UNFPA IN THE NEWS —JANUARY 1-14, 2007
NEW HEAD FOR GLOBAL FUND TO FIGHT AIDS AND MALARIA
Boston Globe (US) reported January 9 on the naming of the new head of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. The story noted that among those under consideration is Kunio Waki, a Japanese national who leaves his post as Deputy Executive Director of UNFPA at the end of the month. Read: Boston Globe
BELIZE: Youth Center Marks One Year Anniversary
Channel 5 Belize featured a January 10 story marking the one year anniversary of the opening of the Yabra Community Policing Centre, a facility that provides a number of services, particularly to youth from the area. The center will dedicate a section of its facility to the Youth for the Future (YYF), intended to have a sofa set, a television, a kind of recreational facility with murals and information on gangs, drugs, violence, and education sessions. The story noted that YFF received funding through OPEC, UNFPA and the Ministry of Health. Read: Channel 5 Belize
BRAZIL: Praise for UNFPA condom pre-qualification system
O Estado de Sao Paulo, Jornal de Brasilia, and Agencia Estado reported January 10 and 11 that the use of UNFPA’s condoms pre-qualification system in the country could expedite the condom procurement and make the certification processes safer. Mariangela Simao, head of Brazil’s Ministry of Health National AIDS Program, said if it were possible to work solely with UNFPA pre-qualification a good deal of delays would be avoided.
BHUTAN: Prevalence of Violence against Women Examined
Keunsel reported January 1 that a three-day workshop on the prevalence of violence against women in Thimphu was held with more than 35 representatives from the judiciary, police, health, media, international agencies and NGOs. The workshop was jointly organized by of the National Commission for Women and Children and RENEW with the support of the U.N. Trust Fund, UNRC, UNDP and UNFPA. Read: Keunsel
CAMBODIA: Social Change through Reproductive Health Education
Rasmei Kampuchea reported January 2 that providing reproductive health education contributes to social change. About 30 youth peers in Mongkul Bory district initiated by the Khmer Youth Association, in collaboration with UNFPA, are providing the education on reproductive health, HIV/AIDS and drug to youth.
CHINA: Mortality Rates Higher in Rural Areas Compared to Urban
UN News Centre reported January 12 that according to a report by UNICEF, the WHO, UNFPA, the Chinese Health Ministry, and international experts, mortality rates in China’s least developed rural areas are four to six times higher than urban areas. The report advised the government to give priority to ensuring universal maternal and child health care. Read: UN News Centre, Xinhua General News Service, United Press International
CONGO - BRAZZAVILLE: Census Underway
La Collecte reported January 8 that preparations for the population and housing census to be conducted later this year are well underway, according to Planning Minister Pierre Moussa. The census will have technical support from UNFPA, and a list of 21 questions will be asked, covering many areas including family size, maternal mortality, migration etc.
COOK ISLANDS: Country’s Survival Depends on Foreign Aid
The Cook Islands Herald reported January 6 that according to government budget estimates, the Cook Islands cannot survive without overseas aid money from United Nations agencies such as UNDP, UNESCO, WHO, UNFPA and FAO. Read: Cook Islands Herald
JAMAICA: Funding to Contain Malaria Outbreak
Radio Jamaica reported January 9 that just over $189 million has been spent by the government to contain the malaria outbreak, according to Information Minister Donald Buchanan. $8 million came from the National Health Fund and $200,000 came from USAID. UNICEF and UNFPA also provided assistance. Read: Radio Jamaica
LEBANON: Minister Suspends Tax Increases
Lebanon Daily Star reported January 9 that Social Affairs Minister Nayla Mouawad pledged to delay implementing any tax increases until the country had seen tangible benefits from social and economic reform. Mouawad said, "There will be no tax increases before the poor are properly fed and the country's coffers are filling up again." Mouawad said the reform plans were "revolutionary," because they took into account social as well as fiscal issues. The minister said that beneficiaries of the reform plan will be designated according to transport and scientific standards with the help of organizations such as the World Bank, UNDP and UNFPA. Read: Lebanon Daily Star
MALAWI: Some Youth Counselors Operating beyond Capabilities
Daily Times reported January 1 that Banja La Mtsogolo (BLM) National Youth Coordinator Brandina Kambala said at the end of a training session in Dowa, there were growing complaints that some youth counselors were operating private clinics in the rural areas. “We train these youth so that they become mere health advisors in family planning methods and not for them to pose as medical doctors who can administer medicine to patients,” said Kambala. The story noted that BLM’s program to train youth counselors to educate other youth ages 15 to 24 on STI-prevention, family planning methods, abstinence and body development is funded by the European Union through UNFPA. Volunteers are provided with a bicycle and a full family planning working kit that contains birth control pills and condoms. Read: Daily Times
