| UNFPA in the News: Week of July 12-18,
2003 United News of Bangladesh reported
on July 12 that in observance of the
World Population Day 2003, speakers at a discussion stressed
the need
for giving more attention to the adolescents and youths to make
their
transition to adulthood safe. Chaired by UNFPA Representative
Suneeta
Mukherjee, the meeting was also addressed by Bangladesh Red Crescent
Society Chairman Maj Gen Za Khan and Director General Directorate
of
Family Planning Fazlur Rahman. Public Agenda reported on July 14 that as part
of this year's World's
Population Day celebration on the theme, "One Billion Adolescents:
the
Rights to Health, Information and Services," The Youth Advisory
Board of
the African Youth Alliance (AYA) - a non profit youth advocacy
organization - has called on government to address pertinent
issues that
affect the youth of Ghana today. AYA is a collaborative effort
between
three organizations, UNFPA, Programmed for Appropriate Technology
in
Health and Pathfinder International, which focuses on Adolescent
Sexual
Reproductive Health matters. Read: Public
Agenda The Hindu reported on July 12 that the Population
Foundation of India
gathered at the workshop "Communication Strategies for Reproductive
and
Child Health Lessons for Programming and Research'' to observe
the World
Population Day. UNFPA representative, Dr. Francois M. Farah,
also
attended. Business Line (India) reported July 25 that
national broadcasters,
Doordarshan and BBC, harbored dreams of using each other's platforms
for
showcasing content. But the deal seems to have fallen through
and is
unlikely to see the light of day. The story also mentioned that
DD
National, which currently doubles as a news and current affairs
channel,
would have more number of entertainment programs. A daily soap
on social
issues, co-produced by DD and funded by UNFPA, would be launched
shortly. Read: Business
Line Vanguard (Nigeria) reported on July 15 that
the world is focusing on
adolescents as it commemorates this year's Population Day, July
11. "One
billion adolescents are about to enter their reproductive year," screams
the poster designed by UNFPA for World Population Day. The poster
goes
on: "For all of them, it will be a critical time." For
many, it will be
fatal." Read: Vanguard
UN IRIN reported on July 14 that radical changes
in approach to the
youth are needed if Tanzania is to curb the spread of HIV/AIDS
and
sexually transmitted infections. UNFPA assistant representative
in
Tanzania, Christopher Mwaijonga, said the country's youth was
a
forgotten population. "Problems faced by youth today are
very serious
but they aren't really being considered seriously enough. There
are
many, but when it comes to sexually transmitted infections and
HIV/AIDS,
youth don't have sufficient access to information to make informed
decisions or to access friendly services," he said. Read:
UN IRIN Bangkok Post (Thailand) ran a July 12 editorial
that noted there was
little to rejoice as the world marked World Population Day. At
least we
can be thankful our policies of the past few decades have spared
us the
horrors afflicting many other countries. However, the gender
gap in
education has narrowed over the last decade but women are still
at a
disadvantage and an alarming number are deprived of secondary
education
in most of South Asia and other developing regions. The story
also
mentioned that UNFPA estimates that about 31% of women were without
any
formal education in 2000, compared to 18% of men. New Vision (Uganda) ran a July 18 message from
Thoraya Ahmed Obaid,
UNFPA Executive Director. She reminded Ugandans "World Population
Day
lets us focus on the rights and needs of young people." There
are more
young people today than ever before and they deserve recognition
and
support. Half of the 6.3 billion people sharing our planet are
under the
age of 25. Over one billion are between the ages of 10 and 19
the
largest youth generation in human history. Working together,
we must
support adolescents to achieve their dreams for a better life.
If they
are prepared with knowledge, choices and opportunities, they
can live
healthy and productive lives and contribute to a more stable
world.
Read: New
Vision New Vision (Uganda) reported on July 18 that
Uganda has one of the
highest teenage pregnancy rates in Africa, and up to two thirds
of
Ugandan women start producing babies before age 20. This makes
adolescents a vulnerable lot needing greater attention to cater
for
their reproductive health needs. According to UNFPA, half of
the world's
6.1 billion people are under age of 25 and more than one billion
are
between the ages of 10 and 19. Within 15 years, three billion
will have
reached reproductive age. Read: New
Vision Times of Zambia reported on July 12 that it
was a mixture of emotions of
joy and sadness as 400 Angola refugees started returning to their
country yesterday. North-Western Province Deputy Minister Bert
Mushala
said the Zambian government was delighted that refugees were
returning
home at the time when peace was also returning to Angola. Also
on hand
to witness the exercise was Home Affairs Permanent Secretary
Peter
Mumba, UNFPA resident representative Margaret Ocallaghan and
World Food
Programmed country representative Richard Ragan. Read: Times
of Zambia Agence France-Presse reported on July 13 that
the growth of India's
billion-plus population was slowing and southern parts of the
country
were approaching fertility rates close to those of European nations.
