UNFPA IN THE NEWS — JUNE 17-23, 2006

INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON SEXUAL VIOLENCE IN CONFLICT

United Press International reported June 22 that the first International Symposium on Sexual Violence in Conflict and Beyond in Brussels, Belgium, organized by UNFPA with the European Commission and the government of Belgium, has drawn more than 250 participants from 30 countries.  

UN News Centre reported June 23 that at the end of the conference, delegates endorsed a program of action that said, “There must be zero tolerance for acts of gender-based violence and zero tolerance for complacency by governments and other institutions responsible for the safety and well-being of women, men and children affected by conflict.” UNFPA Executive Director Thoraya Ahmed Obaid said: “We must address this issue with hope, passion and compassion. We can talk about this issue until we’re blue in the face, but if the leadership of governments doesn’t insist that this issue is on the table, we won’t make progress. Read: United Press International, UN News Centre: June 21, June 23, Deutsche Presse-Agentur, EFE, Diario do Nordeste, Gazeta de Alagoas 

BBC News reported June 22 that during the conference, Obaid said: "Everybody in the world knows that sexual violence, especially in war situations, is wrong. But very little effort is being directed either to stop it or to provide support to women who are facing this kind of a crime in their own countries." Read: BBC News

Reuters reported June 21 that Obaid also told the meeting most proposals to address the issue continued to go unfunded by donors. "The responses so far have been grossly inadequate compared to the scale of the problem," she said. "We need political will and leadership and certainly sustained action." Read: Reuters 

U.N. AGENCIES TEAM UP TO PROVIDE SEXUAL AND REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH

UN News Centre reported June 21 that the WHO and UNFPA are coordinating action to reverse the global trend of deteriorating levels of sexual and reproductive health. They will coordinate work in addressing female genital mutilation/cutting; obstetric fistula, a devastating childbirth injury; violence against women; and a pilot program in two countries to introduce the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) vaccine. “The key is to make practical plans in order to implement these strategies,” UNFPA Executive Director Thoraya Ahmed Obaid said. “We are faced with an urgent need to increase investment in sexual and reproductive health to ensure access to quality reproductive health services, including youth-friendly services, and to link HIV/AIDS and STI prevention with reproductive health services and vice versa.” Read: UN News Centre, Prensa Latina, CIMAC Noticias, La Crónica, El Financiero, RCN Noticias, UOL Noticias, EFE  

AFRICA: VOA Topic for the Week – African Women’s Health

HIV/AIDS: Voice of America’s June 21 story focused on women and HIV/AIDS. Agathe Lawson, southern Africa regional director of UNFPA, said, “It’s clear that the physiological constitution of women makes them more vulnerable…of things they cannot take control of, and if they are married they don’t know what is happening outside their marriage.” Lawson said progress on availability of drugs for mother to child transmission is around 10% globally, but “in some other parts of Africa, the figure is around two, some countries it’s five, some countries it’s six.” She added that there’s a lot that needs to be done in this area of prevention “because it can be efficiently used." Read: Voice of America 

Cervical Cancer: Voice of America’s June 22 story highlighted reproductive cancers – what they are and how to deal with them. Yves Bergevin, senior Africa program adviser for reproductive health at UNFPA, said, “Cancer of the cervix is the most common cancer…killing between 50,000 to 100,000 African women each year.” He said breast cancer is about three times less frequent in developing countries than in the industrialized world. Read: Voice of America 

Reproductive Healthcare: Voice of America reported June 19 on the failure of adequate health care for women – especially family planning and emergency obstetrics services. Yves Bergevin, a senior advisor in reproductive health for UNFPA’s Africa Division, said many women die during obstructed labor from hemorrhaging and convulsions, and from infections after unsafe abortions. Bergevin said: "The challenge we have is that complications that lead to death when you deliver a baby cannot be predicted ahead of time. So, you have to be ready to deal not only with a normal birth but with complications that might occur without predictability.” Bergevin says in sub-Saharan Africa, the health of a woman is not only important to the development of the economy, but to the family. He says the death of a mother is likely to be more devastating to the survival of the family than the death of a man. Read: Voice of America

BULGARIA: Survey on Young People’s Access to Sexual Health Services

Sofia News Agency reported June 17 that UNFPA is funding a study to survey young people’s access to sexual health services. Read: Sofia News Agency 

