Bangladesh has just 39 days of condoms left: Why the country’s ‘protection’ is running out

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Bangladesh faces a severe condom shortage, with supplies set to run out in weeks due to halted procurement and funding shifts. The crisis threatens family planning progress, risks unplanned population growth, and could worsen health and economic challenges.

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Bangladesh seems to have added yet another crisis to its growing list of troubles. Amid strained law and order, attacks on minorities, simmering tensions with India and widespread political unrest, Dhaka is now grappling with an unexpected but serious problem: the country is running out of condoms. For a nation that has long projected its family planning programme as a public health success story, the shortage threatens to undo years of progress.

How serious is the shortage?

According to a report by The Daily Star, Bangladesh’s Directorate General of Family Planning is expected to completely run out of condoms within 39 days. The shortage is likely to continue for at least the first month of the new year.

As of December 11, the DGFP had condom stocks sufficient for just over a month. Other contraceptives are not far behind. Intrauterine devices are available for only 45 days, oral pills for about five and a half months, and injectables for a little over six months.

On the ground, the situation is already biting. Community clinics across the country are struggling to meet demand. “We used to receive 250 strips of contraceptive pills monthly. Now we are getting only 30–40 strips. We have the injections, but no syringes. As such, we can’t meet the local demand adequately,” Parvin Khatun of the Char Korai Barishal Community Clinic was quoted as saying.

DGFP logistics director Abdur Razzaque sought to reassure, saying supplies would be replenished once a legal dispute over procurement is resolved. Until then, clinics are left improvising.

Where did Bangladesh’s condoms go?

Officials admit this crisis did not appear overnight. Supplies have been shrinking for years and have now reached a breaking point. A DGFP official told The Daily Star that the health ministry halted purchases of condoms and other contraceptives for an entire year in 2023, diverting funds to other priorities. Family planning, it appears, could wait.

The situation worsened after the Fourth Health, Population and Nutrition Sector Programme expired in June last year. DGFP Director General Ashrafi Ahmad said most contraceptives were earlier procured under this scheme. Recruitment freezes caused by legal complications have further weakened the system, leaving fewer field-level workers to manage an already strained supply chain.

The numbers tell the story. Condom supply has dropped by 57 percent in six years. From 97.48 lakh condoms distributed in 2019, the figure fell to 47.65 lakh in 2024. By September this year, only 41.52 lakh condoms had been supplied. Other contraceptives have seen similar declines, with oral pills down 63 percent, IUDs by 64 percent, injectables by 41 percent and implants by 37 percent.

Why it matters more than ever

For a country with over 180 million people and one of the highest population densities in the world, the shortage is not a trivial inconvenience. Experts warn that unplanned population growth could strain an economy already under pressure and worsen access to food, healthcare, housing, education and jobs.

The timing could hardly be worse. Bangladesh’s total fertility rate has risen to 2.4 percent, the first increase in five decades. A prolonged shortage of contraceptives could push it even higher.

Professor Dr Ferdousi Begum Flora, former president of the Obstetrical and Gynaecological Society of Bangladesh, warned of severe consequences. “The country has been experiencing a prolonged shortage of contraceptives, which will have far-reaching effects on our population and economy,” she told The Daily Star. “The shortage of contraceptives will lead to an increase in unwanted pregnancies, which will not only increase the population but also raise the abortion rate. Consequently, the maternal mortality rate due to abortions will also increase. Women will face various health risks.”

She stressed that ensuring contraceptive availability should be treated as a national priority, especially for a country already struggling with overcrowding.

A crisis layered on chaos

The condom shortage has emerged against the backdrop of widespread unrest following the death of student leader Sharif Osman Hadi, who was shot on December 12 and later died in Singapore. His death sparked protests across Bangladesh and was followed by violent incidents, including the lynching of two Hindu men.

Between political turbulence, social unrest and now a looming family planning failure, Bangladesh’s governance challenges are increasingly difficult to ignore. For a country already stretched thin, running out of something as basic as condoms is not just ironic. It is a warning sign of deeper systemic neglect.