| UNFPA IN THE NEWS - WEEK OF APRIL 26-MAY
2, 2003 EUROPEAN UNION: European Development Commissioner
Questions U.S. Decision The European Report reported April 30 that
in New York, European Development Commissioner Poul Nielson also
addressed
the fight against AIDS, TB and malaria, calling on the U.S. for
more money and international co-operation. He condemned the Bush
Administration for blocking the United Nations' efforts to provide
poor countries with basic sexual health protection. "How
do you react to those recommending that women read biblical scripture
to treat their
gynecological conditions, that doctors should refuse to prescribe
contraceptives to unmarried women and that abortion pills should
be banned?" he
asked, pointing to estimates that the U.S. decision to cut its
contribution of $34 million to UNFPA equals 800,000 more unsafe
abortions and the deaths of 4,700 mothers and 77,000 children
under the age of five. BANGLADESH: Doctors Criticized for Illegal
Activities The Independent
reported April 28 that lawmakers, participating in the Consultative
Committee meeting on Health and Population Sector Program at
the Planning Commission came down heavily on the apex body of
the physicians, Bangladesh Medical Association (BMA), charging
it with playing the role of `Mafia' by providing shelter to
some doctors who are indulging in illegal activities instead
of providing service to the people. The meeting was attended
by Health Minister Dr. Mosharraf Hossain, former Health Minister
Dr. M.A. Matin, former State Minister for Health M. Amanullah,
former State Minister for Aviation and Tourism Abdul Mannan,
UNFPA Representative Suneeta Mukherjee, Counsellor of Japan Embassy
Maeda, representatives form the British High
Commission,
NGOs and concerned ministries of the government. CENTRAL AFRICAN
REPUBLIC: Humanitarian Mission Scheduled UN Integrated
Regional Information Networks mentioned in an April 30 story
that a humanitarian assessment mission, comprising officials
from the UN World Food Programme, UNICEF and the UN Population
Fund, is scheduled to tour the north of the CAR between 2 and
6 May. This will be the first such mission to the north since
October 2002. Read: UN IRIN INDONESIA:
UNFPA Urged to Reach Remote Villages Antara, Indonesia's
news agency, reported April 28 that UNFPA programs which have
been implemented in Belu district since 2001 have not touched
youths in remote villages in regions bordering on East Timor,
a community figure said. "We acknowledge that the local
people have obtained some advantages from the UNFPA programmes.
However the program have not touched youths in some remote villages
in the province," a public figure in the district, Nikolaus
Tnano, said. PAKISTAN: Workshop to Improve Midwifery Pakistan
Newswire reported April 26 that a 2-day joint workshop in Karachi
on institutional
and community based midwifery curriculum by the National Institute
of Child Health developed consensus on the definition for institutional
midwifery and community based midwifery and discussed the methodology
of training. The 2-day workshop is a follow up of national
workshop held earlier at Islamabad in January 2003, which was
organized
by Pakistan Nursing Council in collaboration
with Ministry of Health and with financial Assistance of UNFPA. UNITED
STATES: 34 Million Friends Campaign Raises $1 Million At
a press conference in New York on May 1, UNFPA announced that
more than 100,000 Americans have pitched in to raise $1 million
for UNFPA after Washington cut off support for the agency in
a dispute over abortions in China. In a May 2 story, The Chicago
Times noted that the money raised in the 34 Million Friends Campaign
by co-founders, Jane Roberts and Lois Abraham, will be used in
Timor-Leste, the former East Timor, to buy two-way radios for
hospitals and motorcycles for midwives in remote areas; in Rwanda
for ambulances, and in Eritrea to train health assistants in
emergency obstetrical care. Half the first million will go to
prevent and treat fistula. In addition, Reuters reported May
1 that the U.N. Foundation said it would supplement the donations
with a $250,000 gift of its own. "This campaign highlights
the power of individuals to make a difference," Thoraya
Obaid, the Population Fund's Executive Director said. Next week,
Roberts and Abraham will travel to Brussels to expand the campaign
to Europe. Read: The
Chicago Tribune (IL) and
other news outlets that reported on the milestone: Los
Angeles Times (CA),
Pittsburgh
Post-Gazette (PA),
BBC
News (UK),
St.
Paul Pioneer Press (MN),
Salon.com,
Associated
Press, Reuters and
UN
News Centre An April 27 column in The Albuquerque Journal by Jim Belshaw
featured Lois Abraham's perspective on the 34 Million Friends
Campaign's recent achievement. "The goal is $34 million
and $1 million certainly is a milestone," she said. "Hopefully,
it will expand the scope of credibility, but we're still $33
million short. The letters I like the most are from grandmothers
who send in their $7 or $9, saying this is for their daughters
and granddaughters. They get it. They understand. I like that
a lot." ZAMBIA: UNFPA Warns Do Not To Be Misled by Low HIV/AIDS Infection
Count The low rate of eight percent HIV/AIDS infection
in North Western Province may well be an undercount, UNFPA country
representative Margaret O'Callaghan has said, according to The
Post's April
26 story. O'Callaghan said the province was going to receive
an economic boost from the new mines which were going to be opened
up soon. She said together all stakeholders were going to mine
the potential for making young people and adults safe from STDs,
including HIV/AIDS, unplanned pregnancies and also making motherhood
safe. O'Callaghan said UNFPA was in North Western Province to
address Zambia's number one problem after the economy, which
was the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Read: The
Post
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