Increasing Contraceptive Acceptance Through Empowerment of Female Community Health Volunteers in Rural Nepal (Report‪)‬

INTRODUCTION The population growth rate of 2.4% per year in Nepal is one of the highest among the Southeast Asian countries (1). Uncontrolled fertility is the largest contributor to this problem. The total fertility rate of 4.3 in Nepal is among the highest in the Southeast Asian region (1). Despite the incessant efforts of the government and non-government organizations for over three decades to promote family planning, the contraceptive use has increased rather slowly from 2.9% in 1976 to 15.1% in 1986, to 24.1% in 1991, to 28.8% in 1996 (2), and to 34.5% in 1999 (3).