The meeting of the Global POPIN Information Technology Working Group was held at the United Nations Conference Centre in Bangkok from 12 to 13 and from 19 to 21 June 1995.
The objectives of the meeting were to address and review technical issues of information collection and dissemination, utilizing electronic communication and other computer-based information technologies. The group also reviewed the status of networking in each region of the global Population Information Network (POPIN).
The Working Group concluded by drawing up six specific recommedations which would enhance the development of POPIN's capability to identify and disseminate population-related information and data as well as to strengthen POPIN services for beneficiaries throughout the world.
The global POPIN Advisory Committee Meeting was held at the same venue from 14 to 17 June 1995. It was attended by representatives of United Nations regional networks in Asia and the Pacific, Africa, Europe, Latin America and the Middle East as well as representatives of the Committee for International Cooperation on National Research in Demography (CICRED), the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the World Health Organization (WHO).
The two meetings were chaired by Mr. Joseph Chamie, Director of the Population Division, Department for Economic and Social Information and Policy Analysis of the United Nations Secretariat, with Ms. Susan Pasquariella, POPIN Coordinator, serving as Technical Secretary.
The draft report and recommendations were drawn up at the conclusion of the meetings. As the details of the meetings will have to be provided by the United Nations Headquarters, they cannot be published in this issue but hope to include in the next issue of the Bulletin.
Cambodia: new information resource centre
To assist project personnel and beneficiaries of the birth- spacing project in Cambodia, a resource centre will be set up to meet the project's information requirements.
The centre will be set up in the National Maternal and Child Health Centre of the Ministry of Health. It will cater to the information needs of the project management team and personnel, medical personnel and health service providers, IEC (information, education and communiction) and mass media personnel, women's organizations, professional medical associations and other NGOs.
The Country Support Team (CST) for East and South East Asia assisted in developing the plan for setting up the Centre, spelling out the rationale, objectives, target users, functions and services and resource base of the centre.
(Source: UNFPA Country Support Team for East & South-East Asia Newsletter, vol.3, No.1, May 1995, p.5)
Republic of Korea
In order to train experts for international cooperation, the Korean Women's Development Institute (KWDI) maintains a programme to promote women's international cooperation, with financial support from UNDP. Based on a training programme developed last year, training will be provided for professional women in the Government, as well as those in NGO and academic circles, on such matters as the international situation, participation in international conferences, ways to integrate women's issues into the agenda of international conferences, and manners and etiquette for international meetings. The training, consisting of two steps -- basic and advanced -- will be provided in 1995 and 1996.
(Source: KWDI Newsletter, no.46, Spring 1995, p.4)
Philippines: POPLINE CD-ROM training
The very first POPLINE CD-ROM National Training Center has been established in the Philippines. The Philippine National Training Center (NTC), located at the University of the Philippines Population Institute (UPPI) in Quezon City, supports 14 POPLINE CD-ROM sites in the country.
Established as a "training-of-trainers" programme, it covers six basic areas: (a) installation of hardware and software, and troubleshooting; (b) searching POPLINE; (c) repackaging output from POPLINE; (d) training techniques; (e) information marketing and (f) help-desk services and administration.
The project is funded by the Philippine Office of the Population Communication Services/Population Information Program of the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health.
The NTC concept is focused on decentralizing POPLINE assistance. More NTCs in operation in other countries will be a major step forward in making both POPLINE support and training more accessible and effective.
(Source: The Newsletter for Users of POPLINE CD-ROM, vol.2, No.2, April 1994, p.1)
Women and HIV/AIDS
Women and HIV/AIDS: An International Resource Book presents a decade of knowledge and experience regarding the impact of HIV/AIDS on women's health, sexual relationships and reproductive rights. It is designed for use by a wide range of readers -- individuals and organizations, activists, academics and policy makers. It was edited by Marge Berer with Sunanda Ray and published in English by Pandora Press (Harper Collins UK), and in French and Spanish by the Women and HIV/AIDS Book Project, in association with AHRTAG, the Appropriate Health Resources and Technologies Action Group, and Reproductive Health Matters.
For information about discount rates and free copies, which may be available to groups in developing countries, please contact: (for developing countries) TALC, P.O. Box 49, St. Albans, Herts AL1 4AX, United Kingdom, or: (for Australia/New Zealand, Europe, and North America) Women and HIV/AIDS Book, 1 London Bridge Street, London SE1 9SG, United Kingdom.
(Source: Populi, vol.21, No.11/vol.22,No.12, December 1994/January 1995)
Reproductive rights in summary
Action for the 21st Century: Reproductive Health and Rights for All is a summary report of actions and commitments related to sexual and reproductive health and rights contained in the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD). The report is intended as a "reference and advocacy tool for Governments, non-governemental organizations, women's groups, and the private sector" according to the publishers, Family Care International. Single copies are available in English, French, or Spanish from: Family Care International, 588 Broadway, Suite 503, New York, NY 10012, United States. Telephone: (212) 941-5300. Fax: (212) 941-5563.
