| UNFPA IN THE NEWS – MARCH 27-APRIL 2, 2004
ANTI-POVERTY GOALS AT RISK IF REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH CARE NOT FUNDED This Day (Nigeria) reported March 31
that the lack of donor support for reproductive health services
is jeopardizing progress towards meeting global anti-poverty goals,
according to Thoraya Ahmed Obaid, executive director of the United
Nations Population Fund. "A world that spends $800 billion to
$1 trillion each year on the military can afford the equivalent
of slightly more than one day's military spending to close Cairo's
$3 billion external funding gap to save and improve the lives
of millions of women and families in developing countries," said
Obaid. "The reality is that progress is uneven," she said. "At
the mid-point of the Cairo Programme of Action, we need the strength
and endurance of a marathon runner to meet our goals during the
next decade." Read: This
Day BENEFITS OF INVESTING IN SEXUAL AND REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH CARE Ghana News Agency reported March 30 that global
estimates indicate that one-third of the burden of ill health
and early death among women of child-bearing age (15-45 years)
result from sexual and reproductive health complications, especially
those relating to pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections
(STIs), including HIV/AIDS. Besides, sexual and reproductive health
problems account for close to one-fifth of the disease burden
worldwide, thus representing about 250 million years of healthy,
productive life lost to death or disability. These findings are
in a new report, "Adding it up: The Benefits of Investing in Sexual
and Reproductive Health Care," jointly published by the US-based
sexual and reproductive health think tank, the Alan Guttmacher
Institute (AGI) and the United Nations Population Fund. Read:
Ghana
News Agency INTERNATIONAL FAMILY PLANNING: U.S. VS MUCH OF THE WORLD On March 30 The Christian Science Monitor
(United States) ran a story on Bush’s isolationist foreign policy
that includes his policies on funding for family planning and
reproductive health. The story cited, “Under this administration,
the US has cut off funding to the UN Population Fund, citing claims
that the agency condones forced abortions and sterilizations in
China. A team sent to China by the White House in 2002 found ‘no
evidence’ of UNFPA knowledge of or support for such measures,
but the funding was still halted.” Read: Christian
Science Monitor AFGHANISTAN: More Urged to Be Done for Afghan Women Rights and Health Reuters reported March 31 that Afghanistan has
not done enough to improve women's rights and must tackle gender
inequality if the country is to develop, the United Nations said
on Wednesday. We have to ensure the government takes the issue
far more seriously," Sultan Aziz of UNFPA told Reuters during
an international conference on Afghanistan in Berlin. Afghanistan
is seeking backing for a $27.5 billion reconstruction plan, but
Aziz, regional director of the UNFPA in Asia and the Pacific,
said women's issues were sidelined as discussions focused on Western
concerns of drugs and security. BANGLADESH: Income Gap Results in Marginal Success in Development The Daily Star reported March 31 that
at the opening session of a two-day symposium, experts said the
yawning income gap between the rich and the poor has to be minimized
to sustain the marginal success Bangladesh has achieved in some
areas like poverty reduction, population control and education.
The United Nations Population Fund and Population Science department
of Dhaka University jointly organized it. Read: Daily
Star BHUTAN: Her Majesty’s Tour Highlights Health Risks Bhutan Broadcasting Service reported March 30
that Her Majesty the Queen Ashi Sangay Choden Wangchuck, UNFPA
Goodwill Ambassador, visited Gom Kora in Trashiyangtse, where
thousands of people have gathered for the annual Gom Kora Tshechu
festival. Her Majesty's tour is intended to highlight the risks
of HIV/AIDS, early marriage, unwanted pregnancies and substance
abuse. CAMEROON: Youth AIDS Prevention Programs Launched in Schools The Cameroon Tribune reported April
1 that the Minister of National Education, Professor Joseph Owona
in Yaounde launched an anti-AIDS campaign in schools. The Minister
of Public Health, Urbain Olanguena Awono, the Secretary of State
No. 1 at the Ministry of National Education, Emmanuel Ngafesson,
representatives of Synergy African, WHO, MINCOF, UNAIDS, UNFPA,
National AIDS Control Committee and some members of the Circle
of Friends of Cameroon, CERAC were present at the launch. PHILIPPINES: Fatwah Orders Every Child a “Planned Muslim Child” Inter Press Service reported April 1 that Muslim
infants now have additional blessings after more than 200 Muslim
religious leaders declared in early March a national 'fatwah,'
or religious decree, on family planning—one meant to assure that
from now on, each and every infant who will be called to greatness
is also a "planned Muslim child." The story noted the beginnings
of the 'fatwah' date back to 1997, when the U.N. Population Fund
in the Philippines began working with health officials and religious
leaders. In January this year, a party of Muslim religious leaders,
physicians and government health officials traveled to Egypt and
got the endorsement of the 'fatwah' by the grand mufti there.
Read: Inter
Press Service SUDAN: Emergency and Long-Term Development Program Launched Sudan’s News Agency, Suna, reported April 2
that UNFPA country office in Sudan announced that it will launch
an emergency and long-term development program to address the
situation of the people in Darfur States, western Sudan. Dr. Nimal
Hettiaratchy, UNFPA representative for Sudan, accompanied by a
team from UNFPA country office, began Wednesday (March 31) a two-day
visit to Darfur to assess the urgent health needs of the area.
The emergency program will target the areas that have been affected
by the armed conflict during the last period. UNFPA in partnership
with the international organizations, national organizations,
civil society groups, local authorities and health cadres will
provide integrated health services to the conflict-affected people
in all health delivery points established in the camps or to the
existing ones in the targeted areas. UNITED STATES: UNFPA Responds to Ben Wattenberg The Washingtonian ran a letter by Richard
Snyder, Head of Information Division of the United Nations Population
Fund, in its April 2004 issue. Snyder responded to comments by
Ben Wattenberg made in the February 2004 issue, “Wattenberg misrepresents
both the global demographic picture and the mission of UNFPA,
the United Nations Population Fund. UNFPA works to give women
worldwide greater access to reproductive-health and family-planning
services. This effort saves countless lives and enables people
to determine the number and spacing of their children, a human
right taken for granted in rich countries.” UNITED STATES: Bush Chips Away at Women’s Rights In a March 30 op ed, Senator Dianne Feinstein
(D-CA) criticized the Unborn Victims of Violence Act. Feinstein
also mentioned that among the Bush administration’s scheme to
chip away at women's reproductive rights, it has announced at
international conferences that the United States believes that
life begins at conception and canceled the U.S. contribution to
the United Nations' family planningprogram. Read: San
Francisco Chronicle
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