MEXICO: Migration and Human Rights
La Jornada’s January 3 story on migrants and human rights quoted UNFPA Representative in Mexico Arie Hoekman who said: “Although Mexico has tried to comply with all international human rights agreements, there is still a long way to go in terms of perfecting this aspect.” Read: La Jornada
NEPAL: Children Vaccinated against Tetanus
IRIN reported January 3 on the joint U.N.-Nepalese government immunization program that vaccinated more than one million children against tetanus. The story noted that Nepal was identified in 2001 by the WHO, UNICEF and UNFPA as one of the top 58 high-risk countries for tetanus. Since that time the Nepalese government has launched the Maternal and Neonatal Tetanus (MNT) Elimination program. Read: IRIN
NIGERIA: Reducing Maternal Mortality
This Day’s January 4 story noted that better reproductive health services for adolescents, improved family planning and post-abortion care are important ingredients in reducing maternal mortality. According to the WHO, UNICEF and UNFPA, the rate of maternal deaths in Nigeria is 1,000 per 100,000 births which is the second highest in the world. Read: This Day
NIGERIA: Country's Population Now 140 Million
Media all over the country reported January 10 on the provisional results of the March 2006 population and housing census, conducted with tecnical support form UNFPA. The provisional results show that Nigeria's population now stands at 140,003,542 of which 68,293,683 are female and 71,709,859 males. The Chairman of the National Population Commission Sumaila Danko Makama, said Nigeria has a yearly population growth rate of 3.2 percent, comprising a sex ratio of 105 males to 100 females. The population figures will not be adopted until ipresented to the National Council of States.
PACIFIC ISLANDS: Report on the Brain Drain
Inter Press Service reported January 2 that according to a UNFPA report, Fiji is not the only country in the region losing qualified, able-bodied young people due to migration. Throughout the Pacific Islands, the report says, increasing numbers are leaving their homes to live, work or study abroad, with potentially long-term negative implications for their home countries. Najib Assifi, UNFPA representative and director of the Country Services Technical Team, said that moribund economies, a dearth of opportunities, unemployment, low earnings from paid jobs, natural disasters and internal instability were the factors pushing migration to developed Pacific rim countries such as Australia and New Zealand. The story noted that according to the UNFPA report, some 70,000 people born in Fiji now live outside the country; of these about 44,000 live in Australia and 25,500 in New Zealand. Read: Inter Press Service
PAKISTAN: Statistics Training
The Daily Times reported January 9 that a weeklong training course for statisticians began at the Federal Bureau of Statistics (FBS) to enhance their professional skills. The story noted that GTZ, UNFPA and ILO provided financial assistance for most of these courses. Read: Daily Times
PAKISTAN: Home Births Attribute to Country’s Maternal Mortality
Business Recorder’s January 8 story noted that according to UNFPA, Pakistan's maternal mortality rate is 300-700 per 100,000 live births, partly because 80 percent of the 4.5 million births yearly occur at home.
PAKISTAN: Government Takes Steps to Empower Women
Pak Tribune reported January 7 that Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said the government is taking practical steps for the political, social, economic empowerment of women to provide easy access to justice to women to improve their status in the society. The Ministry arranged sessions for women councellours on reproductive health, family planning and HIV/AIDS in collaboration with UNFPA and M/O Health. Read: Pak Tribune
PHILIPPINES: Column Examines Population Pressures on the Environment
The Daily Star ran a January 12 column by Rox Peña who wrote about a “disturbing report from the environmental group WWF International.” Peña wrote, “As the world's population increases and more people strive for a higher quality of life, there's more and more pressure on the Earth's limited resources.” Peña referenced a 1999 UNFPA report by saying, if these figures were updated today, the scenario would be more alarming.” Read: Daily Star
PHILIPPINES: Project Red Begins Second Phase
BusinessWorld reported January 3 that the Taguig City health department has begun the second phase of Project RED, or Reaching Every Woman, Neonate, and Adolescent in Depressed Communities with Basic Health Services. The story noted that the project is financed by UNFPA, led by the city government and implemented through the collaboration of the Taguig health department, Department of Health and the WHO.