CENTRAL ASIA: Parliamentarians to Meet on Sexual and Reproductive Health

UzReport.com reported June 22 that Central Asian regional parliamentarians' meeting on the issues of sexual and reproductive health of youth is scheduled for June 27-28 in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. Parliamentarians of Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Thailand, Uzbekistan and Japan, as well as UNFPA Regional Director for Central Asia, Haleda Filbi, are expected to attend the event. Read: UzReport.com 

ECUADOR: Andean Meeting on Population Studies

El Mercurio reported June 19 on the first meeting of the Andean Institute for Population Studies held in Cuenca from June 21 to 22. At the meeting, the Population and Local Sustainable Development Program of the University of Cuenca, UNFPA, SENACYT/FUNDACYT and the municipality of Cuenca developed and organized a sub-regional population and development capacity building program. Read: El Mercurio: June 19a, June 19b 

JAMAICA: Regional Conference on Early Childhood Education

Jamaica Gleaner reported June 22 that at a regional conference on screening, referral and early intervention, UNICEF Country Representative in Jamaica urged the government to increase its budget for early childhood education. Harold Robinson, UNFPA Representative for the English and Dutch-speaking Caribbean, also attended the conference. Read: Jamaica Gleaner 

KENYA: UNAIDS Study on Violence against Women and Girls and HIV/AIDS

The East African Standard reported June 23 that a UNAIDS study, “Violence against Women and Girls and HIV/AIDS in Kenya,” revealed that women are reluctant to visit Voluntary Counseling Centers to be tested for HIV/AIDS for fear of being battered by their spouses. During the launch of the report, Dr. Mustafa Kemal of UNFPA said ABC measures—abstinence, being faithful and use of condoms — were becoming ineffective. The report noted, "While the ABC approach has proven to have considerable value, many women are not in a position to abstain from sex, rely on fidelity, or negotiate condom use." Mustafa said, "None of the methods is going to be effective unless we address the threat of gender-based violence." Read: East African Standard

NEPAL: United Nations to Play a Role in Peace Process

The Statesman reported June 21 after India's long-standing objection to have the United Nations play a role in the peace process in Nepal, the kingdom has finally opened its door to the world body. A number of U.N. agencies, such as UNICEF, UNDP, WHO, UNFPA and others, are expected to play a key role during the ongoing peace talks between the Seven Party Alliance government and the Maoists.

NEPAL: Preparatory Meeting ahead of World Population Day

Nepal Rising reported June 21 that at a preparatory meeting ahead of World Population Day celebrations coming up on July 11, UNFPA Representative in Nepal, Junko Sazaki, and other speakers expressed their views on various aspects of health and the World Population Day. Read: Nepal Rising 

NEW ZEALAND: Conservative Commentary on New Abortion Statistics

The New Zealand Herald ran a June 22 op ed by Garth George of the conservative publication, Challenge Weekly, on New Zealand’s latest abortion figures. George wrote that Prime Minister Helen Clark had given money to UNFPA and the International Planned Parenthood Federation, organizations that “promoted and provided abortions and contraception throughout the world, particularly in Third World countries, and had been implicated as being complicit in China's forced abortion policy.” 

NICARAGUA: Census Results to Be Presented

La Prensa reported June 22 that that Néstor Delgadillo, director general of the Nicaraguan National Institute for Statistics and the Census, will present the results of the VIII Nicaraguan Census, which have been endorsed by international organizations like UNFPA and experts of the U.S. Census Bureau. Read: La Prensa

PAKISTAN AND INDIA: Keeping Options Open for Secretary General Post

The Press Trust of India reported June 19 that Pakistan indicated it might field its own candidate against India's Shashi Tharoor for the U.N. Secretary General's post but said it was keeping all its options open. The story noted that Pakistan is reportedly thinking of fielding the former head of UNFPA, Nafis Sadik, presently serving as the Secretary General's Special Envoy on HIV/AIDS. Read: Press Trust of India

PAKISTAN: Health Aid for Earthquake-Affected Areas

IRIN reported June 20 that the WHO handed over 23 newly constructed Basic Health Units to health authorities in earthquake-affected Pakistani-administered Kashmir. In addition, the WHO, in collaboration with UNFPA, the International Rescue Committee, the International Committee of the Red Crescent, Merlin, and government health authorities, is planning to establish nine cholera camps in Muzaffarabad and Neelum districts in case of an outbreak of the disease. Read: IRIN 

PARAGUAY: UN Observes Slight Reduction in Income Inequality

ABC Digital reported June 21 that a joint study by UNDP, UNFPA and UNICEF revealed that income inequality in Paraguay slightly decreased over the past 15 years. Read: ABC Digital 

