| UNFPA
IN THE NEWS –SEPTEMBER 13-19, 2003 Agence France-Presse’s September 15 story on Arab
imports of food from non-Arab countries cited UNFPA findings
that say the Arab world's total population is expected to double
from its current level of about 290 million within 30 years. A segment
aired on U.S. public television, NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, “Sewing Change”on
September 16 on female garment workers in Bangladesh. Host,
Spencer Michels noted: “For many women these facilities have provided
their first access to quality health care, and the jobs in the factories have
given
them their first taste of empowerment, self-sufficiency, and self-determination,
but Suneeta Mukherjee of the U.N. Population Fund sees factory work for women
as
a mixed blessing.” Mukherjee responded: “Well, women getting out
of the countryside and coming to urban areas in the factories for working is
definitely
economic empowerment, but wages are low. Conditions are not as good as they
should be, whether health conditions or working conditions. Working hours are
long,
and sometimes women do not have the right to use the money they're earning.
And all this leads to the conclusion that it does not empower them as much
as it
should.” Read: NewsHour
with Jim Lehrer
India Times reported September 19 that while a large number of countries
worldwide have legalized gay and lesbian rights, in India the outdated Section
377 of the IPC, framed in 1860, defines homosexuality as a crime even though
an ever-increasing population of same-sex couples is a reality. The story mentioned
that a recent study conducted by the UNFPA in rural India has found that male-to-male
sex is not uncommon. ''In fact, a higher percentage of men reported male-to-male
sex than sex with sex-workers. Close to 10 per cent of unmarried men and 3
per cent of married men reported sex with other men in the past 12 months,''
says the study. Ansa reported September 17 that nearly all violence inflicted on women takes
place within the home, according to the Italian Association of Women for Development
(AIDOS). Speaking at a joint press conference with UNFPA, AIDOS explained that
a survey of women carried out by the helpline Croce Rosa found that 95% of
all violence against women was domestic. The survey was presented during a
conference on a broader UNFPA experimental initiative, which focuses on involving
health workers in the fight against domestic abuse. "We really appreciate the
help the Italian government has given us, it's been very important in this
first experimental phase and we hope it will continue to support us," said
France Donnay, one of UNFPA's representatives coordinating the project. In the September 15-21 issue of The
Myanmar Times, an increase in number of unmarried women has contributed
to a decline of the fertility rate in Myanmar, said a preliminary report
released last month. The joint report, by UNFPA and the Department of Population,
said the fertility rate in 2001 was 2.4 children to each woman, down from
2.9 10 years earlier. The head of UNFPA in Yangon, Mr. Najib Assifi, told The
Myanmar Times that more then 50 percent of women aged between 15 and
49 remained single and was the main reason for the fall in the fertility
rate. Agence France-Presse reported September 19 that a 30-member French medical
mission will visit Pakistan-controlled Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) for a week
to carry out surgical operations for patients suffering from obstetric fistula,
the UN said Friday. The mission which is being sponsored by UNFPA will be in
the capital Muzaffarabad from September 20 to 25, UNFPA said in a statement.
Pakistan News Service also reported September 17 that Country Representative
of UNFPA, Dr. Oliver Brasseur, said UNFPA is sponsoring this technical support
to mothers and families in AJK. Read: Pakistan News
Service Manila Bulletin (Philippines) reported September 18 that Joel
Trinidad, stage actor and singer, hosted the HIV/AIDS forum at the Lyceum quadrangle
organized by the core group of Lyceum SEXTERS (Socially, Emotionally, Sexually
Responsible Teeners). The Lyceum SEXTERS invited other students from other
partner schools of Mapua, Philippine Womens University, Technological University
of the Philippines and Far Eastern University. All five schools have a peer-led
campus program to address the reproductive health and development of young
teeners assisted by the Foundation for Adolescent Development Inc. (FAD) and
UNFPA. Read: Manila
Bulletin Daily News (Sri Lanka) reported September 18 that Ms. Lubna Baqi,
UNFPA Representative for Sri Lanka will be at the eighth annual academic sessions
of the College of Venereologists. Read: Daily News Xinhua General News Service reported September 16 that UNFPA has selected
two African countries, Uganda and Nigeria, for pilot activities to prevent
obstetric fistula, a condition where mothers fail to control their urine after
delivery. UNFPA country representative James Kuria was quoted by the local
daily, The New Vision, as saying that UNFPA has mounted an international
campaign to prevent obstetric fistula that will soon be officially launched
in Uganda. "The worst outcome of maternal complications is obstetric fistula,
a condition that was eliminated in developed nations over 100 years ago, but
continues to strike 100,000 poor girls and women in developing countries each
year," Kuria said. Kuria made the announcement at a handover of health equipment
worth $750,000 donated to the Ugandan government by the UNFPA.
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