Still, when it comes to male sterilisation, Karnataka stands fourth among the Southern states.  On the occasion of World Contraception Day, Deccan Herald finds some significant problems afflicting the State on this issue.

In the annual sterilisation conducted by the State Health department for family planning, women constitute 99 per cent. Although the Government norm states that 10 per cent of the total sterilisation should be done on males, the Health department’s Reproductive and Child Health (RCH) project has not been able to achieve even one per cent of it.

According to Dr M R Mohanraju, additional director and project director (RCH), compared to rural areas, urban areas like Bangalore has lagged behind in collating data. “Bangalore lacks in infrastructure and manpower. So, we are not getting the proper collection of data,” explained Dr Narayana.

Still, the city along with Bangalore rural, Chikkamagalur, Hassan, Shimoga figure in the better performing districts. While, districts like Tumkur, Bagalkot, Bellary and Bijapur have shown poor performance in sterilisation.

“The literacy rate, that too female literacy, in North Kannada districts is very poor. The socio-economic status and health infrastructure also needs to be improved,” said Dr Narayana.

Financial Benefits

To encourage male sterilisation, the Central incentive has been increased from Rs 200 to Rs 1,100 per case in all the districts. The payment to surgeons in Government hospitals conducting operations has also been hiked from Rs 8 to Rs 100 per case. For people who prefer private nursing homes, the Health department will give Rs 1,500 to these institutes, where they should perform free surgeries along with giving Rs 200 as motivation charge.