UNFPA IN THE NEWS — MAY 21-27, 2007

AFRICA: New Special Envoy for AIDS in Africa Appointed

UN News Centre reported May 21 that Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon appointed Elizabeth Mataka, a Botswanan who is currently Executive Director of the Zambian National AIDS Network and Vice-Chair of the Board of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, as his new Special Envoy for AIDS in Africa and renewed the terms of three other regional envoys. Mataka was chosen to replace Stephen Lewis of Canada, whose contract expired at the end of last year. The story mentioned that Ban's Special Envoy for AIDS in Asia and the Pacific, Nafis Sadik, served as Executive Director of UNFPA from 1987 to 2000. Read: UN News Centre

BANGLADESH: MoU Signed between Grameenphone and UNAIDS

Financial Express reported May 23 on the Memorandum of Understanding signing between Grameenphone and UNAIDS, a joint venture of the United Nations to launch the Asia Pacific Leadership Campaign on HIV and AIDS in Bangladesh. The story noted that UNFPA Resident Representative Pronchai Suchitta was among other officials at the MoU signing ceremony. Read: Financial Express

COSTA RICA: Lack of Alignment makes it Difficult to Help to Young People

Nación, 17 May, reported that a study by the Evaluation of National Policies of Youth concluded there is no coordination between the government agencies that work to help youth. The agencies are not aligned, they work separately instead of together which limits necessary attention and progress. The report was supported by the Ibero-American youth Organization and UNFPA. READ: Nación

ETHIOPIA: DFID Funds Population Census

Addis Fortune reported May 22 that the Ethiopian Population Census Commission will purchase satellite imagery equipment worth four million pounds (69 million Br), which will be financed by a donation from the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DFID). The satellite equipment will be used for the Somali Regional State population census as part of the upcoming national census. Paul Ackroyd, head of DFID Ethiopia, told Fortune that four million pounds has been given to UNFPA for procurement on behalf of the Commission.  

GUATEMALA: A Country without Feminine Faces in Policy

Prensa Libre’s May 20 story quoted the regional director for Latin America and the Caribbean of UNFPA, Marcela Suazo, as saying although there have been significant advances for women in politics in the continent there is still much more ground to cover. READ: Prensa Libre

HAITI: Population Issues Central to Poverty Reduction

Le Matin in a background article on May 22, made the case for population issues as central to poverty reduction. In a series of consultations to develop the country's poverty reduction strategy,  Gabriel Bidegain, technical adviser from UNFPA, stressed demographic developments in his intervention. Mr. Bidegain pointed to the last 25 years of simultaneous decline in production and strong population growth, and said there had been no real effort on the part of the Haitian government to address population concerns as part of poverty.

INDIA: Institute to Collaborate with Family Health International

Express India reported May 23 that the National Institute for Research in Reproductive Health, Mumbai’s research institute, has been receiving a lot of international attention from the likes of the World Health Organization, UNFPA and CONRAD. Most recently the U.S.-based Family Health International visited last month. The meeting explored the possibilities of collaboration between the two institutions to carry out large-scale community level HIV prevention research on microbicides. Read: Express India

INDONESIA: Pregnant Women Have Limited Access to Services by Skilled Birth Attendants

Kompas reported on May 28 that around 1.69 million out of an estimated 5 million pregnant women giving births every year do not access quality maternal care by skilled birth attendants, including midwives. This has resulted in high ratio of maternal and infant deaths. Director General for Public Health Promotion Sri Astuti said in a UNFPA-supported press conference on national awareness campaign for safe motherhood that only 76.59 percent of pregnant women in the country’s 33 provinces can get services by skilled health workers.

INDONESIA: Maternal Death Still High

Kompas Cyber Media reported on May 25 that the Maternal Mortality Ratio in Indonesia remains high with an estimated of  one woman dying every hour due to pregnancy and childbirth-related causes. UNFPA Representative Dr. Zahidul Huque said “we want to see women having full access to the health services that are rightfully theirs. Unfortunately, at present only a small proportion of women can seek reproductive health services and when they do, the quality of the service is far from adequate".

