These recommendations were formulated by the representatives of DGFP, DGHS, OGSB, UNFPA, DFID, USAID, GAC, IPAS, SMC, Pathfinder, jhpeigo, IPPF, options ltd. and other stakeholders, in Zoom Meetings held on 22 and 26 April 2020.

Background

• There is a global consensus on the importance of making voluntary family planning available to all women. Not only is access to family planning a human right, but it saves lives and promotes healthier populations, more efficient systems and stronger economies.
• Contraception and family planning information and services are life-saving and important at all times. Sexual activity does not cease even with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. By preventing unintended pregnancies, contraception helps to protect girls and women from the negative health consequences of unintended pregnancies. Contraception also reduces the need for termination of pregnancy, resulting in reduced risk of women and girls facing unsafe abortion. Therefore, contraception is life-saving.
• Recent projections from UNFPA reveal that if the lockdown continues on for a period of 6 months, 47 million women in low- and middle-income countries may not be able to access contraception, and that 7 million unintended pregnancies are expected to occur globally. In Bangladesh, too, it is expected that unintended pregnancies will increase due to limited access to family planning information and services during this pandemic situation. This will have a negative impact on an already strained health system, and complications that arise from termination of pregnancy will further worsen the situation.