The Population Information Network (POPIN) and technological advances in information dissemination such as the Internet were among the topics discussed by the United Nations Commission on Population and Development, which met at New York from 26 February to 1 March. Those aspects of population information were considered at the meeting in a report of the Secretary- General on activities conducted in 1995.
Speakers welcomed the recent expansion of POPIN to encompass a site on the World Wide Web, which provides electronic access to publications, newsletters, statistical tables and other information, including that provided by Asia-Pacific POPIN.
The use of the Internet by global POPIN and Asia-Pacific POPIN greatly increased world-wide dissemination of population information produced by the United Nations system, the meeting learned.
Moreover, in terms of timeliness, the POPIN Gopher/World Wide Web site was being updated daily. (The POPIN World-Wide Web site address or "URL" is http://www. undp.org./popin/popin.htm/).
This technology makes possible the publication and dissemination of periodicals and other information products such as research studies in electronic format to meet the needs of different audiences. It also makes possible extensive cost-containment gains since such information products can be accessed by limitless numbers of users at virtually no additional cost beyond initial preparation.
The representative of the Philippines praised the expansion of the POPIN network, but asked how the POPIN network could be made more accessible to a wider range of people, particularly those in developing countries. "It's well and good to be talking about this facility, but I wonder how much it is being used?", she asked.
Ms. Birgitta Bucht, Assistant Director of the Population Division at Headquarters, replied that, during the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development, some 28,000 people worldwide had used POPIN facilities to obtain population data and information. Access to the Internet was expanding quickly all over the world, thus providing a tremendous opportunity to disseminate population information, she informed the meeting.
POPIN Coordinator, Ms. Susan Pasquariella, added that users in 72 countries all over the world, developed and developing, have been accessing the POPIN Internet site. However, in light of the fact that many countries did not yet have direct access to the Internet, efforts would be made -- if resources were available -- to make POPIN material available on CD-ROM.
Also commenting was the Director of the Latin American Demographic Center of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) who said his agency's activities in the field of population information included the maintenance of the regional bibliographic database called DOCPAL.
The Chief of the Population Section of the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) described a three-year ESCWA project which provided for the establishment and maintenance of an ESCWA database for regional population statistics.
The Director of the ESCAP Population Division said that, as part of POPIN development, the secretariat had continued to promote new and better technologies in the region for handling, sharing and disseminating population information.
The theme of the five-day session was "reproductive rights and reproductive health, including population information, education and communication".
Among the other issues highlighted during the session was the critical role played by non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in meeting the respective health needs of individuals, particularly through information, education and advocacy.
Before concluding, the Commission adopted a resolution expressing regret that the work programme of the Population Division had to be adjusted to take into account the critical cash-flow situation of the United Nations.
The Commission also adopted its provisional agenda for the 1997 session, the theme of which will be international migration, with special emphasis on the linkages between migration and development and on gender issues and the family.
The session marked the first time that the Commission was meeting since its membership was expanded by the General Assembly from 27 to 47 members.
New look for Bulletin
The Asia-Pacific POPIN Bulletin has a new look in terms of its layout and presentation. Also, from 1996 the periodical will be published three times per year in an effort to reduce the cost of keeping members of Asia-Pacific POPIN informed. Further cost savings will be effected through the use of desktop-publishing technology.
Eventually, production of the newsletter will be transferred to the membership itself, i.e. by the end of the current decade, as had been discussed at the Asia-Pacific POPIN Consultative Workshop held at Bangkok in June 1995.
ESCAP Information projects funded for new cycle
The Population Division of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) recently received word from the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) that the three information projects that it had proposed for funding during the period 1996-1999 have been approved.
The projects are entitled as follows: (a) Asia-Pacific Population Information Network: Transfer of Coordination to Subregional and National Population Information Centres, (b) Building Knowledge Bases and Advocating Change: Disseminating Population Data and Information in Asia and the Pacific, and (c) Use of Information Technology to Improve Quality of Population Information Services and Products.
