- depo provera

Under pressure to achieve a “two child family” by 2000 AD, the government was desperate to expand the ‘basket of contraceptive choices’. The stated government policy, in the late 1980’s- early 1990’s was to speedily introduce contraceptives approved in other countries without conducting the necessary clinical trials. Thus, every effort was being made by private companies and the State to rush injectables and subdermal implants into the National Family Planning Programme. Depo Provera was officially launched for ‘social marketing’ in 1994, with just a proviso that Max Pharma, its manufacturer, conduct a Post Marketing Surveillance (PMS) on risks and benefits. This evoked a strong opposition from many women’s groups. Busting in to glitzy launch events and confronting the manufacturers and their public relations machinery at press conferences, we, along with other women’s groups, generated a vibrant public debate on the harmful effects of Depo Provera. An intervention application filed in a petition against hazardous drugs, has prevented the inclusion of this contraceptive in the family planning programme to date. But efforts to introduce it continue, and so do our battles to prevent it. Other challenges include the fact that several NGO’s have included Depo-Provera in their reproductive health package. Our struggles must go on.