UN Population Division, Department of Economic and Social Affairs,
with support from the UN Population Fund (UNFPA)
|
| UN Population Division, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, with support from the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) |
|
"ICPD 94"
March 1994
Number 13
Newsletter of the International Conference on Population and
Development
Cairo, Egypt, 5-13 September 1994
WOMEN, POPULATION AND DEVELOPMENT
Dr. Nafis Sadik, Secretary-General of ICPD and Executive Director
of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) issued the following
statement on the occasion of International Women's Day, 8 March
1994:
UNFPA has always accorded great importance to the observance
of International Women's Day. This year, the occasion has special
significance for the Fund because of the International Conference
on Population and Development (ICPD) which will be held in Cairo on
5-13 September 1994. The international community will strive to
agree on a firm plan of action on population for the next 20 years
in accordance with universally recognized principles of human
rights and national sovereignty. The empowerment of women is a key
conference goal.
Women's reproductive health and rights will be a central
concern at the conference since without reproductive freedom, women
cannot exercise fully their other rights, such as those in
education and employment. Fulfilling women's right to health and
enabling them to exercise their reproductive rights requires
quality health services, which include a wide range of safe and
effective methods of family planning, along with relevant
information, education and counselling.
Over the past three decades, many countries have made
substantial progress in expanding access to reproductive health
care and lowering birth rates, as well as in lowering death rates
and raising education and income levels, including the educational
and economic status of women.
CONTRACEPTIVE USE HAS GROWN
At present, about 55 per cent of couples in developing regions use
some method of family planning. This represents a nearly five-fold
increase since the 1960s. However, the full range of modern family
planning methods still remains unavailable to at least 350 million
couples world-wide.
Survey data suggest that approximately 120 million additional
women world-wide would be currently using a modern family planning
method if more accurate information and affordable services were
easily available, and if husbands, extended families and the
community were more supportive.
One indication of the large unmet demand for more and better
family planning services is the estimated 40 million abortions
which occur every year, many of them unsafe. Maternal mortality and
morbidity rates continue to be unacceptably high in developing
countries. Unsafe abortion, responsible for a significant
proportion of the approximately 500,000 maternal deaths every year,
is a critical health problem requiring urgent response. Health
programmes should respond to women's needs at all stages of life,
combat sexually transmitted diseases such as HIV/AIDS, and promote
safe motherhood.
Family planning, of course, is not just a matter of providing
contraceptives. Experience shows that family planning and
population programmes work best in an environment where efforts
have been made to improve the overall status of women. For example,
education for women is one of the key factors in reducing fertility
and infant mortality and improving family well-being. Despite
progress made in the past two decades in primary education for
girls, women continue to be at a serious disadvantage in higher
education and in the quality of education they receive. This leads
to their being handicapped in employment and poorly represented at
all decision policy making levels in Governments and the private
sector.
The Fourth World Conference on Women (WCW) will be held in
1995 at a time when the connection between the status of women and
the success of development programmes has become clear. ICPD will
provide a valuable input into the preparations for WCW by ensuring
that the reproductive role, health and rights of women continue to
be recognized as key elements in any strategy designed for the
advancement of women. International Women's Day this year,
therefore, gives us an excellent opportunity to support the goals
of both conferences by reaffirming our commitment to improving the
status and participation of women in all spheres of development.
***
For printed or electronic copies of the "ICPD 94" newsletter, in
English, French or Spanish, or further information, please contact:
ICPD Secretariat 220 E. 42nd Street, 22nd floor
New York, N.Y. 10017, USA
Tel: (212) 297-5244/5245
Media contact: (212) 297-5023/5030 or 5279
Fax: (212) 297-5250
E-mail: ryanw@unfpa.org or icpd@igc.apc.org
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