India’s neighbourhood is facing a unique problem. Bangladesh and Pakistan. Bangladesh earlier reported that the two countries are facing a shortage of condoms and contraceptives. According to reports from Bangladesh, the Directorate General of Family Planning (DGFP) is projected to completely run out of condoms in just a month. Meanwhile, Pakistan is facing a similar problem with shortage of condoms looming.
Pakistan recently faced a setback after the International Monetary Fund (IMF) declined the government’s request to reduce the 18 per cent sales tax on condoms and other birth-control products. Reports indicate that the IMF has advised the Pakistani government that any reduction in contraceptive taxes can only be considered during the next national budget cycle. As a result, the cost of these products remains high, potentially limiting access for low-income populations.
China Ends Longstanding Tax Exemption on Condoms, Oral Contraceptives
China, too, has introduced a major policy change affecting contraceptive access. Effective January 1, a 30-year tax exemption on contraceptive medicines and devices has ended, Reuters reported. Condoms and birth control pills are now subject to a 13% value-added tax, aligning them with most consumer products.
The policy shift comes amid Beijing’s struggle with persistently low birth rates. China’s population declined for the third consecutive year in 2024, prompting authorities to implement measures aimed at encouraging childbirth. These include exempting childcare subsidies from personal income tax and launching an annual childcare allowance in 2024. Other initiatives, such as “love education” in colleges and universities, were introduced to foster positive attitudes toward marriage, relationships, childbearing, and family life, Reuters reported.
At last month’s annual Central Economic Work Conference, top leaders again pledged to promote “positive marriage and childbearing attitudes” to stabilize birth rates.
China’s One-Child Policy
China has long been one of the world’s most populous nations, with population resilience shaped by agricultural practices such as rice cultivation in the south and wheat farming in the north, the Associated Press (AP) reported. After World War II and the Communist Party’s rise in 1949, large families became common, and the population doubled within three decades despite the massive death tolls of the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution.
Following Mao Zedong’s death and the end of the Cultural Revolution, concerns over overpopulation prompted the introduction of the harsh “one-child policy.” While never formally codified into law, the policy required women to seek official approval for childbirth. Violations could result in forced late-term abortions, sterilizations, steep financial penalties, and denial of identification documents for children, effectively rendering them without legal status, AP reported.
China’s total fertility rate rose slightly in 2022, increasing by 0.02 children per woman to reach 1.18, but experts warn that this modest growth is insufficient to reverse the long-term demographic decline.
Zubair Amin is a Senior Journalist at NewsX with over seven years of experience in reporting and editorial work. He has written for leading national and international publications, including Foreign Policy Magazine, Al Jazeera, The Economic Times, The Indian Express, The Wire, Article 14, Mongabay, News9, among others. His primary focus is on international affairs, with a strong interest in US politics and policy. He also writes on West Asia, Indian polity, and constitutional issues. Zubair tweets at zubaiyr.amin
