| UNFPA IN THE NEWS – JANUARY 10-16, 2004 U.S. POLITICS AFFECTS REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS AND HEALTH WORLDWIDE
European Population Forum 2004: U.S. Politics Undermines Efforts to Save Lives At the opening day of the European Population
Forum 2004 on Jan. 12 in Geneva, more than 60 family planning
and women's groups issued a declaration accusing the Bush administration
of undermining efforts to cut world poverty by refusing funds
for U.N. sexual health programs, reported Reuters on January 13.
"There are clear links between sexual and reproductive health
and rights and the overarching development goal of poverty elimination,"
the groups' declaration said. The inability of a couple or an
individual deprived of information and access to means of contraception,
to choose the number and spacing of their children "limits their
social and economic options," it asserted. The groups signing
Monday's appeal said that in the face of the U.S. stance "the
need for global and steadfast European leadership on sexual and
reproductive health rights has never been greater." Among organizations
endorsing the document were the U.S. Catholics for a Free Choice,
Family Care International and the Planned Parenthood Federation
of America. It was also backed by groups from Asia, Latin America
and Europe. On January 14 Reuters also reported Thoraya Obaid,
head of UNFPA, urged U.S. President George W. Bush to drop his
controversial ban on funding for the family planning programs.
"We hope and plead for the United States to come back as a major
donor," said Obaid. Read: Reuters: Jan. 13 and Jan. 14, UN WIRE
and to read the declaration, go to: PLANetWIRE.org. For more information
on the conference, go to: UNECE.org U.N. AMBASSADORS The Times (London) reported January
11 that the United Nations has recruited celebrities as "ambassadors"
for decades. Its current preference for stars with sex appeal,
however, is prompting disquiet in the aid world. The story noted
Ronaldo and Zinedine Zidaneare among the celebrity backers of
the U.N.'s Development Program and the U.N. Population Fund has
been able to count on Geri Halliwell, the former Spice Girl, for
help in getting across its message. Read:
The Times
A January 16 story by Sophia Echo (Bulgaria) featured
Magdalina "Magi" Vulchanova, Goodwill Ambassador and Face to Face
spokesperson who advocates for vulnerable girls that are trafficked
or forced into prostitution. The story mentioned Face to Face
started as an idea in 2000 in Cyprus and this U.N. campaign involves
many goodwill ambassadors like Magi. Since 1998, Face to Face
has provided advocacy support to organizations that champion women's
rights. During this period, Face to Face has recruited over 20
celebrities as UNPFA Goodwill Ambassadors and Face to Face Spokespersons,
giving UNFPA and population assistance NGOs a greater public profile.
Read: Sophia Echo BANGLADESH AND UNITED STATES: Congressional
Delegation Visit Adolescent Center United News of Bangladesh reported January 11
that U.S. Congressional Representative Joseph Crowley, founder
and current co-chairman of Congressional Caucus on Bangladesh,
along with Congressman Gregory Meeks arrived in Dhaka to attend
a conference on water and arsenic contamination and visit UNFPA
adolescent center and some historic sites in the city. BANGLADESH: Workshop Examines Projection of Women in Media The Daily Star (Bangladesh) reported
January 14 as part of UNFPA’s efforts to promote a society free
from violence against women, a daylong workshop entitled The Image
of Women in Media was organized at Dhaka Sheraton Hotel. 188 participants
from different sectors including filmmakers, directors, producers,
ad makers, scriptwriters, lyricists, singers, dancers, actors,
models, journalists, other concerned people and viewers attended
the workshop. The overall objective of the workshop was to sensitize
the people behind the media about the projection of women in it.
Read: Daily
Star MALAWI: Voluntary Counseling Centers Important to Youth and Fight against HIV/AIDS A January 12 story by The Chronicle
(Malawi) on the importance of voluntary counseling centers to
youth and the fight against HIV/AIDS cited United Nations Populations
Fund's (UNFPA) overview of adolescent reproductive health that
says: “Young people need to be provided with accurate, age-specific
and gender-specific knowledge and information. They need to know
the facts about sex, sexuality, teenage pregnancies, STDs, including
HIV/AIDS before they become sexually active.”Read: The Chronicle
PAKISTAN: Improving the Standard of Living Hi Pakistan reported January 16 that
Pakistan's economy is on higher growth trajectory which would
result in improving the standard of living of people, said Finance
Minister Shaukat Aziz during his meeting with Dr. Hafiz A. Pasha,
assistant secretary general of the U.N. and head of UNDP for Asia.
Aziz also acknowledged the extensive and broad based assistance
of the U.N. to Pakistan through UNDP, UNFPA, UNICEF, UNESCO, WHO,
FAO and WFP. Read: Hi
Pakistan PHILIPPINES: Youth Urged to Be Aware of Their Rights Minda News (Philippines) reported January
10 that at 2004 Provincial Youth Camp, sponsored by the Maguindanao
provincial government and UNFPA, Maria Requena, UNFPA’s focal
person for Maguindanao, urged the young to be aware of their rights
as persons and of their sexuality. Read: Minda
News SUDAN AND CHAD: U.N. Agencies Devise a Program for Latest Influx of Refugees Panafrican News Agency reported January 14 that
U.N. agencies devised a short-term emergency program to assist
the latest influx of Sudanese refugees in Chad. It is estimated,
the UN agencies will require more than four million U.S. dollars
to meet emergency needs of the refugees between January and March
2004. These agencies include WFP, UNHCR, UNFPA, WHO and FAO. TURKEY: Young Journalists Award Kýrmýzý Beyaz Newspaper- Ankara reported 16
January that the Turkish Federation of Journalists launched the
“Young Journalists Award” which has been organized in cooperation
with Turkish Republic Prime Ministry, General Directorate on the
Status and Problems of Women and UNFPA Turkey. The subject of
the Award was “Gender Equality” and the aim of the award is increasing
the awareness against sexual discrimination between women and
men in Turkey and also between the young members of local and
national media. Preference will be given to both local and national
young journalists who are not more than 35 years old and can submit
their material published or broadcasted between the dates 1 January
2004 and 1 June 2004. UNITED STATES: Immigration and Population Debate A January 15 letter on opposing the Bush administration’s
immigration policy by Dale Peterson that ran in the St. Louis
Post-Dispatch (MO) noted: “Mexico doesn't have too few jobs –
it has too many people. I have a novel idea for correcting this
country's overpopulation problem: encouraging his people not to
have more children than theycan support.” Peterson mentioned that
recent report by the United Nations Population Fund put the world
population at 6.1 billion and projected it to reach 9.3 billion
by 2050 – a 50 percent increase.
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