Bhubaneswar: A report released by the Health and Family Welfare department states that use of condoms in the state has increased by 2.66 per cent over the past year.
Data from the report, released on World Population Day, shows that people prefer condoms over other birth control techniques such as sterilisation and contraceptive pills. The number of condom users increased from 1,23,746 in 2016-17 to 1,27,035 in 2017-18. As expected, the sale and supply of condoms has also increased in the state.
According to the data, the number of women opting for surgical sterilisation procedure has reduced from 1,05,066 in 2016-17 to 86,636 in 2017-18, registering a 17.54 per cent drop.
Sterilisation among men also remained the least desired method as it saw a 56.43 per cent drop year by year and only 1,148 takers in 2017-18. Overall, sterilisation for both the genders fell by 18.49 per cent. There is also a decline in the use of contraceptive pills in the state. The number of women using such pills fell from 1,58,287 in 2016-17 to 1,50,653 during 2017-18.
The Ministry of Health has also run an awareness campaign on social media on the occasion. Despite the increase in usage, condom use in India still remains unpopular as compared to China and European nations, according to statistics released by the government in November last year. The overall usage had fallen by 52 per cent in eight years and the number of people using it is just 6 per cent population of the country. The number is as high as 30 per cent in European nations.
World Population Day: Condoms score over other contraceptives
