Family Planning Outreach and Credit Programs in Rural Bangladesh

Results of this recent study in rural Bangladesh suggest that programs that draw women out of their homes and reduce their dependence on men are contributing to greater use of contraception. One such program, Grameen Bank, now has female members in nearly half of all Bangladesh villages. Participation in the program was found to be associated with high levels of contraceptive use even among women who have not been exposed to family planning outreach. For nonparticipants in communities where the program works, the combination of home visits by female family planning workers and the presence of Grameen Bank in the village appears to have a dramatic effect on contraceptive use.