(Source: Populi, vol.21, no.11/vol.22, no.12, December 1994/January 1995, p.14)
Book on reproductive health
Private Decisions, Public Debate: Women, Reproduction and Population, an English- language book published by the Panos Institute, is a collection of papers on the impact of legal and cultural practices on developing country women's reproductive health issues.
The papers, written by developing country health journalists, address the health consequences of unsafe abortion; the impact of son preference on mothers and female children; the practice of female genital mutilation; the misuse of caesarian section and female sterilization; the occurrence and treatment of obstetric fistulae; and education, employment and reproductive choice for women.
The book is free of charge to recipients in developing countries. Discounts are available for bulk orders to recipients in developed countries. For more information, please contact: Panos Institute, 9 White Lion Street, London, N1 9PD, United Kingdom, or call 44-071-278-1111, or Fax: 44-071-278-0345.
(Source: Network, vol.15, No.3, March 1995)
AIDS and UNFPA
The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) is supporting HIV/AIDS prevention, information, education, and communications activities in 70 countries. It has helped to integrate HIV/AIDS prevention into education programmes in 62 countries and is distributing condoms for HIV/AIDS prevention in 54 countries, according to AIDS Update 1993: A Report on UNFPA Support in the Area of HIV/AIDS Prevention.
For more information, please contact: Technical and Evaluation Division, UNFPA, 220 East 42nd Street, New York, NY 10017, United States.
(Source: Populi, vol.21, No.11/vol.22,No.12, December 1994/January 1995)
New manual on integrating services
Integrating STDs and AIDS Services Into Family Planning Programs: Training Community Workers, the newly published third volume in the Centre for Development and Population Studies (CEDPA) Training Manual Series, provides a five-day training workshop to broaden family planning programmes to meet additional reproductive health needs.
The manual, supported by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), was developed by CEDPA, the CEDPA Regional Office in Nairobi, Kenya, and Family Life Promotion and Services, Ltd., a partner organization in Kenya. More than 60 health care managers and community-based distributors in Kenya participated in developing and testing the manual.
Thirteen sessions cover attitudes about sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and HIV/AIDS, approaches to motivating behaviour change, cultural and gender issues in counselling, communication and counselling skills and content, and confidentiality issues. The first and second volumes in the CEDPA Training Manual Series, developed through support by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), provide workshop curriculum to strengthen the training capacity of development organizations.
Volume 1, "Training Trainers For Development" is a course on participatory training. Volume 2, "Project Design For Program Managers" trains trainers to conduct a workshop on planning community-based projects.
Single copies of all three manuals are available without charge to organizations and individuals in developing countries. To order, please contact CEDPA/Training Manual Series, 1717 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Suite 200, Washington, D.C. 20036, United States.
(Source: The CEDPA Network, May 1995)
New CEDPA publications
Cairo, Beijing, and Beyond: A Handbook on Advocacy for Women Leaders -- CEDPA's guide for policy advocacy focuses on developing messages, advocating with Governments, reaching the media, building coalitions and fund-raising. It also includes case studies; it is available in English, French and Spanish. Single copy may be obtained free of charge by organizations and individuals in developing countries.
For more information, please contact CEDPA Publications, 1717 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Suite 200, Washington, D.C. 20036, United States.
(Source: The CEDPA Network, May 1995, p.5)
Guide to sustainable development
A newly released book by Earthscan Publications, entitled Sustainable Development: An Introductory Guide, offers a thorough analysis of this widely used concept in the environmental arena. The book, which is divided into four parts, sheds light on attempts to integrate economic development and environmental requirements. The first part traces the evolution of sustainable development in light of increasing environmental damage. Part two takes a close look at the implications of the Burndtland Report, which first launched the concept of sustainable development. The third part focuses on the existing obstacles to achieving sustainability and suggests ways to overcome them. The guide concludes with an overview of the progress made since the Earth Summit in 1992, by assessing the impact of current policy developments. For further reference, a useful annotated bibliography is incorporated. To order copies of the book, please contact: Earthscan Publications Limited, 120 Pentonville Road, London N1 9JN, United Kingdom; Tel: (44 171) 278 0433; Fax: 278 1142.
(Source: The Network, no.45, April/May 1995, p.7)
New publication on barrier methods
Published under the self-explanatory title, Modern Barrier Methods: Effective Contraception and Disease Prevention, this book promotes barrier methods as "the only contraceptives that provide significant protection against unwanted pregnancy and disease". The book is an easy-to-read, comprehensive guide for health providers, planners and users. Contents include instructions for providers on the proper use of diaphragms, the contraceptive sponge, male condoms, cervical caps and spermicides, and on the advantages and disadvantages of each method. Charts and graphs show who should use barrier methods, how to use them, the costs of production and new methods for women.
(Source: International Dateline, May 1995, p.6)
Wall chart on migration
A wall chart on current human migration trends was recently produced by Population Action International. The chart consists of a world map with sweeping arrows indicating the numbers of people migrating to and from different regions of the world. Accompanying text sheds light on the forces that motivate people to move.
To obtain copies of the chart, contact: Population Action International, 1120 19th St., N.W., Suite 550, Washington, D.C. 20036, United States.
