UNFPA IN THE NEWS – AUGUST 7-13, 2004

“DEMOGRAPHIC TRANSITION”

The Financial Times (U.K.) ran an August 10 op ed by Christopher Caldwell who wrote: “In the 70 years since the concept of ‘demographic transition’—the unruly population consequences of moving from a traditional society to a modern one—from a world where birth and mortality rates are high to a world where both are low—was invented, many economists, sociologists and aid workers have come to think the world's prosperity and security depend on our understanding it.” The op ed mentioned: “Cities teeming with idle young men have bred terrorism, organized crime and all manner of violence. Such societies must be hoisted up to western levels of prosperity and sophistication as swiftly as possible in order to force the next stage of the transition, argue the United Nations Population Fund and many pressure groups. Officials at Population Action International say this ‘will require public funding and political will for good healthcare, education and improvements in the status of women.’” Read: Financial Times

BANGLADESH: Aid for Flood Victims

United News of Bangladesh reported August 9 that five medical teams from United Nations Population Fund will assist the Directorate of Health Services in providing health services, including medicine, to flood-victims in Habiganj, Brahmanbaria, Kishoreganj, Bogra and parts of Dhaka district. The story noted that UNFPA has already handed over 150,000 ORS to the Director General of Health Services and 20 lakhs water-purifying tablets will be handed over soon to the government and NGOs.

BHUTAN: King Addresses the Gravity of HIV/AIDS

Keunsel (Bhutan) reported August 8 that the Ministry of Health released a royal edict from the King who advised the nation on the gravity of HIV/AIDS problem and the implications it could have on the development of the nation. The story noted that the minister said that with Her Majesty Ashi Sangay Choden Wangchuck's initiative after becoming the UNFPA Goodwill Ambassador in 1999, multi-sector task forces in all the districts were established to fight the epidemic.

CHINA: Incentives to Reduce Imbalanced Number of Girls to Boys

Voice of America reported August 13 that China says it will pay rural families who do not abort female babies. The move is part of an effort to reduce a growing imbalance in the number of girls and boys born in the country. But Siri Tellier with the UN's Population Fund says the issue is about more than just marriage. "This is not just a question of the boys not being able to find girls to marry. That's sad, but that's not, I think, the problem," she said. "I think the main worrisome thing is what this says about people's attitude toward girls." Read: Voice of Amercia

DR CONGO: Sensitization Day on Reproductive Health

The Panafrican News Agency reported August 9 that DR Congo's National Reproductive Health Program (PNSR) held a sensitization day on reproductive health to help reduce maternal mortality. Organized with the support of the UN Population Fund, PNSR director Dr. Tsheke Koy Lesmas said the exercise targeted mainly girls of childbearing age and adolescents.

ERITREA: Fistula

Women’s Enews featured an August 8 story on a group of five doctors and one recent college graduate that joined the Eritrean Women's Project, a gynecological surgery mission to repair a condition known as obstetric fistula. The story noted: “In parts of the world where poverty has limited or eliminated women's access to natal care, the fistula problem is dire. According to the New York-based United Nations Population Fund, nearly half of all women in the developing world give birth without any medical assistance.” The story also mentioned that "Love, Labor, Loss" is a film that follows a group of women who have come to Niamey National Hospital in Niger to have their fistulas repaired. The film was financed by groups such as the Washington- and Los Angeles-based Feminist Majority Foundation and the UN Population Fund. Read: Women’s Enews

GHANA: Course on HIV/AIDS Incorporated into Diploma

Ghana News Agency reported August 7 that the Institute of Adult Education (IAE), University of Ghana , will from the next academic year incorporate a course on HIV/AIDS into its diploma in Adult Education program. At the second graduation ceremony of an IAE/United Nations Population Fund sponsored course on counseling, Samuel Badu-Nyarko, Principal of the Kumasi Workers College said HIV/AIDS course is to help deepen understanding of the causes of the disease, prevention, the global situation, counseling and care for infected persons. Read: Ghana News Agency

PAKISTAN: Sex Workers Fight HIV/AIDS and STIs

Inter Press Service reported August 7 on a pilot project in Pakistan that aims to increase awareness about STIs and HIV/AIDS among sex workers, without stigmatizing or demoralizing them. The project is funded by UNAIDS and UNFPA with Greenstar as the implementing partner and in close coordination with the National and Sindh AIDS Control Program. Read: Inter Press Service

SPAIN: Youth Conference

ANSA English Media Service reported August 10 that representatives of indigenous peoples from around the world took part in the celebrations dedicated to the International Day of Indigenous Peoples during the Barcelona Forum in Spain . The story mentioned that Tomas Jimenez Araya, representative of the UN Population Fund, said that the number of young people in the world was bigger than ever given that half of the world's six billion people are less than 25 years old.

