Population policy updated to harness demographic edge

After 13 years, the government has updated the Population Policy with the aim of achieving six key objectives, including fully harnessing the potential of the country's demographic dividend.

Health Adviser Nurjahan Begum yesterday inaugurated the Bangladesh Population Policy-2025 at a programme at the Osmani Memorial Auditorium to mark World Population Day, which was on Friday.

In 2012, the government enacted the Population Policy, with the first objective of reducing the total fertility rate (TFR) to 2.1 by increasing the contraceptive prevalence rate.

The updated policy, prepared by the Health and Family Welfare Ministry, reflects a major shift, placing greater emphasis on harnessing the potential of the demographic dividend rather than focusing on population control.

The demographic dividend is the economic growth potential that can result from shifts in a population's age structure, mainly when the share of the working‑age population (15-64) is larger than the non‑working‑age share, according to UNFPA.

Bangladesh is currently going through the demographic dividend period.

Talking about the updated policy, Sarwar Bari, secretary of the Medical Education and Family Welfare Division, said the updated policy set six objectives.

The first objective is to attain the demographic dividend by transforming the population into a skilled human capital through ensuring quality and accessible healthcare and nutrition services, demand-based quality education, and social protection for all population groups.

The second object is to reduce the unmet need for family planning methods, preventable maternal, newborn, and child deaths, as well as child marriage and all other harmful practices.

Other objectives include adopting plans to expand and manage technology to the benefits of the fourth and fifth industrial revolutions; ensure equal opportunities between urban and rural areas by guaranteeing citizen services; ensure gender equality and achieve gender dividends; and take effective measures to tackle natural disasters and the impacts of climate change, the secretary said.

He said 29 ministries would be involved in implementing the policy.

Ashrafi Ahmad, director general of the Directorate General of the Family Planning, told The Daily Star that policy would come into effect once the strategy, which is now under development, is approved.

Referring to the theme of this year's population day -- "empowering young people to create the families they want in a fair and hopeful world" -- the health adviser told the event that theme highlights youth empowerment.

In her view, the prerequisite for empowerment is achieving economic self-reliance and when a young person is financially capable, the path to empowerment becomes much easier.

Prof Sayedur Rahman, special assistant to the chief adviser for the health ministry, emphasised the need to prepare our population to cope with the development of technology, including artificial intelligence and robotics.

Saidur Rahman, secretary of the Health Services Division; Prof Abu Jafor, director general of the Directorate General of Health Services; Prof Nazmul Hosain, director general of the Directorate General of Medical Education; Ashrafi Ahmad; Catherine Breen Kamkong, representative for UNFPA Bangladesh; and Jobaida Begum, additional secretary of the Medical Education and Family Welfare Division, spoke on the occasion.