Two regional workshops were held at Beijing during October for selected members of Asia-Pacific POPIN.
Fulfillment of the Programme of Action of the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development means that, in addition to improving their understanding of complex population and development issues, information professionals must be able to utilize new technologies such as microcomputers, CD-ROM and telecommunication protocols in order to provide more effective information services.
Attending the workshop were 21 participants from Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Islamic Republic of Iran, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Viet Nam.
The workshop comprised a series of lectures on a wide range of substantive issues followed by in-depth discussions designed to put them in perspective as they relate to the ESCAP region.
The focus of the lectures by the representatives of the ESCAP secretariat was on telecommunications, including the Internet, and networking for improving access to population data and information.
The participants in this workshop also presented reports on the population and family welfare programmes in their respective countries.
The second meeting, which was held from 13 to 15 October, was the Organizational Workshop for East and South-East Asia POPIN. Participants comprised representatives of nine countries in East and South-East Asia POPIN and two observers from South Asia POPIN.
One of the main purposes of the meeting was to prepare for the eventual devolution of several key network management responsibilities to the three subregional networks. In addition to the East and South-East Asia POPIN network, the others which will be responsible for taking on a greater management role in the future are the South Asia POPIN and the Pacific POPIN subregional networks.
Thus, the participants in this workshop provided a greater degree of leadership as they planned for the future of the Network so that it and its members will be able to meet the population information needs of their respective countries and the region. They also considered sources of funding and planned activities for the post-1998 period.
Before the workshop concluded, the participants endorsed the concept of strengthening the subregional structures of Asia-Pacific POPIN so that they could undertake several network management responsibilities.
They also reviewed the Asia-Pacific POPIN Constitution and recommended several revisions to its articles which would clarify the additional roles and responsibilities of the subregional networks and of the national POPIN membership in light of the new emphasis on devolution of responsibilities within the framework of Asia-Pacific POPIN, and requested the ESCAP secretariat to circulate the revised Constitution among all national focal-points of Asia-Pacific POPIN for comment and possible adoption by the end of 1996.
In recognition of the need to decentralize Asia-Pacific POPIN activities, the workshop participants recommended the formation of an Asia- Pacific POPIN Executive Committee to be composed of five members, one from Pacific POPIN and two each from East and South-East Asia POPIN and South Asia POPIN in recognition of the large membership represented by the latter two subregions, i.e. over 1 billion each.
ESCAP would serve as an ex-officio member of the Executive Committee, and in its role as the Asia-Pacific POPIN secretariat would also serve as the Executive Committee's secretariat.
In this context, the Workshop recommended that the Executive Committee meet once each year, and that these provisions should be included in the revised Asia-Pacific POPIN Constitution.
In conformity with the articles of the draft revision of the Asia-Pacific POPIN Constitution, the participants proposed, discussed and then approved a set of organizational policies and procedures specific to the development of East and South-East Asia POPIN.
The participants identified eight areas where national POPIN focal-points might assume management and/or production roles in behalf of either the East and South-East Asia POPIN subregional network, or the larger Asia-Pacific POPIN itself, and the representatives made provisional commitments -- contingent on agreement by their home institutions -- to take up specific responsibilities.
Regarding the assumption by the focal-points in East and South-East Asia of broader subregional network responsibilities, it was recommended that each POPIN focal-point represented at the workshop report to its management regarding the extent of its provisional commitments, and, based on an analysis of the manpower, facilities and financial implications that such commitments would have on their institution and the required corresponding inputs needed from external resources, that the focal points concerned would notify ESCAP by 15 December 1996, at the latest, of their firm institutional commitment to assume some or all of the provisional commitments made during the October workshop.
The workshop participants requested that the ESCAP secretariat, based on an assessment of the commitments forthcoming from the national POPIN focal-points, develop a memorandum of understanding between the secretariat (ESCAP Population Division) and the focal-point institution outlining the resource-sharing provisions, schedules for delivery of products and/or services on behalf of the POPIN network, and other conditions, as appropriate, for signing by the responsible institution and ESCAP.
The workshop accepted offers from at least two national focal-points to explore the feasibility of assuming the responsibility as the secretariat of East and South-East Asia POPIN for the first cycle of its operation (1997-1999).
