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Condom use dips in 22 states, sets off population spurt alarm -Kounteya Sinha
-The Times of India

Condom use among men in India is falling drastically — a dangerous trend for the country's already swelling population.

The Union health ministry has found that out of 34 states, 22 states have recorded a major dip in condom use in 2010-11 as against the previous year.

The five states with the highest overall dip in condom use has been the Andaman and Nicobar islands (50%), Madhya Pradesh (39%), Sikkim (38%), Kerala (33%) and Haryana (31%).

Almost every state which is designated as "high focus non-north-east" have recorded a dip.

Uttarakhand has seen a 27% fall, Uttar Pradesh (11%) fall, Rajasthan (23%), Odisha and Chattisgarh (22%), Jharkhand (24%) and Himachal Pradesh (20%).

Interestingly, Bihar and Jammu & Kashmir are the only two states that have shown an increase in condom use - 38% and 8%, respectively. The status of condom use has remained stagnant in two states - Tamil Nadu and Punjab — that have recorded no change between 2009-10 and 2010-11.

Even among "non-high focus large states" there has been a dip in majority of them.

Andhra Pradesh has recorded a 18% dip, Gujarat (16%), Haryana (31%), Karnataka (17%), Kerala (33%) and Maharashtra (25%).

Some states have actually seen an increase in condom use. They include Arunachal Pradesh (35%), Assam (44%), Nagaland (122%), Goa and West Bengal 7% each.

The official said, "There were some condom procurement issues recently which could have dipped condom use in the country."

Interestingly, this has become the trend at a time when the government has rolled out a scheme to make condoms available at the doorstep of an average villager in 17 states and 233 districts so that they don't have to travel or feel shy to ask for a condom.

Under the "door-to-door contraceptive" programme, Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs) are being supplied directly with contraceptives for free. ASHAs are selling them for Re 1 for a pack of three condoms. And, the sum collected is their commission.

Union health ministry officials told TOI that children who are born because of lack of poor access to contraceptive services — also known as the unmet need — are a major cause of India's population boom.

Health minister Ghulam Nabi Azad has earlier said that improving use of any form of contraceptives will help India reach its population target of 165 crore people in 2060.

Azad had earlier said, "We can't fool ourselves anymore. Unless the rapid growth of population is contained, it will be difficult to ensure quality education, healthcare, food and housing, clean drinking water, sanitation, hygiene and a healthy environment for all."

India saw 42,000 fewer births in 2008 because of contraceptive use. Additionally, the lives of nearly 95,000 women were also saved — 60% of maternal deaths averted because of couples using contraceptives.

The birth of three and above three children accounts for 45% of the 26 million births that take place each year. Preference for a male child and high infant mortality accounts for 20% of births.

India had set itself the goal of attaining replacement levels of fertility — 2.1 by 2010 — to achieve the larger goal of population stabilization by 2045. However, by the end of 2010, only 14 states achieved the target. In fact, six states have fertility as high as three-four.

A study announced by the Lancet recently said contraceptive use averts almost 230 million births every year.

The Johns Hopkins study satisfying the global unmet need for contraception of women who want to limit or space their pregnancies but are not using contraception could reduce maternal deaths by 30%, saving around 104,000 lives per year.

According to the Lancet study, each year, nearly 50 million of the 190 million women who become pregnant undergo abortions to terminate unwanted pregnancies, and about 13% of maternal deaths are caused by complications of abortion.