However, this sharply contrasted with vast areas in the northern
state
of Uttar Pradesh and eastern state of Bihar where population
growth is
soaring and driving up the national average. Francois Farah,
UNFPA
representative, told AFP that fewer babies were being born to
the
average Indian family due to heightened awareness. Read: Agence
France-Presse Jakarta Post (Indonesia) reported on July 14
that contraceptive use has
dropped 20 percent in Indonesia, a trend that has sparked fears
of a
population explosion. One reason was the changing service of
family
planning. From its inception in the early 1970s until 1997, the
national
family planning program was aimed at encouraging the use of
contraceptives. During the period, women were forced to use
contraceptives. Changes came in the twilight of the New Order,
when the government recognized a woman's right to decide. Citing a UNFPA
report,
secretary of the National Family Planning Coordinating Board,
Lalu
Sudarmadi said less than 2 percent of males participated in family
planning in Indonesia. New Straits Times (Malaysia) reported on July
18 that various health
tests were given to the public during the Robin Good Health Awareness
week at the summit, Subang Jaya. Called the Robin Good Health
program,
the event themed, "Choose Health, Be Healthy For Life," is
aimed at
educating the public, particularly senior citizens, on basic
preventive
healthcare measures and to ensure that these services remain
accessible
and affordable to all age groups, including the needy and less
fortunate. A resource handbook sponsored by UNFPA for community
services
2003 was launched during the event. The Associated Press reported on July 15 that
a far-reaching foreign
affairs bill before the House on Tuesday would endorse a new
results-oriented approach to economic aid and the doubling of
Peace
Corps volunteers. The $30 billion bill to approve State Department
and
foreign aid programs over the next two years also would sustain
a policy
that has allowed Republican presidents to withhold funding for
U.N.
family planning programs. In addition, it would establish a new
24-hour
radio and television broadcast network in the Middle East. Vote
on the
bill is to take place Wednesday. Read: Associated Press The Washington Post reported on July 16 that
a narrow majority of House
members voted to block $ 50 million in international family planning
funds, contending that the program bolsters China's coercive
population
control policy. The 216 to 211 vote was a setback for UNFPA,
which
promotes contraception and safe birthing and child care practices
in
more than 150 countries. While the program generally has had
bipartisan
congressional support, senior Bush administration officials and
some GOP
lawmakers say it violates U.S. law by supporting China's "one
child" policy, which critics say sometimes results in forced abortions.
Read:
Washington Post New York Times reported on July 17 that the
House of Representatives
voted to maintain a policy allowing the Bush administration to
cut off
United States funding for the UN Population Fund for the second
year in
a row in the mistaken belief that the fund colludes with coerced
abortions in China. Read: New
York Times Financial Times reported on July 17 that the
House did accede to Mr.
Bush's demand that it block funding for UNFPA, upholding his
stance of
denying funds for the body on the grounds that it funds coerced
abortions in China. A planned $50m was stripped from the bill
on
Tuesday. Read: Financial Times Read also: Reuters,
Newsday Article (1),
(2),
Christian
Science Monitor, San
Francisco Chronicle, Women's
Enews, Voice
of America. On July 15, the New York Times ran an editorial
that dismissed the
allegations against UNFPA by stating, "the fact is that
Population Fund
performs no abortions and is working to end coerced abortion
in China." Read: New
York Times The Boston Globe's July 15 editorial noted, "The
UN Population Fund is
one of the best investments this country can make in a more prosperous
and peaceful global future. The House should authorize the $50
million." Read: Boston
Globe The Herald (South Carolina) featured a July
17 editorial that said the
short-sighted decision by the House to block $50 million in
international family planning funds will result in thousands
of unwanted
pregnancies, maternal and infant deaths and, ironically, hundreds
of
thousands more abortions. Read: The
Herald Intelligencer Journal (Pennsylvania) featured
a July 15 editorial that
urged, "The president has just returned from a heart-rending
trip to
Africa. He has seen the impact proper family planning can have
on
impoverished nations. Perhaps this time he and Congress will
do the
right thing and release family planning funding that will save
lives
rather than harm them." The Miami Herald (FL) July 15 editorial stated, "This
is about the
Population Fund, the world's largest provider of reproductive-health
programs, and how it can bring better healthcare, greater stability
and
social progress to the world's poorest inhabitants. " It
concluded, "
House members must see that they cannot legislate against abortion
worldwide, and even when they try, they're undermining the education
and
contraception programs that developing countries need." Read:
Miami
Herald A July 15 editorial by The Duluth News Tribune
(MN) stressed, "Don't let
a narrow interest group undermine long-standing U.S. support
for
international family planning efforts." Read: Duluth
News Tribune The Columbian (Washington) ran a July 17 opinion
piece by Elizabeth
Hovde that opposed funding for UNFPA. It stated, "America
can and should
be picky in its generosity. It is important that democratic principles
be applied to U.S. money that goes abroad." That is why
recent U.S.
presidents have wrestled with whether to assist UNFPA with taxpayer
dollars, and why President Bush may continue to deny money to
the
organization in 2004. Hovde concluded, "Until it's convincing
that no
UNFPA resources, money or efforts help a country such as China
inflict
its human rights abuses, U.S. aid is better spent on other international
family planning efforts. The United States did so to the tune
of about
$300 million this year." Read: The
Columbian
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