In this context, the participants asked that all parties interested in the secretariat role should consult with their respective institutional management and prepare a study of the manpower, facilities and financial commitments their institution would be able to make if they assumed the role of secretariat for a three-year period (1997-1999), as well as to identify the required corresponding inputs from external resources needed, and in the light of those institutional discussions and analyses, to notify ESCAP by 15 December 1996 at the latest, whether their focal-point would still be interested in being considered for selection as the first East and South-East Asia POPIN secretariat.
If more than one focal-point responded positively by 15 December 1996, it was recommended that the two resource persons from South Asia who attended the workshop receive copies of all information provided by the interested focal-points in order that they might assist ESCAP in making a decision regarding the selection of the secretariat, which, could be made by 30 December 1996.
In light of the priority areas identified at the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD), the workshop participants recommended that efforts be made to increase and expand the membership in East and South-East Asia POPIN to include institutions involved in reproductive health and related areas, as well as to expand involvement of NGOs working in those and other areas.
Priority training needs were identified and the participants drew up a set of recommendations and a chart detailing the types of training required.
ESCAP meeting to be held at Bombay in 1997
The International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS) will host the November 1997 meeting of South Asia POPIN Coordinators, according to an agreement worked out in September between the Institute's management and Mr. Fred Burian, Chief, ESCAP Population Information and Communication Section.
IIPS, which is the focal point for India in Asia-Pacific POPIN, is making solid progress in information-handling technology, including the use of the Internet.
The 1997 meeting will be conducted along the lines of the Organizational Workshop for East and South-East Asia POPIN that was held at Beijing in October 1996. Further, it will also consider the development and use of such information-handling and telecommunication technologies for population information purposes. Several countries in the South Asian subregion are at the early stage of telecommunications use. The ESCAP Chief visited one of them, Nepal, as part of his South Asian mission.
While in Kathmandu, Mr. Burian visited the new Ministry of Population and the Environment, which is now responsible for national POPIN activities, in order to review with officials there developments in the field, especially in terms of networking. Because of the importance of population as a development issue in Nepal, he also focused on the focal point's readiness to participate in an Internet-based regional POPIN system.
While in the capital, he also took the opportunity to brief the Country Office of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the UNFPA Country Support Team for South and Central Asia of measures ESCAP has been undertaking to improve the dissemination of population data and information in the region.
Inter-agency information fair held at New York
On the occasion of United Nations Day, 24 October, the seventh annual Inter-Agency Information Fair was organized at New York to provide the public with information about the scope of activities undertaken by the United Nations system.
Held from 22 to 25 October, the Fair highlighted the work of 30 United Nations programmes, specialized agencies, offices and departments. In addition to the many brochures, booklets and posters that were made available, representatives of participating organizations were on hand to meet with visitors, providing more detailed information on the work of their agency or programme.
Providing information on population issues was the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).
China establishes information network for city dwellers
The use of modern information technology is growing rapidly in China, according to an official announcement.
The country recently established a national information network for people living in urban districts, the Ministry of Civil Affairs announced in September.
Designed to foster the two-way flow of information, the network is the first of its kind in China; it is aimed at helping officials understand the problems of ordinary citizens as well as the operations of grassroots-level governments, an official with the Ministry explained.
The network will make use of information from residents' committees located in the cities. Such grassroots organizations provide various services, including helping people to register their marriage, obtain birth-control information and find jobs. The typical Chinese city is composed of several urban and rural districts, or countries; more than 300 million people currently live in 700 urban districts.
Information important for family planning
Information and fertility awareness get renewed attention in the Fall 1996 issue of Network, the quarterly science bulletin published by Family Health International (FHI).
"Fertility awareness can help couples improve their use of contraceptives and reduce their risks of unplanned pregnancy", on of the magazine's articles states.
"Fertility awareness goes beyond family planning", said Dr. Roberto Vivera, FHI's Corporate Director for International Medical Affairs. Fertility awareness includes information on a broad range of topics related to reproductive health, including the woman's menstrual cycle, the effects of different contraceptives on women's and men's bodies, and signs and symptoms of sexually transmitted diseases.
Information on fertility awareness is now being offered by some family planning programmes in order to help couples to learn how to use contraceptives effectively.
New publications available
A series of technical reports published under the POLICY Project are currently available for distribution.
The Policy Paper Series was designed to provide guidance to policy makers, analysts and population professionals to conceptualize and critically analyse policy aspects of the population sector.