PHILIPPINES: Story on Sun Star Reporter
The Sun Star ran a January 3 feature story on Henrylito D. Tacio, the multi-awarded mainstay of Sun Star. The story noted that unknown to many, he is the only Filipino author to have contributed to UNFPA’s 2001 State of the World Population report. Read: Sun Star
SYRIA: 300 Syrian Mothers Die Every Year from Preventable Causes
Nesasy reported January 3 that 300 Syrian mothers die each year due to a number of reasons; lack of skilled medical staff, medical negligence, lack of or delayed medical equipments, and other additional indirect medical reasons, according to the first study ever done in the country of causes of maternal mortality. The study was done by the Ministry of Health and the University of Damascus in cooperation with UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund. Read: nesasy.org/Ar and nesasy.org/Ar
Read also: Baladna
UGANDA: Increased Popularity of Male Circumcision in Light of Recent Report
The Monitor reported January 13 on the increased popularity of male circumcision after recent international research by National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases revealed uncircumcised men are more prone to HIV infection. The story noted that the WHO, UNFPA, UNICEF and the UNAIDS Secretariat emphasized that their current policy position has not changed and that they do not currently recommend the promotion of male circumcision for HIV prevention purposes.
UNITED STATES: Church Members Discuss Worldwide Poverty Issues
The Leader-Telegram reported January 11 that members of Grace Lutheran Church spent the weekend learning about poverty in countries many miles away from Eau Claire. Ann Briere, spokeswoman for Food for the Poor, was quoted as saying she hopes Grace Lutheran members leave this weekend’s talks “with a genuine concern for people in need.” A large part of the organization’s work involves educating Americans about conditions in the Caribbean and Latin America, Briere said. According to UNFPA, 222 million people, or 42.9 percent of the region’s population, are poor. Read: The Leader-Telegram
UNITED STATES: “A New Year’s List for Liberals”
The Nation ran a January 4 column, “A New Year’s List for Liberals,” by Katha Politt whose message to U.S. liberals urged: “If you want to help the Third World, get a thermos and fill it from the tap — send the hundreds of dollars you save annually not buying Ethos (bottled water) to UNFPA, the U.N. Population Fund. You'll help more people, and the Earth will thank you for not loading it up with plastic garbage.” Read: The Nation
UZBEKISTAN: U.N. Simulation Conducted
UzReport.com reported January 8 that the model U.N. simulation game was organized by the United Nations Office in Uzbekistan and co-sponsored by UNFPA and UNIC. The current event covers one of the main topics of Millennium Development Goals, "Combating HIV/AIDS through Global Partnership.” The simulation session involved 48 students from educational establishments in Uzbekistan.
VIETNAM: Countries Face Brain Drain
Vietnam News Service reported January 12 that many countries around the world are now facing a huge brain drain of highly skilled professionals to well-paid jobs in developed countries. One of the most affected sectors is healthcare, an area in which developing countries are struggling to keep professionals at home and encourage others to return. According to UNFPA’s annual population report, the massive outflow of nurses, midwives and doctors from poorer to wealthier countries is one of the most difficult challenges posed by international migration. Read: Vietnam News Service
VIETNAM: Seminar on Free Healthcare for Migrants
Vietnam News Service reported January 4 that a seminar organized by UNFPA and the National Committee for Population, Family and Children was held to review the implementation of free healthcare for migrants in Ha Noi and HCM City. Read: Vietnam News Service
ZAMBIA: Delays in ARVs Reaching Children
IRIN reported January 12 that a shortage of pediatric testing kits and specialized medical staff in Zambia are causing delays in rolling out antiretroviral drugs for children infected with HIV/AIDS. The story pointed out that like other countries in the region, Zambia is suffering from an acute shortage of medical staff that are migrating in search of better working conditions and salaries. A recent study by UNFPA found that only one nurse was assigned to each ward at Zambia's largest referral hospital, the University Teaching Hospital in the capital, Lusaka. Read: IRIN
ZIMBABWE: Funding to Combat HIV/AIDS
Voice of America reported January 11 that Zimbabwe’s fight against HIV/AIDS received a boost from the European Union and UNFPA in the form of a 5.66 million Euro ($7.3 million) grant for programs aimed at changing sexual behavior to stop the spread of HIV/AIDS. The grant will be spent over 3 years to promote use of female condoms and warn sexually active Zimbabweans of the dangers of having multiple partners. Read: Voice of America
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