AS Specimen Question With reference to a named country, evaluate attempts to manage population change (15)

AS Specimen Question

With reference to a named country, evaluate attempts to manage population change

(15)

1970Growth Rate 3.2%Fertility 6.5

children/womanContraception use

≈ 15%

Total population 26.4 million

GNP US $ 110

Thailand: A Family Planning Success Story

The success of the family planning programme is attributed to a number of factors:

• Creativity of the family planning approaches • Openness of the Thai people to new ideas• Willingness of the government to work with the Population Development Agency (PDA)

How did Thailand manage population change?Much of the success is directly attributed to Mechai Viravaidya, a former government economist and public relations genius who launched the PDA.

How did Thailand manage to achieve population change?

• Although condoms became the trademark of the campaign, the Thai government supported Mechai’s efforts by making a wide range of contraceptives available to the public• Thailand was amongst the first countries to use the intravenous contraceptive DMPA and still remains one of its largest users• The contraceptive services were extended to even remote rural areas

• Relationships between men and women are considered to be more egalitarian than in most of the developing world

• The prevalence of Buddhism (95% of Thais are Buddhist) has supported the family planning programme as the Buddhist scripture preaches that ‘many children make you poor’

• Non-scalpel vasectomies are available at festivals and other events and the PDA offers free vasectomies on the King’s birthday. Sterilisation has now become the most widely used form of contraception in the country

Fusion of economic development with family planning education

• The PDA offers loans linked to contraception use. Loans were based on character, credit worthiness and the type of project. Interest rates were substantially lower than traditional moneylenders in poor rural communities• After the scheme became established, preference was given to applicants who were practising family planning. Members of the loan scheme received shares and dividends on the basis of the contraceptive method used; the more effective methods had higher values• The PDA provided loans to build rain water catchment jars for drinking water. They also set up rice banks, pig banks and buffalo banks. No money was involved – just a loan in the form of the animal

1970 1990 1999

Growth Rate 3.2% 1.4% 0.8%

Fertility 6.5 children/woman

2.2 children/woman

1.7 children/woman

Contraception use ≈ 15% ≈ 68% ≈72%

Total population 26.4 million 55.7 million * 66.6 million

GNP US $ 110 1220 1950

* The population had expected to reach around 67 million by 1990 without any family planning intervention. It was almost a decade later when the population reached this point.

Thailand: A Family Planning Success Story

• The policy has received criticism for damaging the tourist industry (worth US$ 4 billion annually)• Many critics feel that he has driven away foreign tourists with his anti AIDS campaigns and criticism of the commercial sex industry• Mechai argues that he is trying to save the tourist industry by controlling the spread of a disease that would otherwise decimate the population

AIDS in Thailand• Prevalence rate is still very high at 1.4 %• The last decade has seen a great political focus on the AIDS crisis

the budget increased 20 fold a new massive public information campaign was launched under the leadership of Mechai Viravaidya the '100 percent condom programme' aimed to enforce consistent condom use in all commercial sex establishments. Establishments that failed to comply could be closed

1997 – prevalence rate was 2% 2003 – prevalence rate was 1.8%

2007 – prevalence rate was 1.4 %

Without these steps it is estimated that Thailand’s national prevalence rate would be 10 times higher than it is.