The Asia-Pacific POPIN project will enable ESCAP by the end of 1998 to transfer its functions as regional network coordinator to three subregional networks. The subregional networks will function on behalf of the national POPINs in their respective subregions. The three subregional networks are East and South-East Asian POPIN, Pacific POPIN, and South Asian POPIN.
The project also calls for the transfer of ESCAP's resource bases, and certain information services and products to appropriate channellers and disseminators during this time-frame, all of which steps are in line with the discussions, amendments of the Constitution and recommendations of the Asia-Pacific POPIN Consultative Workshop held at Bangkok in June 1995.
The project on Building Knowledge Bases and Advocating Change lists among its objectives increasing awareness of the internationally agreed to paradigm shift and new directions in population policy formulation and programme implementation as a result of the adoption of the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development.
Under this project, the secretariat will publish and repackage information on population and development issues identified as important in the Programme of Action, and disseminate it in both print and electronic forms.
The project on Use of Information Technology is designed to apply modern communication technologies, such as global interlinked telephone, data transmission networks and compact disc (CD-ROM) technologies, to help bridge the information gap that currently exists in the region, thereby enabling the rapid dissemination of information to raise awareness about various population and related issues.
Since its foundation in 1969, UNFPA has given strong support to the secretariat in the field of information development. That support is paying off as the developing countries in the region become increasingly self-reliant in their information gathering, analysing, processing and disseminating capabilities.
The ultimate goal of its work in this regard is to improve the utilization of population data and information for population policy and programme purposes at the national level.
Islamic Republic of Iran prepares for census
The Statistical Centre of Iran recently announced that it would conduct the National Census of Population and Housing in 1996. In October last year it had already started preliminary arrangements for the census.
The Statistical Centre of Iran, which is the focal point in Asia-Pacific POPIN for the Islamic Republic of Iran, noted that previous censuses have been accomplished on a de jure basis, counting the population at their place of residence. In addition to the de jure population, the 1996 census will also count people who may live in unsettled households or who may be on the move at the time of enumeration.
Magazine focuses on advocacy for reproductive health
"'Advocacy' is only a new term for an old objective!", begins the editorial introducing the issue of a magazine devoted entirely to the subject of advocacy for reproductive health.
The latest issue of Planned Parenthood Challenges, which is published by the International Planned Parenthood Federation, focuses on advocacy in the era following the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development and the new agenda spelled out in its Programme of Action.
Pointing out that this new agenda "provokes the same sort of opposition that the family planning agenda did a few decades ago", the magazine calls for "advocacy" to be put high on the agenda again.
"The ICPD Programme of Action needs to be explained, promoted and defended", it states in explaining this aspect of information work.
Almost as if intentionally directed at members of the Asia-Pacific POPIN network, the article emphasizes that it is important to stress advocacy strategies that can be learnt.
It is for this reason that IPPF has developed materials such as the Public Response Guide and the Advocacy Guide, and is currently organizing courses on advocacy, the article states.
Contained in this issue are articles of concern to readers in several countries and areas in the ESCAP region: China, South Asian countries and the Philippines.
For further information on this subject, readers may contact IPPF at its Central Office at Regent's College, Inner Circle, Regent's Park, London NW1 4NS, Great Britain.
Helping the media to cover family planning
To make informed choices about family planning, women and men need accurate information, states a recent issue of Population Reports.
The November 1995 issue of the internationally well-known report emphasizes that information personnel, such as members of Asia-Pacific POPIN, can help the news media cover family planning fully and accurately.
Reproductive health and family planning organizations spend much time and money planning and implementing communication campaigns to inform the public of their services, but many pay relatively little attention to the news media, according to the 28-page report. The authors argue that working with the news media should be an important part of every family planning orgaization's communications activities.
"Effective news media relations has many benefits, complementing other communication efforts", the report states. "What people read, see, or hear in news coverage can lend credibility to family planning choices and help them ask providers appropriate questions. Skill in media relations can help avoid or dispel rumors, respond to criticism, defuse controversy, and even turn adversity to advantage. News coverage is crucial to engaging policymakers' attention and earning opinion leaders' support. Also, because the news media pay distribution costs, helping journalists cover family planning is a cost-effective way to communicate".
