to expand their programs where the services are not available. For ensuring delivery of services with low cost, joint collaboration of government and non-government sectors will be encouraged. Communication and coordination among government, non-government and private sectors will be ensured for avoiding duplication of work.
Empowerment of Women and Equal Partnership of Men and Women: All forms of oppression, violence and discrimination against women and girls will be eliminated from everywhere irrespective of public or private offices, and inside or outside of the home, especially in case of their participation in economic activities and getting access to health care services.
Human Resources Development: Proper implementation of family planning programs depend on skilled human resources. In this regard, suitable manpower will be appointed, and government and non-government training institutions will work for developing adequate human resource.
Legal Measures: Ministry of Health and Family Welfare will work along with the assistance of other concern ministries with a view to avoiding duplication of work.
Social Measures: Special priority programs will be taken for elderly, poor and disabled people in terms of health, education and social safety net benefits Population and Environment: With a view to reducing pressure on environment, planned housing and industrial zones will be promoted and social afforestation programs will be implemented along with minimizing vehicular traffic pollution.
Discourage Urban Migration and Introduce Planned Urbanization:
Disparities between citizen facilities in rural and urban areas will be reduced along with generating employment opportunities in rural areas for discouraging urban migration
Integrated Information Collection and its Use: Regular research and survey on population and health will be conducted, and regular communication among researchers, policy makers and stakeholders will be maintained. Activities of different institutions will be coordinated for proper implementation of the policy along with applying modern digital information technology.
Decentralization of Administrative and Financial Power: Administrative and Financial decision-making power will be decentralized along with community participation in population and health care program. Local level action plan will be developed where participation of local elites and other stakeholders including women representative will be ensured. The role of local government and the local level committees will be strengthened with a view to extending the scope of family planning and reproductive health services.
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Production and Supply of Family Planning Commodities: family planning commodities will be produced and supplied every year as per requirements Coordination with Different Policies and Plans: Several policies, plans and programs are formulated and being implemented under different ministries and agencies where some of them are closely related to the objectives of the population policy. Strategies will be taken for better implementation of those policies in a coordinated fashion.
Role of Different Ministries: The implementation of population programs is dependent on the concern ministries and agencies where ministry of Health and Family Welfare will play the leading role. Along with this ministry, other concern ministries will take initiatives within their jurisdiction and capacities in line with the framework of population policy.
Institutional Management: Institutional management will be designed for the implementation of the population policy and capacity building as well. The national population council will coordinate and monitor inter-ministerial activities where the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare will act as the secretariat of the council. The Directorate General of Family Planning will play the leading role in implementing and monitoring various programs of population policy.
Development Orientation in Bangladesh Population Policy 2012
Before discussing the developmental aspects incorporated in the population policy, the connotation of development along with its ever-changing dimensions needs to be discussed. Dvelopment is not a contemporary concept rather it is as old as civilization. Generally, it refers to improvement and advancement through shifting from one lower stage to higher stage. It is intended as something positive or desirable (Bellu, 2011). It is a constant evolution, motivated by the continuous search for well-being (Rist, 2001).
In the past, it was seen from the narrower dimension with economic development but over the time it shifted towards broader dimension of human wellbeing including health, security, gender equity, human resources, modernization and many more. Later sustainable development issue has been incorporated under the broader outline of development where environmental preservation and rational use of natural resources have been given utmost importance with a view to resolving social and economic growth problems.
Sustainable development meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs (Brundtland, 1987).
At present time, the term development prevails on the concept of modernization because of its broader concept to represent the multiple dimensions of human well-being (Jr and Quintella, 2008). Thomas (2000) explains
‘development’ from three perspectives. Firstly, it is a vision through which a society intends to achieve its goals, secondly, it is a historical process through which social changes are taking places over the period of time and finally, it is an action through which planned efforts are taken for bringing positive changes.
Population and Development: An Analysis of the Policy of Bangladesh
From the above discussion, it can be said that development is the movement upward of the entire social system. This social system embraces economic factors along with all noneconomic factors regarding well-being of the people including educational and health facilities, economic, social, and political stratification etc (Myrdal, 1974). Thus, development is multidimensional concept where all aspects of human wellbeing including economic development, healthcare system, environmental sustainability, planned urbanization, human resources development, digital advancement etc have been included for ensuring overall development of the people in a holistic manner.
In this section, the development aspects will be seen from two perspectives.
Firstly, how population related development orientations are narrated in international policy documents and to what extent it has influenced the context and contents of the population policy of Bangladesh and secondly, what types of development orientations are reflected in the national policy documents.
Development Aspects in International Policy Documents
Like many other countries, the population policies of Bangladesh are being influenced by the international organization working in this arena like The International Conference on Population and Development (CPD-UNFPA).
The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) set eight goals in 2000 with specific targets and deadlines (2015) for the development of the world's poorest people. Bangladesh is one of the signatory countries and successfully achieved most of the goals. The plans and policies made within this timeframe were influenced by the development orientation of the MDGs. The MDGs has direct impact on the population policy of Bangladesh as some of its goals like child mortality, maternal health, and HIV/AIDS and malaria were related to healthcare development oriented objective of the policy and some other goals like gender equity, poverty eradication are closely related to human resource development oriented objective of the policy (BDHS’14, 2016). One of the targets of the 5th goal of SDGs is ensuring universal access to reproductive health and reproductive rights. For achieving the target within 7th FYP (2016-2020) of Bangladesh, the government takes measures for expanding women friendly hospitals in all districts, increasing effectiveness of registration and services tracking system at the community clinics and hospitals for women and children along with disseminating information and education about reproductive health and making counseling services available for men, women and couples in all health care centers (GED, 2016).
The population policies of Bangladesh are designed with many development objectives including women empowerment and gender equity. The inclusion of the provision is grounded in many international agreements and conventions where the country is a signatory one and ratified the laws. Through ratifying the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) in 1984, endorsing the Beijing Platform for Action (BPFA) in 1995 and making commitment to the goals and targets of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the country designs its developmental policies aligned with