Agenda-setting guide
"To interact effectively with the international policy-setting and decision-making process that UN (United Nations) world conferences represent, it is important to understand how resolutions are drafted, how caucuses are formed, and how to work with the media" say the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) and the UN Non-Governmental Liaison Service (NGLS), publishers of Putting Gender on the Agenda: A Guide to Participating in UN World Conference. The free handbook provides specific and practical information on how United Nations conferences operate and how non-governmental organizations can enhance their participation in them.
Copies are available from: UNIFEM, 304 East 45th Street, New York, NY 10017, United States. Tel: (212) 906-6400. Fax: (212) 906-6705.
(Source: Populi, vol.22, No.4, April 1995)
NGO handbook
The United Nations inter-agency Non-Governmental Liaison Service (NGLS) recently published The NGLS Handbook 1994, which is described as a handbook for NGOs of United Nations agencies, programmes and funds working for economic and social development. The Handbook covers the United Nations Secretariat and 15 agencies, programmes and funds. It provides a brief description of each entity's institutional history, activities and relations with and policies towards NGOs.
For more information, contact: United Nations Non-Governmental Liaison Service (NGLS), Palais des Nations, CH-1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland, or: NGLS Room 6015, 866 UN Plaza, New York, NY 10017, United States. Tel: (212) 963-3125, Fax: (212) 963-8712.
(Source: Populi, vol.22, No.4, April 1995, p.14)
IIASA World Wide Web
The International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) offers a World Wide Web (WWW) service on the Internet. The IIASA Web offers users press releases and information about upcoming events; IIASA's latest research plan, annual report and tables of content of the quarterly magazine Options; descriptions of current research projects; a catalogue of IIASA publications; full text of recent scientific working papers; and information about the Young Scientist Summer Programme. To access the IIASA Web, users need an Internet connection and browser software (IIASA claims Mosaic and Netscape are particularly popular browsers). The IIASA Web's address is http://www.iiasa.ac.at/welcome.html. Persons wanting more information about the service should contact Joerg Messer of IIASA's Computer Service Department by e-mail at admin@iiasa.ac.at.
(Source: Populi, vol.22, No.4, April 1995, p.15)
WHO databases
The World Health Organization (WHO) is offering databases full of global information on the health of mothers and newborn children free of charge to universities and research institutes. The databases have been compiled over a number of years by the Maternal Health and Safe Motherhood Programme in WHO's Division of Family Health and are used by the programme to monitor worldwide maternal health trends.
The databases cover maternal mortality, the coverage of maternity care, women's anaemia, unsafe abortion, infertility, low birth weight, pre-term births and perinatal mortality. The databases have been brought together in one system in Microsoft Access. They are available in a read-only version in Microsoft Access 2.
The databases are being made available in the hope that the information in them will help in the formulation of health strategies and stimulate the collection of further data.
For further information, please contact: Caria AbouZahr, The Maternal Health and Safe Motherhood Programme, Division of Family Health, World Health Organization, 1211 Geneva 27, Switzerland. Tel: 41 22 791 21 11 (Safe Motherhood newsletter 41 22 791 33 67)/ Telex: 27821 Cables: UNISANTE GENEVE. E-mail: ABOUZAHRC@WHO.CH. Fax: 41 22 791 07 46 (Safe Motherhood newsletter 41 22 788 42 64)
(Source: Safe Motherhood, Issue 16, November 1994-February 1995, p.13)
Broad support urged for new TCDC directions
At the conclusion of the recent High-level Committee on the Review of Technical Cooperation among Developing Countries (TCDC), Governments, United Nations organizations and others were urged to incorporate new directions for TCDC into their cooperation programmes.
In an orally amended decision, the 30 May to 2 June meeting called on Governments and United Nations organizations to consider increasing their budgets for TCDC and to identify new financing arrangements, such as triangular funding as well as private sector contributions, in order to provide sufficient means to implement recommendations on new directions.
The ESCAP Population Division strongly promoted TCDC approaches, especially in the development of the Asia-Pacific Population Information Network.
In a report on new directions for technical cooperation, the Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) had proposed that with changes in the global economy that occurred since 1978, strategic initiatives should focus on a number of areas including poverty alleviation and the environment.
The Committee also called for the highest priority to be given to implementing Economic and Social Council resolution 1992/41,which urged developing countries to encourage, among other things, greater use of TCDC in implementing their national development activities and projects.
Further, the Committee urged those involved in development to continue according high priority to strengthening national commitment to "South-South cooperation".
In his closing statement, the session's President, Mr. Soemadi D.M. Brotodiningrat (Indonesia), expressed hope that the Committee's decisions would be supported by increasing funding for TCDC. During the session's general debate, some delegations described TCDC as "an important lever for the empowerment of developing countries" because, by using local expertise, the international community was making the skilled human resources in those countries active agents of development instead of mere observers or beneficiaries.
The report on new directions calls for the identification of pivotal countries to serve as catalysts for implementing TCDC; the promotion of triangular arrangements; the compilation of information on successful and innovative projects capable of replication; and the identification of subject-specific TCDC products, which could attract funds.
In the third phase, pilot projects will be selected and financed, including national projects which have regional impacts will also be considered for lending.