Progress in family planning hailed

Fewer but healthier babies have been born in rural areas over the past 30 years, thanks to the progress made in reproductive health services, said the National Population and Family Planning Commission (NPFPC) yesterday.

The fertility rate among Chinese women has dropped to below 2 percent from 5.8 since the launch of family-planning policies in the 1980s, it said in a report, which eased the pressure of a rapidly growing population on the environment and natural resources.

Family planning is a key issue in developing rural areas for the central government, which has effectively educated rural residents and provided sound reproductive guidance, the report said.