UNFPA IN THE NEWS – MARCH 13-19, 2004

LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARRIBEAN: Agencies Pledge Support to Prevent Pregnancy-Related Deaths

Women’s Health Weekly reported March 18 that eight international agencies pledged their support in February 2004 to a new strategy designed to prevent deaths of women from pregnancy and childbirth complications, a number that reaches 23,000 in Latin America and the Caribbean each year. "Just one maternal death in one year is a tragic event; 23,000 maternal deaths is shameful. The vast majority of women who die in Latin America and the Caribbean die from causes that are preventable and that are routinely prevented in developed countries," said Mirta Roses, director of the Pan American Health Organization, which is part of the consortium that authored the strategy. It also includes UNFPA, UNICEF, USAID, Family Care International, the Population Council, the Inter-American Development Bank, and the World Bank.

BANGLADESH: UNFPA Media Award 2003

United News of Bangladesh reported March 16 that the prize distribution ceremony of "UNFPA Media Award 2003" was held at the National Press Club. Director, UNFPA New York Subash K. Gupta, Whip Razaul Bari Dina and UNFPA representative Suneeta Mukherjee distributed prizes among the winners. Among the winners, Dr Sultana Monira Hussain Muku and Sheela Afroza secured the first and second position from Bengali newspapers while Ziaur Rahman and Sultana Rahman received the first two prizes from English dailies. UNFPA also invited participation from print and electronic media for its Media Award 2004. Details are available in UNFPA website www.unfpa-bangladesh.org. Read: Daily Star

BOTSWANA: Youth Targeted at Sports Events to Fight HIV/AIDS

Mmegi (Botswana) reported March 17 that the Adolescent Sexual Reproductive Health (ASRH) has chosen to fight HIV/AIDS through sports because of the “ready made crowd,” said ASRH program coordinator, Boitumelo Makunga. The story noted ASRH is an initiative of the African Youth Alliance funded for the last five years by UNFPA. It is meant to educate the youth about HIV/AIDS prevention and to provide them with the necessary skills and support to help them make healthy life choices. Read: Mmegi

GHANA: Students Encouraged to Educate Fellow Colleagues on HIV/AIDS

Accra Mail (Ghana) reported March 17 that at the African exchange conference and leadership development seminar for members of AIESEC, an International Student Exchange Organization that comprises students and graduates, UNFPA country representative, Mr. Moses Makasa, encouraged the youth to educate their fellow colleagues on HIV/AIDS and said its presence on the continent has been impacting negatively on Africa's development. He described the disease as "the biggest stumbling block to the economic growth of Africa" because 5 million people were HIV/AIDS positive last year. Read: Accra Mail

HAITI: Special UN Envoy Arrives to Assess Conditions

UN News Centre reported March 15 that United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan's special envoy landed in Haiti's capital today, as the UN assessment mission looking at the security, transportation and humanitarian conditions in the still volatile country. The story mentioned emergency medicines were being distributed by WHO, the UN Children's Fund, the UN Population Fund and the non-governmental organization Canadian Cooperation. Read: UN News Centre

MALAYSIA: Women Encouraged to Vote to Better the World for Women

The New Straits Times (Malaysia) ran a March 17 column by Saleha Ali that made an impassioned plea for women to come out in force on polling day as their votes could help determine a better world for women as a whole. Ali cited a 2003 study by the government, UNDP and UNFPA on the progress of Malaysian women since independence that found remarkable progress in health, education, labor force participation and political involvement. Read: New Straits Times

NEPAL: Education Can Bring Happiness to the Village

Nepal News March 19-25 issue ran a column by Shruti Pant that noted he visited Daman, a small village in the Southwestern part of Nepal, where social practices that existed in this village shocked him. He said he was astonished to see the village lacking the most important infrastructure—education and the existence of social problems like early marriage and early pregnancy that were so prevalent in the whole village. Pant urged children’s development organizations to contact other organizations like UNFPA and other similar organizations in the capital. Read: Nepal News

NIGERIA: New Project to Save the Health System Infrastructure

This Day (Nigeria) reported March 16 that Vice President Atiku Abubakar has blamed past governments of neglecting the nation's health system, which resulted in the crumbling and dilapidation of infrastructure in the sector. Speaking at the launch of the $172 million Health Systems Development Project (HSDP), Minister of Health, Professor Eyitayo Lambo, who represented Atiku at the event, announced that the federal government plans to draw up and finance the project to reform and reposition the sub-sector. The project is co-sponsored by the federal government, World Bank and African Development Bank and collaborating partners such as World Health Organization, United Nations Children's Fund, United Nations Population Fund, US Agency for International Development, British and Canadian governments and other nongovernmental organizations within the organized private sector. Read: This Day

