ABSTRACT
In opportunity exists in the way of the 1979 Rural Fertility Survey (RFS1), carried out in 85 villages that were selected without regard for their Population and Development Program (PDP) status. By chance, 32 of the villages were in Village Council areas covered by the PDP. Twenty months after RFS1, the PFPB, in collaboration with Westinghouse Health Systems, carried out another national rural survey covering 5,315 women in 124 villages that had been stratified by PDP exposure. When age-standardized live births in PDP and non-PDP areas were compared, no differences were found, suggesting that the program had not yet had an appreciable effect on fertility. By the time of the 1982 Rural Fertility Survey (RFS2), the program was old enough in most villages to constitute a fairer test. The chapter also presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in this book.
