UN Population Division, Department of Economic and Social Affairs,
with support from the UN Population Fund (UNFPA)
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| UN Population Division, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, with support from the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) |
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Plans finalized for Bangalore Meeting Bangalore, in the Indian State of Karnataka, will host the Expert Group Meeting on Family Planning, Health and Family Well-being from 26 to 30 October 1992. The meeting will discuss the linkages between family planning, family welfare and health, and will mark the fourth of six expert group meetings providing scientific input for the International Conference on Population and Development, 1994. Sixteen experts -- representing various disciplines and regions of the world -- along with representatives from the regional commissions, specialized agencies, and units and organizations of the United Nations system, will attend. Inter- and non-governmental organizations, many of whom pioneered the family planning movement, will also participate. The papers will focus on operational issues reflecting the general objectives of the meeting: how to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of existing family planning programmes and services; how to reach larger segments of the population; how to devise innovative approaches to new or existing problems; and how to obtain funding to satisfy the ever-increasing demand for family planning services. Currently, 300 million women in developing countries do not have ready access to safe and effective means of family planning. Bilateral, regional and international cooperation in family planning will also be the subject of discussion. Special attention will be given to making family planning affordable on both the macro and micro levels, and to proposals for cost-sharing by users. Estimates show that the annual amount spent on population programmes, about $4.5 billion, will have to double to $9 billion by the end of the decade if international targets in fertility and family planning are to be met. The Group will adopt a set of recommendations geared towards improving the status of women, the health and well-being of the family, particularly mothers and children, and to improving the effectiveness and efficiency of family planning programmes. These, along with the report of the meeting, will be forwarded to the second session of the Conference Preparatory Committee in August 1993.