KATHMANDU, -
Contraceptive use in 2011 declined one percent from the 2006 figure, a preliminary report of the Nepal Demographic and Health Survey 2011 has shown.
Experts attribute this trend to the migration of people for work abroad in particular.
The survey shows one in two married women in the age group 15-49 years uses contraceptives. Modern contraceptive use is the highest in the Tarai (45 percent). There has been a 20 percent increase in the use of modern contraceptives in the mountainous region over the last five years, with male sterilisation (17 percent) being the most popular method. Another report disseminated by the National Centre for AIDS and STD Control (NCASC) shows a significant increase in the use of condom by clients of female sex workers.
The survey conducted among 938 female sex workers—593 in Kathmandu and 354 in Pokhara—shows the use of condom by their clients in Kathmandu reached 73 percent in 2011 from 57 percent in 2004. However, only 43 percent Nepalis use condom and other contraceptives and more than 25 percent women still lack access to family planning.
We need to work hard to make condoms accessible for all and team up with other stakeholders to create awareness on its use and remove the stigma related to it, said Dr Ramesh Kumar Kharel, director of NCASC.
The slogan for the 17th National Condom Day is: ‘universal access to condom for dual protection’; that is preventing transmission of HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases as well as stopping unwanted pregnancy.