The following papers, prepared in easy-to-read formats, are available:
No. 1: "Assessing Legal and Regulatory Reform in Family Planning: Manual on Legal and Regulatory Reform", by Genevieve M. Kenney;
No. 2: "Strategic Planning for the Expansion of Family Planning", by Thomas W. Merrick;
No. 3: "Policy Issues in Expanding Private Sector Family Planning", by Harry E. Cross;
No. 4: "Communicating Population and Family Planning Information to Policymakers", by Elaine Murphy;
No. 5: "Cost Recovery and User Fees in Family Planning", by Karen G. Foreit and Ruth E. Levine; and
No. 6: "Sustainability of Family Planning Programs and Organizations: Meeting Tomorrow's Challenges", by Ruth E. Levine and Joanne Bennett.
According to the publisher, there is an adequate supply to fill requests for use in workshops. The documents are available in English, French and Spanish.
Readers may contact the POLICY Project at the address below to receive copies and when ordering, please specify the language and number of copies desired.
POLICY Project, Futures Group International, 1050 17th Street, NW, Suite, 1000 Washington, D.C. 20036, United States, Fax: (202) 775-9694; E-mail: policyinfo@tfgi.com
Population Council publishes paper on quality of care
Channellers of population information may wish to obtain a newly published working paper from the Population Council that focuses on one of the areas recommended for action at the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development.
Entitled "Improving quality of care in family planning: how far have we come?", the paper reviews work undertaken in this field through the mid-1990s.
Readers who wish to obtain a copy of this South & East Asia Regional Working Paper No. 5 may write to the Population Council via e-mail at: pubinfo@popcouncil.org or send a fax to Public
Information, the Population Council (212) 755-6052.
Former head of UNFPA information work remembers Tarzie Vittachi
Ten years after the late Mr. Tarzie Vittachi, an Asian journalist and recipient of the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Journalism and Literature, retired from his post as head of UNICEF's external relations, another well-known journalist with an extensive, high-level United Nations background wrote an article that brings out the central role that information dissemination plays in the development process.
The article, written by Mr. Jyoti Shankar Singh, the former Deputy Executive Director of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), was published in a recent issue of The Earth Times, a newspaper devoted to development subjects. Mr. Singh is the Chairman of The Earth Times.
After describing how Mr. Vittachi was hired by UNFPA in 1973 to organize and coordinate the 1974 World Population Year (WPY), Mr. Singh relates that "Tarzie", as he was best known, was appointed Executive Secretary of a unit having as its mandate "to do everything possible to get the involvement of governmental ministries, national groups, non-governmental organizations, business, social and youth clubs, churches of all creeds, universities, and schools".
He was assisted by Mr. Singh, former Secretary General of the World Assembly of Youth, who took charge of non-governmental participation. Virtually no outlet that would bring UNFPA in touch with decision makers, or the people who would be affected by the decisions, was barred.
"In the end the WPY programme was certainly a strange mixture of information and substantive projects, but there were few sectors in both the developed and the developing world which did not know about the population effort", said Mr. Singh.
One of the first activities Tarzie started in early in his new job was a newsletter called the WPY Bulletin. It provided a round-up of national and international activities relating to World Population Year. It was published monthly until December 1974, when it was replaced by Population -- the regular monthly newsletter of UNFPA.
Another periodical, Populi, was started as a staff magazine in 1974. Although it has undergone many changes, it has survived to date as the UNFPA magazine. "Tarzie himself wrote regularly for the magazine and asked many of his journalist friends to contribute to the magazine", commented Mr. Singh. "Populi established very quickly its name as a highly interesting and readable magazine".
"After the World Population Year secretariat was disbanded at the end of 1974, Tarzie stayed on at UNFPA as director of information and public affairs and I became his deputy. During this period we started the annual series of State of World Population Reports. The annual review had first appeared as the introductory chapter of the regular UNFPA annual report. But from 1978 onwards it became a special publication launched at special media events throughout the world", he related.
"Many innovative NGO and media conferences were organized during Tarzie's tenure and of course a fully fledged programme of thematic and regular publications for UNFPA was established. At the suggestion of several parliamentarians from Japan and the United States who were interested in population issues, (Mr. Rafael M.) Salas (the former Executive Director of UNFPA) decided to help the establishment of a world wide network of parliamentarians on population and development and Tarzie's division was given the task of organizing the first world conference of parliamentarians on population and development in Colombo (Sri Lanka) in August 1979".
Tarzie left the Fund to join UNICEF in late 1980. He retired from UNICEF in 1986, but continued to write and travel until his death in 1993.
(Source: A Copyright article in The Earth Times)