PAKISTAN: More Focus on Gender Issues Urged at Forum

HI Pakistan reported March 17 that at the Pakistan Development Forum, UNFPA underscored the need for a more focused approach towards gender issues. Read: Hi Pakistan

SRI LANKA: Ambassador Accused of Helping Election Campaign

Agence France-Presse reported March 15 that Rosy Senanayake, who is Sri Lanka's High Commissioner (Ambassador) to Malaysia, was accused of helping with the election campaign of her chief rival, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe. Senanayake is the only Sri Lankan woman to have won a top international beauty contest. She took the Mrs. World title in 1984 and had featured in several product advertisements here and abroad. She is also a Goodwill ambassador of the United Nations Population Fund since 1998 and is a member of Wickremesinghe's party.

UGANGA: Better Medical Services Needed to Save Women and Children’s Lives

New Vision (Uganda) reported March 16 that the United Nations Population Fund called for better medical services to save the lives of women and children. UNFPA country representative, James Kuriah, said this while handing over maternity equipment worth sh1b to the Ministry for Health infrastructure and engineering workshop at Wabigalo, Kampala. "Every minute of every day somewhere in the world, a woman dies as a result of complications during pregnancy and child-birth. In Uganda, maternal mortality claims 505 women's lives every week out of every 100,000 women. Nearly, all these lives could be saved if affordable, good quality obstetric care was available," he said. Kuriah said about 25% of all the pregnancies resulted in complications. The Monitor (Uganda) and Xinhua General News Service also reported on this story. Read: New Vision, The Monitor

UNITED STATES: Bush Marks International Women’s Week with Speech

A March 17 editorial by The Boston Globe (United States) reported Bush’s speech to mark International Women’s Week actually obscured actions the Bush administration was taking almost simultaneously in Santiago, Chile, where it dropped its commitment—approved at a United Nations summit in Cairo 10 years ago—to the health and survival of millions of poor women abroad. The editorial noted that since Cairo, wider access to family planning, prenatal care, and education for girls has been credited with preventing 187 million unwanted pregnancies a year and millions more maternal or infant deaths. Contributions through the United Nations Population Fund to implement the Cairo program are used to build rural health clinics, train traditional birth attendants, promote AIDS prevention, and send girls to school. None of the US contribution to the fund supports abortions, even in countries where abortion is legal. A third of US spending is earmarked to promote sexual abstinence among adolescents. The editorial concluded, “For the Bush administration to claim that it cares for the human rights of women and then withdraw support for the Cairo agreement is a shocking abdication of responsibility and a cynical exercise in bait-and-switch.” Read: Boston Globe

The Los Angeles Times (United States) reported March 13 that Democrats challenged the president's record on issues important to women following the speech. The campaign of Massachusetts Sen. John F. Kerry, the party's presumed presidential nominee, said Bush had "a credibility gap" on women's issues because he has withheld more than $30 million earmarked for the United Nations Population Fund. Bush also has restricted U.S. funding of international health organizations that provide or offer counseling on abortions, the Kerry campaign said. Read: Los Angeles Times

The State (United States) ran a March 17 letter by Barbara Moxon criticizing Bush’s speech on International Women’s Week that noted since 2001, the administration has made one policy decision after another that jeopardizes the current state of women, in both the United States and the rest of the world. It has: Reinstated the Global Gag Rule, which cuts off U.S. aid to international family planning; closed the White House Office for Women's Initiatives and Outreach; appointed "abstinence only" education supporters to head key health policy decisions and; de-funded the U.N. Population Fund by withholding $34 million in family planning aid that is used to better the lives of women. Moxon concluded: “It is sad that the administration has so easily turned back the clock on women's rights -- especially the right to control their family size and protect their health and well-being. We should work to ensure that women have access to the information and resources they need to make healthy choices for themselves and their families.”

VIETNAM: East Asia-Pacific Ministerial Forum on Families

Asia Pulse reported March 18 that Vietnam will host the first-ever East Asia-Pacific Ministerial Forum on Families in Hanoi on April 28-30 with a total expected number of 120 delegates from 11 ASEAN members and representatives from Australia, China, South Korea, Japan, New Zealand and observers from UNDP, UNFPA, UNICEF, ESCAP, WB and ADB. The meeting will focus on two main subjects: government policies to protect family values and the impact of modernization on family.

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