As Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman prepares to present the full Union budget for the fiscal year 2024-25 on July 23, 2024, Population Foundation of India urges the government to prioritize strategic investments to leverage India’s demographic and gender dividends. This is an especially pivotal moment for India, with its large adolescent and youth population. The upcoming budget should focus on promoting adolescent health, increasing family planning awareness, and building additional capacities of health workers under the National Health Mission (NHM).
Writing on the occasion of World Population Day, Health Minister JP Nadda wrote: “Substantial investments are being made to improve family-planning service delivery, including ensuring the availability of both temporary and long-term contraceptive methods, adequate budgetary allocations, and maintaining uninterrupted supplies at health facilities and through community workers.”
We welcome the honourable minister’s commitment to family planning and wholeheartedly agree with his assessment that the growth and development of a country is intrinsically linked to its population dynamics.
Addressing the health needs of young people
The National Health Policy 2017 recommends that government expenditure on health should reach 2.5% of GDP. A High-Level Expert Group report on Universal health coverage in India suggested that the figure should be around 3%. Yet, India continues to fall short of the target. According to 2022 World Bank Data, India ranks 174th out of 190 countries in terms of current health expenditure as a percentage of the GDP. The budget for family welfare awareness has also seen a decline, impacting critical initiatives for young people.
The Government’s decision to introduce new long-acting reversible contraceptives in recent years, including injectables and implants, is most welcome. However, this has to be backed by increased budgetary allocations to make these available at all levels of public health facilities and adequate investments in social and behaviour change communication to generate demand for health services, including family planning. The budgetary outlay for public awareness and mass communication under the Family Welfare major head decreased by 8.6% from Rs. 40 Crores in 2022-23 to Rs. 36.56 Crores in 2023-24.
“Modern family planning methods are crucial for women to plan their families effectively and manage their work lives,” said Poonam Muttreja, Executive Director of Population Foundation of India. “With more than 24 million currently married women aged 15-49 years having an unmet need for family planning, it is imperative to expand access to these modern methods of contraception through adequate investments.”
Investing in adolescent health and well-being
India, home to 253 million adolescents, has an unprecedented opportunity to harness its demographic dividend by investing in their health, education, and skills and employment. The Rashtriya Kishor Swasthya Karyakram (RKSK), initiated in 2014, aims to cater to the health needs of adolescents, particularly in areas of sexual and reproductive health, nutrition, mental health, substance abuse, and gender-based violence. However, due to financial constraints, its complete implementation has been impeded, thus restricting its impact and effectiveness.
“Investing in the health and well-being of adolescents and women is not just a moral imperative but also an economic necessity. Only by ensuring that our young population is healthy, educated, and skilled can we build a strong foundation for India’s future economic growth and human development,” said Muttreja.
Leveraging the Gender Dividend
Empowering women, who constitute nearly half of the country’s population, is crucial for realising the potential of the “gender dividend.” As fertility rates decrease, women have more opportunities to engage in the workforce. By investing in women’s education and skills, this transition can generate a “gender dividend” akin to the demographic dividend.
“As we celebrate the extraordinary contributions of women and girls to families, societies, economies, and nations, India’s progress could accelerate significantly with greater empowerment of women to make choices and enjoy freedoms, especially in matters relating to reproductive and social justice,” said Poonam Muttreja, Executive Director of Population Foundation of India.
Access to family planning not only impacts families economically through reduced fertility and improved health but also influences various other aspects of their lives. Empowering women through entrepreneurship and higher education, especially in STEM fields, can catalyze significant socio-economic transformation.
A recent World Bank Group report has estimated a potential $172 trillion ‘gender dividend’ worldwide by narrowing gender disparities in labour earnings.
“To enhance empowerment for women and girls, it is essential to narrow the digital gender gap. This requires designing digital solutions with active participation from women,” added Muttreja.
A holistic approach addressing women’s life-cycle health needs can help India reap the gender dividend and accelerate India’s socio-economic transformation.
Preparing for an Aging Population
According to the UNFPA’s India Ageing Report 2023, 20% of India’s population will be over 60 years old by 2050. Investing in social and health infrastructure for the elderly is vital to harnessing the ‘silver dividend.’ This includes enhancing healthcare services, providing financial security, and creating an inclusive environment for the elderly.
The upcoming budget presents a crucial opportunity for India to leverage its demographic, gender, and elderly dividends by allocating necessary funds, thereby ensuring a healthier, more inclusive, and empowered nation. Population Foundation of India is committed to working alongside the government and other stakeholders to realize this vision.
“It is crucial that this budget allocates sufficient resources for improving health and family planning outcomes, thereby enhancing the well-being and unlocking the full potential of all Indians,” said Muttreja.