INDONESIA: 88 Individuals from Remote Areas Benefit from Midwifery Scholarship

Detikom reported on May 25 that in isolated areas across Indonesia, many pregnant women are still relying on the assistance of untrained traditional birth attendants (TBA) for childbirths. To reduce the country’s maternal mortality ratio, the Ministry of Health will select  TBAs and enroll them to the midwifery academy so they can provide quality midwife services in their villages, said Director General for Public Health Promotion Sri Astuti in a UNFPA-supported press conference on a national awareness campaign for safe motherhood.

Detikom also run a related article from the same UNFPA-supported event on May 25 that 79 per cent of infant deaths occur within the first week after childbirth. Poor nutrition is cited as the main cause of deaths.

JAMAICA: Group Concerned over Apprehension of Sex Workers

Jamaica Gleaner reported May 24 that the Jamaica AIDS Support for Life (JASL) says it was deeply concerned about the apprehension and arrest of 19 sex workers, two of whom are male, in New Kingston during a recent weekend raid by the police. The organization said that ultimately, sex workers must be treated with priority in Jamaica. It added that recently in Antigua, CARICOM's Pan Caribbean Partnership against HIV/AIDS and UNFPA facilitated a meeting to examine the state of HIV/AIDS programming for sex workers in the Caribbean with the aim to set the regional agenda regarding sex work policy and programming in relation to HIV/AIDS based on the global trends. Read: Jamaica Gleaner

KYRGYZSTAN: Female Workforce

Eurasianet reported May 21  that UNFPA estimates that women hold 75 percent of all jobs in Kyrgyzstan, mostly in low-paying sectors. In this, heavy rates of labor migration by Kyrgyz men to Russia and Kazakhstan are also believed to play a role. Read: Eurasianet

MADAGASCAR: Closer to the Needs of the People

La Tribune reported 23 May that the UNFPA Madagascar Country Program Document for 2008 to 2011 was presented and approved on 22nd May by the Government.  During the presentation,  private sector, civil society and the UN system were also present and made comments.  According to UNFPA, this this programme's objectives are to be closer to the needs of the people, mainly oriented to improve access to RH services, also for young people, strengthen the  humanitarian response, maintain the HIV/AIDS prevalence at one per cent , and make better use of population data for strategic policy input -  and last but not least, widespread promotion of gender equality and women's empowerment.

MEXICO: Mexico and African Countries to Collaborate

Prensa Latina reported May 27 that Mexico will promote cooperation with African countries in development, sexual and reproductive health and strengthening of State institutions. The Ministry of Foreign Relations announced that the effort includes the creation of a trusteeship with UNFPA to channel technical collaboration. Read: Prensa Latina

MOZAMBIQUE: European Commission Funds Country’s Third Census

Agencia de Informacao de Mocambique reported May 24 that the Mozambican government and the European Commission signed an agreement in Maputo, under which the Commission will provide 11 million euros (about $14 million) to fund the country's third population census, scheduled for the first half of August. The agreement will be implemented by UNFPA.

NEPAL: JOICFP Donates 158 Bicycles

The Katmandu Post reported May 21 that the Japanese Organization for International Cooperation in Family Planning (JOICFP) donated 158 bicycles to 7 NGO partners of the EU/UNFPA RHIYA program in Nepal. The bicycles were collected by JOICFP from the Municipal Coordinating Committee for Overseas Bicycle Assistance and other organizations of Japan. “The efficiency and effectiveness of RHIYA’s field staff and volunteers will be increased through the use of the bicycles, saving time and energy,” said Junko Sazaki, UNFPA representative at the hand over ceremony. Read: Nepalbiznews.com, Nepal Mountain News.

