Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government, in a bid to encourage family planning, is planning on gifting 'Naba Dampati kit' or 'Nai Pahal kit' to newlyweds starting this September. This is the first of its kind initiative by any State government. The newlyweds will receive a family planning kit containing contraceptives and other health essentials related to married life.
The new scheme called the 'Nai Pahal scheme' will be implemented with the help of the National Health Mission (NHM) to create awareness about the benefits of family planning. The kit will include a marriage registration form, condoms, oral and emergency contraceptives, along with a booklet on methods of family planning. Apart from this, the kit will also contain a pregnancy testing kit, grooming materials such as towels, comb, bindi, nail cutter, and mirror among others.
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Director of Family Planning Dr Bijay Panigrahy said, "To encourage newly married couples to adopt family planning methods, we are gifting them 'Naba Dampati kit' or 'Nai Pahal kit'. The kit contains information on family planning, contraceptives such as condoms, oral contraceptive pills, including emergency contraceptive pills and a grooming kit for them." The Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs) are to be given the responsibility of dispensing and keeping a record of the distributed kits from September onwards. ASHAs are being trained to communicate the advantages of family planning to the newlyweds to follow.