PARAGUAY: Alphabetization Rate Increased

Última Hora reported June 19 that the project entitled, “Bi-Alphabetization Castellano-Guaraní,” by the Paraguayan Ministry of Education and Culture and the Center for Education, Technology and Capacity Building for Farmers is currently being implemented in ten districts of the Caazapá Department. The UNFPA-funded project has shown vastly increased alphabetization rates in the districts. Read: Ultima Hora 

PERU: President-Elect Cautioned in Selecting Minister of Health

RPP Noticias reported June 22 that the Dean of the Peruvian Nurse College Rosa Elena Lara Valderrama cautioned President-elect Alan García Pérez to be diligent in selecting Peru’s new Minister of Health, citing at UNFPA report on the country’s high maternal mortality rate. Read: RPP Noticias 

PHILIPPINES: Department of Education Bows to Church Pressure on Sex Education

Manila Times reported June 19 that bowing to pressure from the Catholic Church, the Department of Education put on hold a plan to distribute sex education modules in public schools this school year. Department of Education acting Secretary, Fe Hidalgo, ordered the immediate stop of the distribution after getting negative feedback from the community leaders. Hidalgo explained, "Information and services should be made available to adolescents to help them understand their sexuality and protect them from unwanted pregnancies, sexually transmitted diseases and subsequent risk of infertility." Hidalgo said, “The reproductive health needs of this group should be based on information that helps them attain a level of maturity required to make responsible decisions." Dr. Zahidul Huque, UNFPA country representative, said the integration of sex education in high school is necessary to get young people away from risky behavior. Read: Manila Times 

PHILIPPINES: Survivors of Domestic Abuse and Violence Heal through Art and Play

Philippine Daily Inquirer reported June 18 that on the seventh floor of the East Avenue Medical Center (EAMC) in Quezon City, young survivors of abuse and domestic violence can freely express their feelings through art or play to begin their journey toward healing. The Women’s Crisis Center, in partnership with The Body Shop Philippines, recently inaugurated the Children’s Room of the Women and Children Crisis and Protection Unit (WCCPU) at the EAMC. The WCCPU is the result of a pilot project in 1996 called Project Haven that was conceptualized by women’s organizations, the National Commission on the Role of Filipino Women and funded by the Department of Health and UNFPA. Read: Philippine Daily Inquirer  

TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO: Committee Established to Fight HIV/AIDS

The Express ran a June 20 editorial on the Tobago House of Assembly’s (THA) establishment of a committee with a budget of some $13 million to fight against the spread of HIV/AIDS. The editorial noted that a major element of the fight would be in the re-orientation of attitudes among the young, who reportedly are being caught in the sexual element of Tobago's burgeoning tourism. The editorial noted the coincidence of THA’s announcement occurring on the same weekend as a profile on a young lady in last Sunday's Express Woman magazine, who is off on a six-month attachment to UNFPA in New York. Read: Express

TURKEY: Honor Killing Criticized

Turkish Daily News ran a June 18 column by Elif Şafak who wrote about Yasemin Cetin, a victim of an honor killing for not being a virgin on her wedding night. The column mentioned that UNFPA has estimated that over 5,000 women are victims of honor killings worldwide every year. Safak wrote: “If the government is serious about fighting honor crimes, this murky messy provision should be totally abolished. Instead, Turkish men should learn not to be provoked so easily.” Safak concluded: “They say Yasemin brought disgrace and dishonor to her family. I say any family incapable of loving and protecting their daughter is a walking disgrace and dishonor itself. They say Yasemin was a shame to her community. I say a family like hers, a community like hers, a country like hers does not deserve the beauty and purity that Yasemin was.” Read: Turkish Daily News

VIETNAM: UNFPA Renews Commitment

Vietnam News Service reported June 17 that UNFPA renewed its commitment to helping Vietnam improve quality and accessibility of gender-specific reproductive health care services, with a grant of $1.6 million to the Ministry of Health. Read: Vietnam News Service 

YEMEN: Review of the National Population Strategy

News Yemen reported June 17 that at a three-day meeting to evaluate the National Population Strategy, the Minister of Public Health and Population Abdul-Karim Rasee reaffirmed political commitment to fight AIDS and stop its spread. Deputy Representative of UNFPA Elin Alex said UNFPA is committed to supporting Yemen's program for fighting AIDS. Read: News Yemen

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