NEPAL: Reproductive Health Program Launched to Reach 25,000 People

UN News Centrereported May 21 that UNFPA has launched a program to deliver reproductive health services to 25,000 people hit by the conflict in Nepal. Funded by the government of Japan, the project "will address immediate reproductive health needs of women, men and adolescents in both urban and remote areas of conflict-affected districts, while permanent services are being developed," said Junko Sazaki, UNFPA Representative. “Bringing reproductive health services to conflict-affected villages and communities will not only improve the health status of the most vulnerable populations, but will also build hope and belief in the overall development, fostering confidence in the peace-building process," she added. Read: UN News Centre, Xinhua General News Service, Rising Nepal, OhMyNews, The Himalayan Times

NEPAL: Article Published on Uterine Prolapse

The Lancet’s May 26, 2007 – June 1, 2007 issue ran an article by Prasanna Gunasekera, Junko Sazaki, and Godfrey Walker who wrote about uterine prolapse in Nepal. The article noted that studies in Nepal, supported by UNFPA, have begun to identify the suffering of women with this disorder. Women report difficulty in sitting, walking, and lifting, all of which affect their acceptance as full family and community members. The social consequences of prolapse are substantial, and include physical and emotional isolation, abandonment, divorce, ridicule, low self esteem, abuse, lack of economic support, and domestic violence. In Nepal, UNFPA is supporting efforts to identify women with uterine prolapse through reproductive health camps and to contract gynecologists to treat these women at district hospitals.

PACIFIC REGION: Pacific Parliamentarians Urged to Pledge Support for Youth

PacNews reported May 22 that UNFPA Representative to the Pacific Najib Assifi has urged the Pacific Parliamentarians to pledge their utmost support, dedication and solidarity to safeguard the youth of the Pacific. At the 2nd Regional Meeting for Pacific Parliamentarians on Safeguarding Pacific Youth, Assifi said those gathered are to be active champions for the young people of the Pacific. If we do not work together, we will shortchange ourselves and jeopardize our chances of success, he said.

PARAGUAY: Investigation looks to avoid Maternal Death in Country

PPN reported May 25 that UNFPA will present the results of costs of required medicines to avoid  maternal deaths in Paraguay. Read: PPN

PORTUGAL: UNFPA Executive Director  Urges Investments in Reproductive Health

Mundo on May 23 ran a two-page portrait of UNFPA Executive Director Thoraya A. Obaid in connection with her visit to the country. In the interview, Ms, Obaid calls on governments to make maternal health and safe motherhood a political priority. 

SIERRA LEONE: Proposal Introduced for a Demographic Health Survey

The New Citizen reported May 22 that Acting Minister of Development and Economic Planning, Ibrahim M. Sesay, announced that for the past month, Statistics Sierra Leone, Ministry of Development and Economic Planning, Ministry of Health and Sanitation and other partners with the support of UNFPA have put forth a proposal for a demographic health survey. Read: The New Citizen

SUDAN: HIV/AIDS Prevention Training for SAF and SPLA

Sudanese Media Center reported May 23 that UNDDRU, UNFPA and UNDP plan to hold trainings on HIV/AIDS prevention for the SAF and SPLA in Northern and Southern Sudan. Training is part of the DDR program to sensitize and promote safe practices among soldiers prior to their demobilization. It also aims to integrate HIV/AIDS, STI and gender base violence awareness and prevention activities into the demobilization and reintegration processes. Read: Sudanese Media Center

UNITED STATES OF AMREICA:  Population "Explosion" Not Over

The Christian Science Monitor ran a May 21 column by David R. Francis who wrote the population “explosion” is not over in many developing countries. “The rate of progress has come down," warned Stanley Bernstein, a senior policy adviser for UNFPA. Thoraya Ahmed Obaid, executive director of UNFPA, pointed to a steep decline in world foreign aid for family planning, from $723 million in 1995 to $442 million in 2004 (in constant dollars). “There are 200 million women in the developing world with an unmet need for effective contraception,” she said in an address last month. “The result is increasing numbers of unwanted pregnancies, rising rates of unsafe abortion, and increased risks to the lives of women and children.” Read: Christian Science Monitor

ZIMBABWE: $14 Million Disbursed through the Expanded Support Program

The Herald reported May 21 that at least $14 million has been disbursed so far through the Expanded Support Program, a joint National AIDS Council and United Nations response to HIV/AIDS in Zimbabwe. Under the ESP, European countries – Britain, Sweden, Ireland and Norway – would provide $40 million for HIV/AIDS prevention, care and treatment activities while United Nations agencies would provide technical support for the implementation of the ESP in the next three years. U.N. agencies that will provide technical support include UNAIDS, UNFPA, World Health Organization and UNDP. Read: The Herald, The Standard

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