BMC to launch new family planning prog 'Antara' on July 11

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), in association with the Centre and the Maharashtra government, will launch a new family planning programme, 'Antara' to mark World Population Day on July 11.
The new injectable contraceptive, called 'Antara', which is a part of the Centre's National Family Welfare Programme, would be unveiled on Tuesday, said a press note issued by the BMC here today.
The programme is aimed at bringing down the unmet need of contraception in the community, to increase the use of contraceptives and the couple protection rate, it said.
The main objective of adding the additional methods of contraception under the National Family Welfare Programme, is to bring down the maternal deaths, abortion related maternal deaths, maternal morbidity and the neonatal morbidity and mortality.

Under the 'Antara' programme, BMC's health department staffers have been sensitised to counsel couples, who did not adopt any family planning method or use contraceptives, and bring them under temporary and permanent methods.
Highlighting the benefits of this new 'injectable' contraceptive, a senior health official of the BMC said that 'Antara' is a long term, reversible, highly effective temporary method of contraception.
"It will be available as a additional temporary method of contraception along with other available methods of contraception," the official said.