An inverted Red Triangle is the symbol for family planning

Family planning

Family planning is the planning of when to have children, and the use of birth control and other techniques to implement such plans. Other techniques commonly used include sexuality education, prevention and management of sexually transmitted infections, pre-conception counseling and...

 health and contraception

Contraception

Contraception is the prevention of the fusion of gametes during or after sexual activity. The term contraception is a contraction of contra, which means against, and the word conception, meaning fertilization...

 services, much as the red cross is a symbol for medical services. It is especially prevalent in many developing nations (such as India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

, Ghana

Ghana

Ghana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...

, Gambia, Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...

, Egypt

Egypt

Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...

 and Thailand

Thailand

Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...

), where it can be seen outside shops and clinics that offer family planning products, as well as commercial and government messages that promote reproductive health services and population control. It is also frequently placed on contraceptive products, such as condoms, diaphragms

Diaphragm (contraceptive)

The diaphragm is a cervical barrier type of birth control. It is a soft latex or silicone dome with a spring molded into the rim. The spring creates a seal against the walls of the vagina.-Use:...

, spermicidal gel

Spermicide

Spermicide is a contraceptive substance that eradicates sperm, inserted vaginally prior to intercourse to prevent pregnancy. As a contraceptive, spermicide may be used alone. However, the pregnancy rate experienced by couples using only spermicide is higher than that of couples using other methods...

 and IUDs (for instance, on the government-subsidized Nirodh condoms in India and Sultan condoms in Gambia).

Origins and variations

The red triangle was invented by Deep Tyagi

Deep Tyagi

Dharmendra Kumar Tyagi, better known as Deep Tyagi or DK Tyagi , was an Assistant Commissioner for the Indian Family Planning program until 1969. An early pioneer of family planning in India and elsewhere, he was a champion of the program under the premierships of Jawaharlal Nehru, Lal Bahadur...

, an Indian family planning

Family planning in India

Family planning in India is based on efforts largely sponsored by the Indian government. In the 1965-2009 period, contraceptive usage has more than tripled and the fertility rate has more than halved , but the national fertility rate is still high enough to cause long-term population growth...

 official and activist in the 1960s . Several variations on the basic symbol have since been developed, such as the "Life Choices" and "Family Planning: better life" logos used to promote birth control and reproductive health in Ghana

Health in Ghana

Health in Ghana includes the prevention, care and treatment of disease and other maladies. As parts of the Ghanaian economy are not fully industrialized, issues arise that are common to growing healthcare systems, such as waterborne disease and sanitation problems...

, and the "Naissances Desirables" logo used in Zaire/Congo

Zaire

The Republic of Zaire was the name of the present Democratic Republic of the Congo between 27 October 1971 and 17 May 1997. The name of Zaire derives from the , itself an adaptation of the Kongo word nzere or nzadi, or "the river that swallows all rivers".-Self-proclaimed Father of the Nation:In...

. The "Men Too" (shortened from "Family Planning is for Everybody ... Men Too") campaign in Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

 used a hollow red triangle. The "Stop and think Minyawi : This is a very happy family, a light family" initiative in Egypt used calligraphic Arabic script to create the triangle.

External links

• "Population Dynamics: Causes and Consequences of World Demographic Change," Ralph Thomlinson
  Ralph Thomlinson
  Ralph Thomlinson, was an American sociologist and demographer.-Publications :* 1965, Population dynamics; causes and consequences of world demographic change....
  
  , Random House, 1976.
• Ghana's Life Choices program, http://www.m-mc.org/mmc_search.php?sp=&ref_crmb=&ref_id=&step=results&view=detail&detail_id=TD_GHA_104&adv=mat