|
 The year 1998 was a crucial one in UNFPA's efforts to advance the agenda agreed
to by the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD), held in
Cairo. In all of the 155 countries where the Fund was active in the past year, our support
to developing countries reflected the goals and priorities laid out in the ICPD Programme
of Action. These
include integration of population and development strategies, universal access to
comprehensive reproductive health services, information and services for young people and
promotion of gender equity and women's empowerment.
A central activity in 1998 was a global review of progress achieved so far in implementing
the ICPD agreement, with a view to identifying successful approaches, ongoing constraints
and key future actions. UNFPA and the United Nations Population Division jointly organized
a series of "ICPD+5" round tables and technical meetings involving governments,
non-governmental organizations, various United Nations organizations and members of civil
society, and participated in regional consultations.
In addition, the Fund undertook a Field Inquiry to obtain country-level feedback on the
progress made and problems encountered during the course of ICPD implementation efforts.
All of these review activities were intended to provide inputs to a UNFPA-organized
international forum in The Hague in February 1999 and to the United Nations General
Assembly's Special Session on ICPD, held from 30 June to 2 July 1999.
The inquiry found that actions taken since Cairo are producing positive results. With
UNFPA assistance, many countries have taken steps to integrate population concerns into
their development strategies. Many are focusing on quality reproductive health care, as
envisioned in Cairo, including improved access to family planning, prenatal and postnatal
care, screening and treatment of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and appropriate care
during childbirth.
In the area of adolescent reproductive health, the Field Inquiry found that countries
around the world are formulating programmes and policies to meet the needs of young
people. Many countries are reporting high teenage pregnancy rates. For the young mothers,
this often means increased health risks and curtailed educational and job opportunities.
This year's Annual Report spotlights a number of innovative initiatives that are
addressing this problem.
There has also been marked progress regarding the status of women. Several countries have
created laws and policies that target harmful traditional practices like female genital
mutilation as well as gender-based violence. Many are also passing or strengthening laws
to protect women's rights in the areas of marriage and divorce, property, inheritance, and
political and economic participation. This report details many UNFPA-assisted projects
aimed at empowering women. UNFPA Goodwill Ambassadors continued to help raise awareness of
issues affecting women's status and well-being.
In addition, many civil society groups are contributing to the formulation and
implementation of policies, programmes and projects on their own or in partnership with
governments and the private sector, as called for by ICPD.
However, the ICPD+5 review also showed that for some countries and regions, progress has
been limited, and in some cases setbacks have occurred. Women and girls continue to face
harmful discrimination. The HIV/AIDS pandemic is more severe than was anticipated in 1994,
particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. Far too many women in poor countries die or become ill
as a result of pregnancy and child-birth. Young people remain especially vulnerable to
unwanted sex and pregnancy, STDs and sexual exploitation. And millions of couples and
individuals still lack access to reproductive health information and services, including
quality, voluntary family planning.
At Cairo, governments agreed to provide a wide range of reproductive health services,
including but not limited to family planning, through the primary health care system. The
challenge for most countries is how to expand or merge services, given resource
constraints and in the context of ongoing health-sector reform. A shortage of resources
adds to the difficulties involved. UNFPA is continuing to work with governments, NGOs and
other development organizations to help countries overcome such obstacles.
Also in 1998, the Fund stepped up its collaboration with other partners to provide
reproductive health services to people displaced by armed conflicts or natural disasters.
UNFPA also collaborated in efforts to combat the spread of HIV/AIDS, supporting awareness
and prevention activities among young people, promotion of condom use, efforts to reduce
mother-to-child transmission, and research into the effect of hormonal contraceptives on
the progression of the disease. And as a partner in the Safe Motherhood Inter-agency
Group, which proclaimed 1998 as the "Year of Safe Motherhood", UNFPA helped
develop an action agenda of measures needed to reduce the world's unacceptably high levels
of maternal mortality and morbidity.
I am confident that the lessons learned from these efforts and from the ICPD+5 exercise
will provide invaluable input as the Fund continues to help governments develop programmes
to meet current and future needs in the areas of population and reproductive health, to
achieve the goals of the 1994 Cairo Conference.
Dr. Nafis Sadik,
Executive Director
United Nations Population Fund.
|
