Helping young married couples plan their families

SHOPS Plus announces a new family planning program focused on young people in India. The three-year campaign aims to reverse the alarming decrease in use of short-acting methods in urban India and increase use of modern contraception methods among youth 15 to 29.

Young couples are a focus of the new campaign because of low use of family planning methods and high unmet need among this group. The National Family Health Survey 3 shows: 

• 22% of married women 15–29 use contraception, compared to 62% of married women 30–49
• Of the total unmet need for family planning, 70% comes from married women 15–29
• 90% of unmet need for spacing is among married women 15–29

The integrated behavior change campaign will use a variety of channels, including mass media and interpersonal communication. The program will cover most urban areas in the north, east, and west of the country, an expanse inhabited by about 230 million people.