Derivatives of RCH program and their diffusive effects on most deprived communities in India: interactions of poverty, fertility and micro-economic effects

Niyati Joshi, Government of India
C.P. Prakasam, Retired Professor from International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS)

This paper attempts to focus on derivatives of RCH program and their effects on social status of neglected women and fertility and aims to understand the mechanisms through which womens’ social status raises by reduction in fertility and poverty. This paper is based on primary data collected in June 2006 from 340 SHG members of Faizabad district by triangulation method. Regression models have been built to find out the best paths to maintaining program sustainability. The paper suggests that if RCH program is becoming sustainable, there is a less need of conflict management among various actors for reducing fertility. Finance resource mobilization mechanism has a positive effect in fertility reduction and highlights that micro-economic effects can induce multiple RCH program derivatives which percolates to the network of deprived women. Further, it suggests that working of community groups and SHGs together provides an impetus to fertility reduction by developing intra-sectoral linkages.