In November 1995, the Editor of the Asia-Pacific Population Journal received a letter of complaint from Dr. Karen Hardee, Deputy Director, Service Delivery Research Division, Family Health International, drawing our attention to an article published in vol. 9, No. 4 of the Journal. The article in question is entitled "Problems and Prospects of Implants as a Contraceptive Method in Bangladesh, co-authored by M. Mujibur Rahman, M. Nurul Islam, Md. Azizul Haque and G.M. Kamal. Her criticism is that the article was drawn almost entirely from the report entitled The Quality of NORPLANT Services in Bangladesh co-authored by Ghulam Mustafa Kamal, Karen Hardee-Cleaveland and Barkat-e-Khuda; the latter report was published on 31 December 1991 by the Associates for Community and Population Research. She pointed out that the authors of the Journal article, who also included the principal author of the 1991 NORPLANT study, namely the late G.M. Kamal, did not cite the source of their data nor the original study from which most of their material was drawn.

After the Editor brought this matter to the attention of the principal author of the Journal article, Prof. Rahman explained the background to the situation and the details of co-authorship of the Journal article with Dr. Kamal and another researcher who also contributed to the original NORPLANT study. In acknowledging the complications that have been caused by publication of the article, he requested us to extend his personal apologies to Dr. Hardee and Dr. Barkat-e-Khuda as well as to the management and staff of the Journal.

For further information on this material please contact: loftus.unescap@un.org