Empty Shelves, Rising Fears: 487 Upazilas Have Run Out of All Types of Government-Supplied Contraceptives
What happens when the quiet backbone of a country’s family planning system suddenly weakens- silently, steadily, and then severely? In Bangladesh, that question is no longer theoretical. It is unfolding across hundreds of upazilas where the shelves meant to hold free government-supplied contraceptives now stand nearly empty.
An acute contraceptive shortage has gripped the country. More than one-third of the 487 upazilas have run out of all types of government-supplied contraceptives. According to data from the Directorate General of Family Planning (DGFP) as of February 22, condoms, the most widely used contraceptive, are out of stock in 397 upazilas. Oral pills are exhausted in at least 220 upazilas. Implants are unavailable nationwide, while IUDilder are out in 353 upazilas and injectables in 169.
The numbers reveal a steep decline. Condom supply fell to just 7.lies lakh in January this year from 53.31 lakh in January last year, an 85 percent drop. Stocks of implants and IUDs have also plunged to critically low levels. This is not a short-term glitch; officials admit the supply crunch has persisted since 2020.
Health experts warn the implications for Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) are serious. Bangladesh has already recorded a rise in the Total Fertility Rate (TFR)—from 2.3 in 2019 to 2.4, according to the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey 2025. At the same time, contraceptive use among married women aged 15–49 has dropped from 62.7 percent to 58.2 percent. Access to modern contraception has declined from 77.4 percent to 73.5 percent.
“The disruption in contraceptive supply will directly affect people from the lower quintile, who cannot afford to buy contraceptives from the market,” warned Professor Mohammad Mainul Islam of Dhaka University. He cautioned that this could “drive up unplanned and unwanted pregnancies.”
For the SRHR movement in Bangladesh, this crisis signals a troubling regression. Family planning has long been celebrated as a public health success story. Yet DGFP Director General Ashrafi Ahmad acknowledged, “We have not been able to procure contraceptives since 2023… To be frank, family planning did not receive priority at that time.”
The roots of the crisis stretch back to Covid-19 disruptions and deepened after the expiry of the Fourth Health, knr Population and Nutrition Sector Programme (HPNSP) in mid-2024. A Tk 1,664 crore procurement project was approved in November last year, but implementation remains at an early stage. In the interim, DGFP has initiated emergency procurement of 12 million condoms and three million oral pills—an effort officials admit is “too small to mitigate the crisis.”
This moment is more than a supply chain failure; it is a policy test. Will SRHR be restored as a national priority? Will innovations in procurement, digital logistics tracking, and decentralised stock management be accelerated? Without urgent action, today’s stock-outs could translate into tomorrow’s demographic and socio-economic setbacks.
Bangladesh’s development story has often been built on empowering women through informed reproductive choices. If access falters, the ripple effects will be felt far beyond statistics. Empty shelves, after all, rarely stay silent.
Source: The Daily Star
