Enhancing Contraceptive Access in Bangladesh’s Garment Sector
In a significant move to improve reproductive health services, the Directorate General of Family Planning (DGFP) has partnered with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and key private sector stakeholders to launch the Digital Monitoring Tool (DMT). This initiative aims to enhance the accuracy and responsiveness of contraceptive distribution within Bangladesh’s readymade garment (RMG) sector.
The DMT is designed to ensure smart, scalable, and accountable family planning service delivery. It is expected to directly benefit approximately 22,000 women in six participating garment factories during its initial year. The tool is a dual-platform system that enables real-time data collection, improving forecasting, supply management, stock visibility, usage tracking, and performance review across factory health centers.
Developed with technical support from ToguMogu Private Limited and Jhpiego, the DMT addresses the limitations of paper-based systems that often result in supply chain disruptions and stockouts. These issues have historically limited women’s choices of contraceptives and impacted their health outcomes. Following the launch, the DMT will continue to be rolled out and refined based on user feedback. Over the next six months, the focus will be on full implementation in pilot sites, bulk data integration, performance reporting, and mobilizing support for national scale-up.
At the launch event, Catherine Breen Kamkong, UNFPA Representative in Bangladesh, emphasized the urgency of reaching women with efficient reproductive health solutions. She highlighted that this innovation is not just about technology but about ensuring workers’ rights to sexual and reproductive health (SRH) are fulfilled. “It ensures workers are supported not just as patients, but as professionals contributing to Bangladesh’s growth,” she said.
Bangladesh’s RMG sector employs over four million workers, the majority of whom are women. Despite their critical role in the economy, many face challenges in accessing affordable and reliable family planning and sexual and reproductive health services. A recent UNFPA study in six RMG factories found that investing in family planning yields remarkable returns, including a 20% increase in productivity, a 26% reduction in absenteeism, and annual savings of up to USD 160,000 per factory.
Over the past nine years, only 804,000 female RMG workers were able to access contraceptives through existing channels, covering just a fraction of the workforce. With the DMT, DGFP aims to better meet the demands of women who work in factories for these services and scale up access while ensuring transparency and efficiency in service delivery.
The initiative is part of a broader strategy by UNFPA and DGFP to expand public-private partnerships to address the unmet need for modern contraceptives, currently at 12%, and to enhance integrated sexual and reproductive health services, including cervical cancer screening and gender-based violence response.
Dr Ashrafi Ahmad, Director General of the Directorate General of Family Planning, acknowledged the transformative potential of the tool, stating that this milestone marks more than just the launch of an innovative technology—it is a reaffirmation of the Government’s unwavering commitment to investing in the people who are the backbone of the nation’s progress.
In addition to the DMT, companies like Pakiza Knit Composite Ltd. are also showing their commitment to worker well-being. Rakibul Islam Khan, Managing Director of Pakiza Knit Composite Ltd., stated, “At Pakiza Knit Composite Ltd., our people are at the heart of everything we do. We care deeply about their well-being, which is why we invest in their health. A healthy workforce is a resilient and motivated one, fueling productivity and helping us set new benchmarks in the RMG industry.”
This initiative represents a step forward in addressing the unique challenges faced by women in the RMG sector and highlights the importance of collaboration between government, international organizations, and the private sector in promoting reproductive health and economic growth.