Supplementary Role of Health Metrics for Reducing Total Fertility Rate in a North-Indian State

Reducing Total Fertility Rate (TFR) amongst rural Indian couples from the current level is a significant challenge to the population control policies relying solely on the Government efforts. REACH strategy, based on health metrics, succeeded in lowering the TFR below replacement levels in a rural population of more than 300,000 in Rajasthan. The REACH strategy was first developed and demonstrated success in decreasing TFR in a pilot project by SHARE India in Medchal region of Andhra Pradesh utilizing designated workers, and was replicated in Rajgarh District of Rajasthan in cooperation with Bhoruka Charitable Trust (supervisor of ICDS and NRHM health workers in Rajgarh) using Government health workers. The success of the REACH strategy in both Rajasthan and previously in Andhra Pradesh holds promise as a tool to reduce TFR in other areas of rural India.