UNFPA IN THE NEWS – JUNE 5-11, 2004

AFRICAN EXPERTS REVIEW ICPD PROGRAMME OF ACTION

Panafrican News Agency reported June 8 that some 53 African countries that constitute the U.N. Economic Commission for Africa are holding a regional conference on the 10th anniversary of the International Conference on Population and Development. Accra Mail (Ghana) reported June 9 that Africans have learned how to address many of the development challenges posed by population issues, but still face constraints related to poverty reduction, sustainable development and the spread of HIV/AIDS, the United Nations Population Fund said. Fama Hane Ba, director of the Africa Division of UNFPA, said: "We have definitely come a long way since 1994. We now know how to address the many challenges facing the continent; we know what needs to be done. In many areas we know what works. There is a wealth of practices that only need to be scaled up. Governments are showing more commitment and the civil society is getting more involved. New partnerships are emerging, including with the private sector." Read: Accra Mail, UN News Centre

PANEL AT GLOBAL HEALTH CONFERENCE ADDRESSES OBSTETRIC FISTULA

Allafrica.com reported June 9 that panelists at the Global Health Council's annual conference in Washington, DC argued obstetric fistula is a crisis that modern public health systems have failed to address adequately. Panel speaker France Donnay, chief of reproductive health at the United Nations Population Fund said between 50,000-100,000 women suffer from obstetric fistulas each year. Most of those afflicted are African. Fistulas are preventable and treatable, she said. The condition affects the "poorest of the poor" and often results from situations common in poverty stricken environments - childbearing at an early age, minimal access to emergency obstetric care and malnutrition, Donnay said. Read: www.allafrica.com

PRESS CONFERENCE AT GLOBAL HEALTH CONFERENCE ADDRESSES CHILD MARRIAGES

Voice of America reported June 5 that at a press briefing at the Global Health Council’s annual conference, experts said child marriage—an age-old custom in many nations—is a leading cause of serious health risks for women in the developing world, doubling the likelihood of death during childbirth and leading to lasting reproductive health problems. Thoraya Ahmed Obaid, the head of the United Nations Population Fund, said governments should pay more attention to the issue of child marriage, and invest more money in trying to prevent it. "Greater action is needed to discourage early marriage and we have to work together to meet the needs and protect the rights of the already married girls," she said. Read: Voice of America

INDIA: Female Infanticide

In its June 13 issue, The Week (India) reported that female infanticide is on the rise in Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh. The story noted that a brochure from the United Nations Population Fund, based on a study by VIHAAN, a Rajasthan-based organization for child development, narrates the story of a couple with two daughters and a son. The woman, a teacher in a public school, gave birth to the boy after undergoing nine sex scans and eight abortions. She died two days after he was born. Read: This Week

INDIA: Community Group Empowered

Indian Express reported June 9 that a community group of homemakers, Lokmanya Nagar Mahila Utkarsh Mandal, was originally formed in 2000 to help the needy. The group later met Anuja Gulati, state program officer of UNFPA, and was trained in reproductive health and community empowerment. “Their training, with cooperation of the civic officials, has yielded impressive results,” said Gulati. Read: Indian Express

MALDIVES: Government and UNFPA Collaboration

Hareevu Daily (Maldives) reported June 5 that country director for Maldives of UNFPA, Lubna Baqi, met President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom to brief him on the progress of ongoing UNFPA-sponsored projects in Maldives. Gayoom thanked Lubna for the cooperation that UNFPA was extending to the Maldives. He said that the assistance was very important to Maldives and expressed his confidence that collaboration with the UNFPA would continue. Read: Hareevu Daily

PALESTINE AND ISRAEL: Call to Ease Movement Restrictions for Students

UN News Centre reported June 7 that 10 United Nations agencies issued a joint statement calling on the Israeli authorities to ease movement restrictions in the occupied territories to allow access for 60,000 Palestinian school students seeking to travel to key examination sites. The statement was issued by UNICEF, UNRWA, UNDP, World Food Programme (WFP), World Health Organization (WHO), Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian affairs (OCHA), U.N. Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), U.N. Population Fund (UNFPA) and the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Read: UN News Centre

SIERRA LEONE: UNFPA Rewards Ministry with Equipment

The Independent (Sierra Leone) reported June 7 that United Nations Population Fund, country representative in Sierra Leone, Dr. Mamadou Diallo, handed over three Toyota Hilux vehicles, two motorbikes and computing equipment to the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology. Diallo said that the gifts serve as a token of UNFPA commitment and appreciation to the activities of the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology especially on population studies. Dr. Alpha T. Wurie, said the presentation by UNFPA, has surpassed every level of expectation by his ministry. Read: The Independent

UNITED STATES: Global Gag Rule Affects Aid for Family Planning in Africa

The Los Angeles Times (USA) ran a June 10 op ed by Barbara Crossette that noted, “The gag rule has also harmed another funder of reproductive health programs in Ghana, the United Nations Population Fund. The U.S. has withdrawn all contributions to the fund because of unfounded reports, which the State Department has debunked, that it supports abortions in China.” Read: Los Angeles Times

UNITED STATES: Regan’s Foreign Policies the Hurt Funding for UNFPA

The Age (Australia) ran a June 7 op ed by Marianne Wilkinson that reflected on former U.S. President Ronald Regan’s foreign policies. Wilkinson wrote: “He wound back abortion rights, civil rights, affirmative action and the influence of the United Nations. His belligerent envoy to the UN, Jeanne Kirkpatrick, cut off aid for the UN's population fund because it offended Right to Life and cast the single vote against a World Health Organization code on infant formula that upset global food companies.”

VIETNAM: Two New Education Locations Open to Reach Youth

Vietnam News Service reported June 9 that the Advisory Centre for Reproductive Health Care in Ho Chi Minh City opened two branches in the TeacherTrainingCollege and Marie-CurieHigh School. The new locations are a part of a project, sponsored by the Youth Central Committee and UNFPA, to educate students about reproductive health care in 2004-06. Read: Vietnam News Agency

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