The publication offers readers a step-by-step approach to developing positive media relations, even providing some examples from of news releases provided by organizations like Asia-Pacific POPIN as well as clippings from actual newspapers in developing countries.
Part of an entire chapter in the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development is devoted to similar objectives of communicating with audiences who need information on population issues, so this report can assist information personnel to help implement the Programme of Action in their particular country.
So valuable is this issue (Series J, No. 42) to the work of population information centres, it should be considered "must reading" by every member of Asia-Pacific POPIN.
To order copies, readers should write to Population Information Program, Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, 111 Market Place, Suite 310, Baltimore, MD 21202, United States.
Award for excellent writing
Family Health International's AIDS Control and Prevention Project (AIDSCAP) and the United Nations Joint Programme on AIDS (UNAIDS) recently announced that they would sponsor an international award for excellence in writing on women and HIV/AIDS.
The award will recognize the journalist who in the opinion of the judges writes the most compelling article about women's issues related to the pandemic.
For more information about AIDSCAP activities, readers may write to: Family Health International/AIDSCAP, 2101 Wilson Blvd., Suite 700, Arlington, VA 22201, United States, Fax: (703) 516-9781.
Commission on Sustainable Development Reviews Agenda 21
In preparing for the June 1997 special session of the General Assembly, which will review progress in implementing the commitments of Agenda 21 of the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) and strategies for the future, a recent meeting of the Commission on Sustainable Development focused on the importance of information and demographic dynamics.
Also the Commission suggested to the Economic and Social Council that it examine the division of labour between the Commission on Population and Development and the Commission on Sustainable Development in future consideration of the issue of population and sustainable development, taking into account the link between chapter 5 of Agenda 21 and chapter 3 of the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development.
The Commission further requested efforts by Governments, United Nations organizations and other bodies to develop simple and accessible information materials related to Agenda 21 so as to assist people at the local level in taking a more active role both in assessing social, economic and environmental conditions, and in participating in decision-making processes for sustainable development at the local level.
Indonesia announces training programmes
The International Training Programme of Indonesia's National Family Planning Coordinating Board (BKKBN) recently announced two training courses, one of which would be of interest to readers: "Information, Education and Communications in a National Reproductive Health/Family Planning Programme: The Indonesian Experience" from 17 July to 6 August.
This is an advanced course intended for persons who have previously participated in an observation-study tour in Indonesia.
The reasoning behind this course is that the Indonesian family planning programme is one of the few which, since its initiation, perceived family planning more in sociological terms than medical ones.
Major emphasis has been on understanding people and on developing appropriate messages and ideas to communicate with them.
Stated the letter of announcement, "communications was and is at the core of our programme, not at the periphery in the support role which it plays in many other countries".
For further information, readers may contact: Prof. (Dr.) Santoso S. Hamijoyo, ITC Coordinator, Jl. Permata No. 1 Halim Perdanakusuma, Jakarta 13650, Indonesia; Fax: (62-21) 800-9093.
IIPS announces training courses
The International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS) recently announced the organization of training courses for the academic year 1996-1997.
The two-year course leading to a Master of Population Studies degree is being offered through the Institute's Distance Education System.
A total of 30 seats are available for personnel from the ESCAP region and other countries.
The course can be completed from the student's own country; self-instructional course materials are sent to the students every month. In addition, for those not wanting to take the course formally, it is possible to purchase the instructional material separately.
Readers wishing to obtain more information about this and other courses offered by the Institute may write to: Dr. Ravi K. Verma, Head, Department of Extra Mural Studies, International Institute for Population Sciences, Deonar, Mumbai - 400 088, India. Fax: (91-22) 556-3257.
East-West Center to hold Summer Seminar
The East-West Center in the United States recently announced its twenty-seventh Summer Seminar on Population.
A total of four workshops will be held at different times and locations during the period May-July 1996.
Of interest to readers of this newsletter is Workshop 3 entitled "Communicating Population and Health Research to Policymakers", which will be held at Honolulu, Hawaii from 30 May to 29 June.
Covered under this topic will be the following: developing communication strategies, preparing policy memoranda and briefings, making oral presentations and using computer graphics and conveying information in brief written formats.