SUDAN: Hepatitis E Outbreak Among Refugees

BBC News reported August 12 that U.N. medical experts in the Western Sudanese region of Darfur have expressed concern over an outbreak of Hepatitis E which has killed 22 people. A doctor working for the UN Population Fund, Henia Dakkak, told the BBC the disease was spreading quickly because of poor sanitation in the camps. Dakkak said pregnant women were most at risk of infection. Deutsche Presse-Agentur also reported on this story. Read: BBC News, Xinhua General News Service, UN News Centre

TURKMENISTAN: Reproductive Health Improving

IRIN reported August 8 that reproductive health services are improving in Turkmenistan , home to some 6.5 million people, with more women utilizing modern methods of contraception. The story mentioned that under a cooperation framework between the government and the United Nations Population Fund, the UN agency provides contraceptives for these [reproductive health] centers, while conducting training of family doctors and other medical personnel. "We have contraceptives provided by the UNFPA, which we give to our patients free of charge," the officials said. Read: IRIN

UNITED STATES: State Department Continues to React to Editorial Support for UNFPA Funding

Last week’s letter by Arthur E. Dewey, Assistant U.S. Secretary of State of Population, Refugees and Migration, continued to be placed in outlets across the United States. In the letter, Dewey insists: “UNFPA continues its support of, or involvement in, the management of China 's coercive birth limitation program. We have actively engaged China and UNFPA, and are prepared to consider funding UNFPA in the future.” Read: Wichita Eagle, Free Lance-Star, Philadelphia Daily News, The Post-Standard

UNITED STATES: Response to State Department Letter on Decision to Defund UNFPA

The Miami Herald (U.S) ran an August 7 letter by Safiye Cagar, director of information at UNFPA who wrote that Arthur E. Dewey’s letter “makes assertions that are not supported by the facts.” Cargar continued: “After funding for UNFPA was withheld in 2002, an assessment team sent to China by the State Department found no evidence that the fund supported or participated in the management of a program of coercive abortion or involuntary sterilization. On the contrary, it reported that UNFPA had registered its strong opposition to such practices. That team recommended that funds allocated by Congress be released to UNFPA.” The letter also ran in Wisconsin State Journal. Read: Miami Herald and Detroit Free Press

The Detroit Free Press (U.S.) ran an August 11 story by Population Institute President, Werner Fornos, who wrote: “ The conclusion I have drawn after my recent visit to China is that the national family planning program is doing its utmost to pull away from treating its population problems as a concern of reducing numbers, rather focusing on a concern for the reproductive health of individuals. As has every legitimate probe into China 's family planning program, my team concluded that UNFPA is not part of the problems with China 's program: It is a major and essential part of the solution.” Read: Detroit Free Press

In August 13 and 12 letters that ran in The Miami Herald (U.S.) and The Post-Standard
( U.S. ), Suzanne Petroni wrote: “Assistant Secretary of State Arthur E. Dewey's letter
( U.S. continues to support health programs globally, Aug. 4) claims that the administration is ‘committed to protecting the health of women and children in the developing world.’ Yet actions prove this claim false.” She continued: “The latest White House decision to withhold funding for the U.N. Population Fund for the third year was based on charges disproved by investigative teams, including one picked by the Bush administration. This funding could have prevented 4,700 women from dying in childbirth, saved the lives of 77,000 infants and young children and prevented countless others from becoming infected with HIV/AIDS.” Petroni concluded, “How do any of these policies protect the health of women and children?” Read: Miami Herald, Post-Standard

UNITED STATES: Support for Withholding Funds for UNFPA

In an August 10 letter by Ed Szymkowiak, National Director of STOPP International, a project of American Life League Inc., that ran in The Free Lance-Star (U.S.), he wrote: “This is a response to Rick Mercier's July 29 op-ed, in which he complains about the Bush administration's determination that UNFPA's support for the coercive Chinese forced-abortion and involuntary sterilization program makes it ineligible for U.S. population control funding. Bush did the right thing on UNFPA, but Mercier and many others, even, unfortunately, many self-proclaimed pro-lifers, are missing, or ignoring, the fact that Bush himself requested $425 million for USAID population control programs for fiscal year 2004.” He urged readers to support the Freedom of Conscience Act of 2003 (H.R. 1548) that aims to stop this abuse of our federal tax dollars, which was introduced by Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX). He wrote that the bill states, "No Federal official may expend any Federal funds for any population control or population planning program or any family planning activity (including any abortion procedure), irrespective of whether such program or activity is foreign or domestic." Read: Free Lance-Star

VIETNAM: Funding for Juvenile Reproductive Health Program

Voice of Vietnam reported August 11 that more than $74,000 has been channeled into a project on juvenile reproductive health in south central Khanh Hoa province by the European Commission and UNFPA. The project aims to raise community awareness about changing juvenile reproductive health behavior, a key task of Khanh Hoa province Read: Voice of Vietnam

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