A SYSTEMS APPROACH

In the light of the 1981 Census return and the ques¬tions it raises about the impact of family planning program¬mes (FP) in India, this book acquires a new significance. The persistent high growth rate of population makes one wonder why the ample funds, the elaborate organization, and the large man-power deployed to implement family planning have delivered so little. This book attempts to look at the question in a com¬prehensive manner by identi¬fying the factors which are responsible for poor imple¬mentation of the programme in rural India, and for the poor response of the people to the programme activities. The findings reported here are based on a study conducted in rural areas of Allahabad divi¬sion of eastern Uttar Pradesh, during 1971-73. The study covers a wide range of topics, from social and demographic characteristics of the rural population and their attitudes towards family planning to organization of rural health services and the functioning of the bureaucracy at the district and state levels.