FAMILY PLANNING AND THE THIRD WORLD – CONCLUSION
A recent survey about contraceptive need in underdeveloped countries gives a broader perspective (Westoff and Ochea, 1991). The authors looked at 25 Third World countries: nine in Sub-Saharan Africa, three in North Africa, three in Asia and 10 in Latin America. They used a questionnaire to quantify the demand for limiting family size, or having a space of more than two years to the next child. They found an average demand of 63 %, which is of the same order as the average demand in the USA of 80%. They went on to estimate the size of the unmet need; this was found to range from 10 to 38% in the study countries, whereas it is only 4% in the USA. However, less than half those in the unmet needs group were found to be currently at risk. (This is obviously a difficult assay, but included those who had no sexual intercourse in the last four weeks, and those currently pregnant.) Also, about half of the women in need intended to use a method. They conclude that, ‘While a significant proportion of women have an unmet need for family planning, the percentage of women at any given time whose behaviour appears inconsistent or irrational is considerably smaller.’ Ignorance was found to play a role in only about a third of countries, reaching a maximum in Mali where half of all women report not knowing any method.
This information does not match the prevailing view that it is predominantly ignorance and cultural taboos that prevent couples having access to family planning methods. As with most things in poor countries, it is as much a question of resources as of education.
*216/197/1*
