| UNFPA IN THE NEWS - WEEK OF MARCH 22-28,
2003 According to a March 26
story by Accra Mail, reported defilement cases
in the Volta Region increased from 64 in 2001 to 147 in 2002,
representing 229 percent while rape cases dropped from 56 to
43 for the
same period said Mr. Kofi Duku Arthur, Volta Regional Police
Commander,
at a workshop organized by the Women and Juvenile Unit (WAJU)
for 30
police officers from the region. The workshop, which was a collaborative
effort of WAJU, the National Population Council and UNFPA, was
to equip
the Police officers with skills to handle crimes under the purview
of
WAJU. The Ghanaian Chronicle reported on this story on March
25. Read:
Accra Mail Stirling
Scruggs, Director of Information Division for United Nations
Population Fund responded to a March 17 New York Times editorial,
"
Humanity's Slowing Growth
<
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/17/opinion/17MON3.html> ," in
a March 23
letter, "The freedom of women and men to make decisions
on family size
is contributing to slower population growth. The decisions, especially
by women, are helping not only individuals, but also families,
communities and countries. But population is still growing, especially
in the 49 poorest countries. The international community should
help
ensure that there is access to family planning in poor countries.
Also,
the fight against AIDS should be intensified to slow its spread." Read:
New
York Times India's The Hindu ran a column by
Shymala Mani Iyer that noted, "The
UN
Population Fund predicts that the world will begin to run out
of fresh
water in 2050. So, today (World Day for Water) let us pledge
to use this
scarce resource sparingly." The United Nations
Population Fund (UNFPA) is set to drop equipment and
supplies in Iraq and neighboring countries in an effort to improve
the
care of pregnant women displaced by the war, according to a UNFPA
statement released on Friday, reported Reuters on March 19. The
UNFPA
has already placed basic reproductive health supplies inside
Iraq,
including equipment needed for 35 mobile health units and four
referral-level facilities to serve internally displaced persons.
A
representative from UNFPA will be coordinating the operations
at the
United Nations center in Cyprus. Read: Reuters The Jordan Times reported March 26 that a shipment of medical
equipment
and medical supplies donated by the UN Population Fund (UNFPA)
has
arrived at the Ruweished hospital's "safe motherhood" unit.
Seif Eddin
Abaro, UNFPA representative in Jordan, said the donation is intended
to
help Jordan offer medical treatment to refugees arriving from
Iraq. The
Royal Medical Services of the Jordan Armed Forces has set up
a 30-bed
field hospital for the evacuees. Read: Jordan
Times A leading theatre
director Mumbi Kaigwa is to stage a controversial play
on female genital mutilation, according to a March 22 story by
The
Nation. The story mentioned that according to the UN Population
Fund,
violence against women and girls is widespread. One in every
three women
will experience violence during her lifetime. Read: The
Nation According to a March 28 story by
Nepal News, as flocks of rural people
continue to be lured to Kathmandu for better opportunities, the
already
cramped infrastructure in coming under greater strain. The spread
of HIV
infection among Kathmandu's young population has come as another
burden.
Nepal News noted that as migrant populations have become an important
part of the economic transformations occurring around the world,
there
is a greater awareness of the need to put greater emphasis on
population
and development policies. With the support from UN agencies like
UNFPA,
UNAIDS, WHO, ILO and UNICEF and other donor agencies, steps are
being
taken to focus program on migrant workers. Read: Nepal
News BBC Monitoring Service
noted on March 24 that a March 21 story by the
Palestinian newspaper, Al-Ayyam, reported the Palestinian National
Authority (PNA) and the Swedish government signed a bilateral
agreement
to resume Swedish annual support for the Palestinian people.
The amount
of this support during the current year amounts to 165m Swedish
kronor
(about 16.5m dollars). The story also reported Mr. Muhammad
Abd-al-Ahad,
representative of the UN Population Fund in the Palestinian
territories,
also met with ministry officials and relevant NGO's to discuss
population policies. Tim Wirth, President
of the UN Foundation wrote a March 23 op ed that
ran in The Denver Post and several other media outlets that noted: "As
the United States enters into a war with Iraq, Americans and
citizens
everywhere are anxious about what lies ahead. Questions about
whether
war should occur are now fixed in the rearview mirror: It is
time to
plan ahead." Wirth also offered: "We cannot ignore
the fact that world
opinion polls indicate substantial degrees of fear and distrust
of the
United States. Allies and others have been distanced not only
by U.S.
policy on Iraq but also by perceptions of the U.S. government's
cavalier
dismissal of the Kyoto Protocol on Climate Change, funding for
the U.N.
Population Fund and ratification of the Landmine Treaty, to name
a few."
Wirth urged, "One antidote to pre-war disagreements is post-war
cooperation on such common challenges as the environment, health,
disarmament and human rights." Read: Denver
Post In a March 21 op ed that ran in The Free Lance
Star (Fredericksburg, VA)
by Steven Mosher, President of UNFPA opponent, Population Research
Institute, wrote: "Faced with the prospect of losing $34
million,
UNFPA's media flacks swung into action. They claimed, wrongly,
that the
State Department found no evidence linking the UNFPA to coercive
practices in China." Mosher continued, "Many in the
media bought this
story, which was repeated in a recent article in The Free Lance-Star
["Davis
is out in front on family planning 'gag rule,'"
March 10]." In defense of U.S. Representative Jo Ann Davis,
Mosher noted
that she was "personally attacked for supporting Colin Powell's
decision
to withhold funding from the UNFPA." Mosher also commented, "But
if
anyone is being gagged, it is women in China who are not allowed
a
choice in childbearing, and who are threatened with punishment
if they
speak out in protest. To attack Rep. Davis is a slap in the face
to
these victims of forced abortion." Read: Free
Lance-Star A March 26 story
by Environment News Service (ENS) reported that large
urban areas can influence their own weather and areas downwind,
finds a
new study supported by the U.S. National Aeronautics Space
Administration. University of Arkansas civil engineering professor
Steve
Burian who conducted the study contends that better understanding
of
these phenomena becomes more important as populations become
more
urbanized. ENS noted that the United Nations Population Fund
estimates
that by 2025, 60 percent of the world's population will live
in cities.
Read: Environment
News Service UzReport.com
reported March 25 that Shakhar bekatlari (City bus stops) -
is the name of the broadcast series, premiered this Saturday
on
Tashkent's Oriat Dono station FM 106.5). According to UzA, the
series
are created with support from UNESCO Silk Road Radio project,
and
funding from UNFPA. As noted at the ceremony by the head of the
project
Bakhtiyor Khalikulov, "the series are based on topical issues
in
day-to-day life. These issues are analyzed by various professionals,
and
the subject line of each episode is then drafted." The list
of issues is
vast and covers relationships in young families, drug-addiction,
unemployment, HIV/AIDS and prostitution. Read: UzReport.com
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