On the demand of the migrant workers coming from different parts of the country to their native villages in Bihar, condoms and other contraceptives are being distributed for free to them in the state.
Talking about the initiative State Health Minister, Mangal Pandey on Tuesday described this as a preventive health measure.
Pandey further said that so far over 3.54 lakh migrant workers have been medically examined while leaving the quarantine centres after completing statutory 14 days stay in the centres. Currently, 14 lakh people are staying in quarantine centres.
Deputy Director of Family Planning in Bihar Health Society, Nishant Kumar told FPJ that there is no standard instruction that has been given by the state government in this regard. However, Nishant said that these decisions have been taken at local levels as a preventive health measure. He also said that this has been done as a sampling measure to prevent population explosion as people have returned to their villages after a long gap.
Nishant told FPJ that returnee women are being guided for maintaining personal health and hygiene during their mensuration cycle. He added that these women are also being handed over the contraceptives.
District administrations of East Champaran, Saran, Jamui, and Gopalganj have taken lead in free distribution of condoms and other contraceptives to the workers leaving the centres for their villages. The local health workers and nursing staff who are engaged in conducting house to house survey in the villages. They are also distributing two packets each to the returnees. Female migrants are also being given counseling in family planning measures by the Auxiliary Nurse Midwife (ANM) workers.
Local health officers of Samastipur, Rohtas, Supaul too have handed over pregnancy kits to the women returnees when they left the quarantine centres.
At some centres, the demand for free condoms was made by the returnees while leaving the temporary health camps, officials said and with the help of an internationally recognised NGO, free condoms and contraceptives are being made available to 12 lakh of the eligible migrants. Two lakh more would get by the middle of June when the centres would be closed.