UNFPA IN THE NEWS – APRIL 10-16, 2004

BANGLADESH: Start of Second Phase of Urban Health Care Project Announced

The New Nation (Bangladesh) reported April 16 that the second phase of the urban primary health care project in the city corporation areas and in some of the bigger districts of the country may begin from January next year, sources said. The story noted that the Asian Development Bank, Nordic Development Fund, UNFPA and Bangladesh government funded the first phase of the project. Read: The New Nation

BHUTAN: Her Majesty's Advocacy Tour Continues on Second Leg

Kuensel (Bhutan) reported April 16 that UNFPA goodwill ambassador, Her Majesty Ashi Sangay Choden Wangchuck will leave for Wangduephodrang dzongkhag on the second leg of her advocacy tour. During her three-day tour, Ashi Sangay Choden Wangchuck will be meeting with the Gogona and Khotokha public to discuss issues covering reproductive health, substance abuse and teenage pregnancy. Read: Kuensel

BOTSWANA: Men Encouraged to Take More Responsibility to Curb Spread of HIV/AIDS

IRIN reported April 12 that Botswana's efforts to curb the AIDS epidemic will be shaped by attempts to make men more sexually responsible noted experts at a four-day national workshop on male involvement in sexual and reproductive health, organized last week in Gaborone by United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the ministry of health. "Men in an all-male environment, such as the military, may be strongly influenced by a culture that reinforces risk-taking, including unsafe sex," said Dr. Agathe Lawson, UNFPA representative in Botswana. Read: IRIN

BOTSWANA: Despite Rumors, Youth Clinics Have No Plans of Closing

Mmegi (Botswana) reported April 11 that program officer at the Botswana Family Welfare Association, (BOFWA) Boitshoko Nyatshane, has dispelled fears about the imminent collapse of their youth clinics. Rumours arising from a letter written to BOFWA by the African Youth Alliance (AYA) say that lack of finance was threatening the youth clinics with closure. The African Youth Alliance is a joint undertaking by Pathfinder International, a local branch of Pathfinder, and UNFPA represented by Neo Mokgaotsi, Moagi Gaborone and Country Director, Dr. Agathe Lawson. Read: Mmegi

CHINA: 32 Pilot Counties Abandoned Birth Quotas and Targets

The London Times (UK) reported April 15 that Deqing is one of 32 pilot counties where the State Population and Family Planning Commission, working closely with the Ministry of Health and the China Family Planning Association, has abandoned birth quotas and targets. The story noted that more than £8 million from a United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) pilot program has been poured into upgrading services in family planning clinics and giving women and men more freedom of choice when selecting contraceptive methods, including wider access to alternatives such as condoms, pills and injectibles. In the 32 counties where UNFPA's program is being implemented, the abortion rate has dropped by an average of 30 percent. In Yuzhong county, Gansu province, data shows an 85 percent decline in abortions, from 512 in 1997 (before UNFPA assistance began) to 75 in 2002. Similarly, in UNFPA-supported counties, the voluntary sterilization rate for women under 35 decreased significantly from 36 to 26 percent (for the period 1998-2003).

GHANA: Experts Review Effectiveness and Efficiency of UNFPA Program and Government

Ghana News Agency reported April 14 that experts in the health and population sectors began a review of the 25.3 million dollar Fourth Country Program between UNFPA and the Government of Ghana to enhance its effectiveness and efficiency. The professionals examined the implementation of the program in the last three years to determine whether key targets in the areas of reproductive health as well as population and development strategies were on track. Read: Ghana News Agency

INDIA: Second Annual Celebration of National Safe Motherhood Day

The Hindu (India) reported April 11 that nationwide rallies, fairs, street plays, stories, television and talk shows marked the second celebration of the National Safe Motherhood Day. The story mentioned that a series of seminars, discussions, blood donation and training camps will also be organized by the White Ribbon Alliance for Safe Motherhood, India and its 68 member organizations including CARE-India, UNICEF, UNFPA, Aga Khan Foundation and Young Women's Christian Association of India.

IRAN: New UNFPA Representative Urges Foreign Minister to Share Success

IRNA news agency reported April 12 that incoming representative of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) to Iran, Muhammad Abdel-Ahad, met with Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi and submitted a copy of his credentials. At the meeting, Kharrazi said that the cooperation between Iran and UNFPA is satisfactory and called for closer ties. He said that Iran, due to its successful campaign on population growth, is in a position to share its experiences with other countries. Read: IRNA

NIGERIA: Abia State to Get a $2 Million Boost

This Day (Nigeria) reported April 16 that UNFPA will spend about $2 million for its activities in Abia State from 2004 to 2007 under its Fifth Country Program. UNFPA program adviser, Bola Lana, announced funding plans in Umuahia after a meeting she held with stakeholders of the program in the state, consisting of Non-Governmental Organizations and representatives of relevant ministries. The program is meant to positively affect the lives of the children, youth, men and women by stressing concern on their state of health as well as help them in their fight against poverty. Read: This Day

SAUDI ARABIA: Op Ed

An April 16 op ed by Mohammed R. Al-Hussaini Al-Sharif, Saudi Ambassador to Canada, that ran in The Ottawa Citizen (Canada) noted that Saudi Arabia has been the focus of media reports with many misconceptions that do not reflect the current realities and facts concerning the reforms and changes that the kingdom has been undergoing for many years. Al-Sharif described the country's stance on women's rights by mentioning that over the past two decades, the percentage of Saudi women in the workforce has grown from just one per cent to seven percent. He wrote, "We expect accelerating increases in coming years. Women in Saudi Arabia have the right to own property, sign contracts, engage in trade, run their own businesses and, most important, the right to learn." Al-Sharif also mentioned that Thoraya Obaid of Saudi Arabia was named in 2000 as the executive director of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). She is one of five women with the rank of UN under-secretary general.

SUDAN: 10-Member UN Team to Assess Needs

The United Nations says a high-level delegation is scheduled to visit the war-torn region of Darfur in western Sudan later this month to further assess what the world body calls the world's greatest humanitarian and human-rights catastrophe, reported Voice of America on April 12. A spokesman for the United Nations Population Fund in Khartoum, Nimal Hettiaratchy, said a 10-member team, led by the U.N. undersecretary-general for humanitarian affairs, Jan Egeland, will travel to Darfur from April 18th to the 21st. "The purpose of this mission is to review and assess the humanitarian situation and assistance needed in the Darfur region, and this is at the invitation of the president of the Republic of Sudan." Read: Voice of America

TURKEY: Local Media Seminar in Reproductive Health and Rights and Gender Equality

The Turkish media reported April 11 that the 9th Local Media Seminar which has been supported by UNFPA was organized in Adana. The seminars have been organized since 2002 and around 1000 local journalists were trained on reproductive health, reproductive rights, gender equality and the media. The Governor of Kocaeli, Dean of the Faculty of Communication of Kocaeli University, executive board members of Turkish Federation of Journalists, local journalists from 8 cities around the region and staff from UNFPACO attended the seminar.

UNITED STATES: Bush Administration's Decisions Cost Women's Lives

Wisconsin State Journal (USA) ran an April 12 letter by reader, Karen Lund, that noted the United Nations Population Fund is an incredible program the works in the poorest countries of the world, preventing HIV/AIDS and providing maternal health care and family planning services to women and girls in need. She urged, "It's time for the Bush administration to stop playing political games with the lives of women and children in the developing world."

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