No More Sterilisation Camps


One of the landmark evidences on reproductive health created by Population Foundation of India was a report titled Robbed of Choice and Dignity: Indian Women Dead after Mass Sterilisation – Situational Assessment of Sterilisation Camps in Bilaspur District, Chhattisgarh. Population Foundation of India led a multi-organisational team to investigate the death of 16 women seeking tubectomy procedures at a sterilisation camp in Bilaspur in 2014. The report presented a comparative analysis of sterilisation expenditures in Chhattisgarh against national figures. One of the key findings was the use of monetary incentives to coerce women into taking up sterilisation services, which consumed a major portion of funds that could otherwise be allocated to improve infrastructure and quality of care at these camps. The report showed the skewed emphasis on sterilisation and incentives, urging policymakers to reconsider the system of incentives and focus on improving the quality of care. In addition to concrete recommendations to the state, Population Foundation of India pressed for the elimination of incentives to promote family planning services. This report was part of the evidence submitted in the Supreme Court which then directed states to stop sterilisation camps and replace it with fixed day services.

Read the full report here.

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