Migrants new issuein family planning Bindiya Chari PANJIM, MAY 24 — While some States have a hard time implementing the Family Planning Programme (FPP) and are struggling to keep up with targets, Goa has reached a state where 'going slow' on the 'family planning agenda' is advisable. For Goa's fertility rate has been on decline which is currently pegged at 1.8 as against national average total fertility rate (TFR) of 2.6. In view of negative fertility rate the State government has refrained from vigorously implementing FPP and the focus is on migrant labourers coming to Goa. Every first Saturday, an outreach programme is conducted for their benefit. With high rate of literacy and socio-economic progress, a Goan couple hardly needs advise on FPP. So when family planning mantra is to delay the first child, a doctor in a primary health care center, in North Goa, on condition of anonymity, revealed, "They advise couples not to postpone starting their family. " The adopted norm of family planning, is to maintain a gap of a few years between the first and the second child but advise offered is against delay in having a second child. One of the reasons for decline in fertility rate of Goa are late marriages. An average age of marriage in the State is mid 20s or late 20s with youth opting to get established in their career before setting up home. But most worrying trend Goa has seen with falling fertility rate is declining sex ratio. While in 1990-91, sex ratio was 1000 boys to 964 girls, it declined further to 1000 boys to 938 girls in 2000-2001. Restricting the family to just one child is one of the main reasons why in a 'progressive' State like Goa there are less girl children as against boys. "When first born is a boy, parents rarely think of having a second child. And it's only when the first born is a daughter that the family think of 'going on' pointed out the doctor.
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