Abstract
Bangladesh is widely considered an international success story in family planning, with an increase in contraceptive prevalence rising from 8 percent to 54 percent and a decline in the total fertility rate from 6.3 to 3.3 in the three decades since independence. Success in meeting these population goals can be largely attributed to the commitment of the Government of Bangladesh (GOB) and the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MOHFW), which have effectively coordinated donor organizations to ensure that free or affordable contraceptives are available in both public and private health facilities throughout the country.
Although Bangladesh has experienced a great deal of success in meeting its population goals, new challenges to contraceptive security in the country are emerging. At present, there is a widening gap between the demand for contraceptives and the available government and donor funding for contraceptive procurement. The MOHFW wants to move toward greater self-reliance for its family planning services. MOHFW goals include (1) lowering dependence on contraceptive donations to improve the long-term sustainability of its family planning programs, (donors met nearly all the country’s contraceptive needs until 1998); (2) increasing the use of the most effective contraceptive methods to sustain improvements in reproductive health; and (3) using public resources for family planning as effectively and efficiently as possible.