UNFPA IN THE NEWS – JUNE 12-18, 2004

PLIGHT OF CHILD BRIDES WORLDWIDE

In a June 17 story by The New Straits Times (Malaysia) on the plight of child brides worldwide, Thoraya Ahmed Obaid , UNFPA executive director, said, "Married adolescents have been largely ignored in development and health agendas because of the perception that their married status ensures them a safe passage to adulthood. Nothing could be further from the truth." Obaid spoke at a special session of the Global Health Council's annual conference in Washington DC, in the United States. The theme of the conference was Youth and Health: Generation on the Edge. She said that UNFPA seeks to reposition the concern about adolescent girls from a relatively narrow one, focused on their fertility and health, to one that emphasizes the capacities and life skills they need to negotiate their lives.

The Houston Chronicle (US) ran a June 14 interview by Andrea Georgsson with Kakenya Ntaiya who persevered through the Masai tradition of child brides. The column noted,
“According to Thoraya Ahmed Obaid, executive director of the U.N. Population Fund, millions of preteens and adolescents around the world are married each year, with little say in the matter and often to older men, which puts them at higher risk of contracting a sexually transmitted disease than a woman married to a younger, less sexually experienced man.”

AFRICAN COUNTRIES REAFFIRM COMMITMENT TO PROGRAM OF ACTION

Accra Mail (Ghana) reported June 15 that representatives from African countries have reaffirmed their commitment to a global consensus on population and development forged a decade ago which favors empowering people over demographic targets, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) reported. UNFPA chief Thoraya Ahmed Obaid urged open discussions on HIV/AIDS and called for better reproductive health care in Africa.
In addition, she urged attention to the broader need for gender equality. "As long as girls are being married off at young ages and cannot refuse, we must continue to work for human rights for all," she said. Read: Accra Mail

BANGLADESH: Use of Auto-Disable Syringes Approved

The Daily Star (Bangladesh) reported June 14 that the health ministry has decided to discard reusable plastic syringes and replace those by auto-disable (AD) ones to prevent unsafe injection practices in vaccination programs. The World Health Organization, United Nations Children's Fund, United Nations Population Fund, International Red Crescent Society, together with the International Council of Nurses have endorsed a policy of urging all countries to switch to using AD syringes. Read: Daily Star

CARIBBEAN: Preventing Discrimination against Persons Living with HIV/AIDS

Caribbean Media Corporation reported June 14 on a two-day conference aimed at encouraging continued political leadership, commitment and action among Caribbean legislators in the fight against HIV/AIDS. On June 15, Caribbean Media Corporation reported that Trinidad and Tobago said it plans to introduce legislation to prevent discrimination against persons living with HIV/AIDS. The theme at the conference, "Leadership as a vital tool against HIV/AIDS," was organized by the Trinidad and Tobago government in collaboration with the United Nations Fund for Population Activities (UNFPA), the Inter-American Parliamentary Group on Population and Development, UNAIDS and the Caribbean Epidemiology Centre.

INDIA AND JAPAN: Goodwill Ambassador Encourages Support for Education and Healthcare

The Statesman (India) reported June 16 that Olympic marathon runner and goodwill ambassador of UNFPA from Japan, Ms. Arimori, was on a goodwill visit to India and visited Nowrangpur to inquire about the functioning of the programs of IPDP in the district. Later, speaking to reporters, she said the government should try to utilize the population as an asset by providing education and healthcare, rather than concentrating solely on population control measures.

LATIN AMERICA: U.S. Unable to Foil Latin American Conference on Women’s Health

Inter Press Service (IPS) reported June 14 on the Ninth Regional Conference on Women in Latin America and the Caribbean, held Jun. 10-12 in Mexico City. “The United States blackmailed several delegations to prevent the use of the terms 'sexual and reproductive rights' in the final document,” said Lilián Celiberti of the Articulación Feminista Marcosur. The story also mentioned that abortion remains illegal in nearly all countries of Latin America and the Caribbean. Nevertheless, more than four million clandestine abortions are practiced in Latin America every year, according to the United Nations population fund (UNFPA). Read: Inter Press Service

NIGERIA: National Census Begins in July

The Daily Times (Nigeria) reported June 15 that the 2005 National Census will kick off next month in each of the six geo-political zones of the country, said Chairman, National Population Commission, Chief Samu’ila Danko Makama. Makama, who spoke in Abuja, at a meeting of commissioners and permanent secretaries from 15 United Nations Funds for Population Control (UNFPA)-supported states, said the exercise involved the division and mapping of the country into census assignment units for accurate census taking. Read:
Daily Times

SAUDI ARABIA: Role Models

A June 17 story by The Economist ( UK ) mentioned that female role models have greatly changed, “Even in Saudi Arabia , Lubna Olayan heads the kingdom's leading private industrial group, and Thoraya Obeid runs the UN's family-planning agency, though admittedly in New York.” Read: The Economist

SIERRA LEONE: Census

The Independent (Sierra Leone) reported June 14 that the government of Sierra Leone, European Union and the United Nations Population Fund are jointly funding this year's census. The government of Sierra Leone has contributed Le 2 billion. The purpose of the census is to help the government formulate realistic policies and identify priorities in socio-economic development.

TURKEY: Young Men in Army Receive Sex and Family Planning Education

Agence France-Presse reported June 16 that the half-million or so young Turkish men who are drafted every year into their country's army participated in sex education and family planning classes—and will even leave with a stock of condoms through a program funded by the United Nations Population Fund. The Turkish Daily News also reported on this story.

UNITED STATES: Bush Continues to Mix Politics and Abortion

The Washington Post ran a June 16 editorial that mentioned Bush has followed up his defunding of groups that perform abortions by defunding other groups that associate with them. The editorial listed: “Last year Marie Stopes International, a British charity that had received State Department money for AIDS work among refugees, failed to win renewal of its grant; its sin was to have cooperated in China with the United Nations Population Fund, which has long been a target of Mr. Bush's right-wing supporters. This month in Washington, an annual conference on health in developing countries, which in previous years had been partially funded by the United States and had been attended by senior Bush administration officials, went ahead without U.S. government support. Again, its offense was to invite the dreaded U.N. Population Fund, along with the International Planned Parenthood Federation.” Read: Washington Post

UNITED STATES: World Food Program President Is Questioned on U.S. Stance against UNFPA

The Indianapolis Star (U.S.) ran a June 14 column by Dan Carpenter that asked World Food Program head, James T. Morris, his thoughts on the Bush administration's refusal to disburse more than $90 million approved by Congress since 2002 for the United Nations Population Fund. Carpenter noted that Morris replied, reasonably enough, that he can't resolve political disputes. He is busy feeding people. "The Population Fund has very responsible leadership," he added. "Their issues are very important."

UNITED STATES: Support of Funding for UNFPA

The Los Angeles Times (U.S.) ran a June 16 letter by reader Anne Russ who wrote:
“Re ‘ U.S. Right Squeezes Lifesaving Aid to Africans,’ Commentary, June 10: Barbara Crossette writes on the effect of the ‘gag rule’ [the Republican ban on giving aid to groups that counsel people on abortion] on the Young & Wise AIDS prevention program in Ghana and on the withdrawal of U.S. funds from the United Nations Population Fund. We Americans ought to be paying more attention. The Bush administration hopes that only its ‘fanatical faithful’ will pay attention but that for the rest of us, these mean-spirited policies will pass under the radar. For many months the 34 Million Friends of UNFPA campaign has given Americans a chance to register their disgust and to make a difference. It's grass-roots America at it's best.”

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