UNFPA Policy Dialogue to Reimagine India’s Family Planning Through Rights-Based, Localised Precision Policy
SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being | SDG 5: Gender Equality | SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals
Institutions: Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) | Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM)
The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) India, in collaboration with Family Planning 2030 (FP2030) Asia-Pacific Regional Hub and the Gates Foundation, hosted a high-level policy dialogue focused on the future of family planning in India. The meeting brought together senior officials from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) and the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM).
The central theme was the necessary shift in the national conversation:
Focus on Choice and Quality: With India’s Total Fertility Rate (TFR) having fallen to 2.0 (below the replacement level of 2.1), the new focus must champion reproductive rights, choice, and the full continuum of reproductive health.
Unmet Need: Despite the falling TFR, millions of women still lack access to the services they seek, with unmet need standing at 9.4 percent, affecting an estimated 47 million women.
Precision Policy: Dr. Shamika Ravi, Member of the EAC-PM, emphasized that India’s diversity demands “precision policy making,” noting that there is “no one-size-fits-all approach” for delivering impact across different regions.
The consensus reached by the EAC-PM and MoHFW officials signals a formal endorsement of a people-centric, rights-based family planning agenda. The emphasis that “family planning is not a women’s programme—it is a family programme” and the call to integrate infertility services and services for adolescents are crucial for strengthening the National Health Mission (NHM). This dialogue provides a mandate for designing customized, localized interventions that meet the specific needs of diverse populations, as advocated by EAC-PM, rather than applying uniform national schemes.
What is the policy significance of India’s Total Fertility Rate (TFR) falling to 2.0? → The TFR is the average number of children born to a woman over her lifetime. A TFR of 2.1 is considered the replacement level, the rate needed to maintain a stable population size. India’s TFR falling to 2.0 indicates that the country is no longer facing a population explosion and has achieved demographic stabilization. This shift provides the political space to move the policy agenda away from numerical targets and towards quality, choice, and addressing the remaining 9.4 percent unmet need for family planning.
Relevant Question for Policy Stakeholders: How can MoHFW translate the principle of “precision policy making” into measurable targets for state and district health systems to address the 9.4% unmet need for family planning?
Follow the full news here: UNFPA, FP2030 and Gates Foundation Convene Policy Dialogue to Reimagine Family Planning in India