Indian team to join Bangkok talks on family planning

NEW DELHI - Indian delegates will join consultations on governments’ investment in family planning in Asia and the Pacific region at a meeting in Bangkok Dec 8-10, a statement said Sunday.

The consultation, likely to be attended by delegates from 24 countries, is being jointly organised by the United Nations Population Fund and the International Council on Management of Population Programmes (ICOMP), an official of Malaysia-based ICOMP said in the statement.

Family planning has clearly succeeded as a strategy for reducing fertility, maternal and infant mortality and improvement maternal health, said the official.

Ministers, parliamentarians, government officials, representatives of NGOs from countries like Afghanistan, Pakistan and China are also expected to attend the event.

The consultation will focus on the need for governments and the donors to increase investments in reproductive health, including family planning, for development, the official said.