Online Desk 

On World Population Day, public health experts warned that gaps in birth registration are creating major challenges for child healthcare, immunization programs, and population planning in Bangladesh. They also noted that the country's total fertility rate (TFR) has begun rising again in recent years.

During the recent nationwide measles vaccination campaign, the target was to vaccinate 19.9 million children aged six months to five years. However, the target population for the Vitamin A Plus Campaign in the same age group was 22.661 million children. The difference of nearly 2.8 million children highlights significant shortcomings in birth registration and the availability of accurate population data.

According to the latest national census, nearly 30.1 million people in Bangladesh do not have birth registration. As a result, the lack of reliable age-specific population data is creating inconsistencies in planning immunization, nutrition, disease prevention, and other healthcare services, leaving many children at risk of missing essential care.

The theme of this year's World Population Day is: "Empowering Young People to Create the Families They Want in a Fair and Hopeful World."

Experts said that around 67 percent of children in Bangladesh are now born in hospitals or other healthcare facilities. They believe that making birth registration mandatory at the point of birth in hospitals would significantly improve registration rates and provide more accurate data for healthcare planning.

The government has set a target of achieving 100 percent registration of births, deaths, and other vital events by 2030. As part of this effort, presenting a birth registration certificate has been made mandatory when children receive their first vaccine dose, while monitoring at the upazila level is also being strengthened.

Meanwhile, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) estimated Bangladesh's total fertility rate at 2.1 in its 2025 report. However, according to the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) and UNICEF's Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS), the country's fertility rate has increased to 2.4. Experts believe the rise is largely due to shortages of contraceptive supplies over the past one and a half to two years.

Dr. Jinnat Rehana, Director General of the Directorate General of Family Planning, said that the government has initiated a new procurement process to secure a 15-month supply of contraceptives, including oral pills, condoms, injectable contraceptives, and other family planning commodities. She expressed hope that the current shortage would be resolved once the new supplies arrive.

Health Minister Sardar Sakhawat Hossain said the government plans to make birth registration mandatory within one week of birth to ensure that no child is deprived of healthcare because of registration-related complications. He also expressed optimism that the shortage of contraceptive supplies would soon be addressed through the new procurement initiative.