Family Planning: A Campaign to Promote Non Scalpel Vasectomy in Mumbai, India

Developing countries like India and China often face a great challenge to meet the needs of their growing population. China, with its one child policy, has been successful in reducing growth. India is the largest democracy in the world and has deeply rooted customs, traditions and beliefs which make such policies ineffective. India is home to 16% of the world's population, with an average family size of 5-6 members. Family size however varies by community, and this is especially noticeable among lower socioeconomic groups where the average number of children per family ranges from 2-5. This occurs because there is a preference for male children and traditions and beliefs which prevent females from using contraceptive techniques. This presentation will describe the Non Scalpel Vasectomy (NSV) campaign implemented in Mumbai designed to increase male participation in family planning. Since 2008, the NSV procedure has been promoted through fliers, radio ads, and billboards at railway stations. However, word of mouth has been very effective. In addition to the social marketing campaign, the government offers incentives to patients to have the procedure and incentives for referring someone for the procedure. Since 2008, more than 10,670 patients have undergone NSV. The campaign has been very successful and is formulating ways to implement the campaign in other parts of the country. This initiative earned the Best Family Planning Campaign Award by the Government of India.