MARSHALL ISLANDS

The main task of Mr. Laurie Lewis on his visit to Majuro from 4 to 8 March, 1996, was to undertake an update of the CST's document on the Population and Development Strategies sector in the light of recent developments in the country and to undertake a brief project review of MAS/PO2/92 "Population Focal Point at the Office of Planning and Statistics".

A reform programme is being implemented by the Government as a result of the present financial constraints. The rationalization process and restructuring of the economy will involve substantial down-sizing of the public sector. The implications for the national population programme and UNFPA support will be addressed in the updated sectoral review.

The MAS/92/PO2 Project Director reported that the revised National Population Policy document has been approved by the National Population Council. It has been distributed to Ministers, Permanent Secretaries and Activity Heads, NGOs, Mayors, Members of the Nitijela (Parliament) and the Council of Chiefs. Work on the improvement of the civil registration system and migration statistics is being undertaken, as proposed at the last TPR. The UNV Population Economist has now begun to develop a five-year plan of action based on the National Population Policy.

Ms. Sultana Alam, Gender, Population and Development Adviser, undertook a mission on 9-23 March to review developments in the sector. The purpose of the sectoral review is to gather data on the situation of women, gender issues and concerns, and analyse the nature and impact of policies, programmes and institutional capacities in the advancement of women.

In the Marshall Islands, a Women's Policy has been ratified; however no national programme of action has been developed to implement the recommendations of the 1995 Beijing Fourth World Conference on Women. It is a trying time of restructuring in the country, and rationalization of institutional arrangements and resources for women's activities are being finalised.

The adviser's sectoral review will contribute to strategy formulation and programme development in promoting gender equality and equity in the population activities of the next UNFPA programme cycle.

The Ministry of Social Services held a Media Workshop on Population and Quality of Life and on IEC Materials Development Workshop in the period 16-26 April, under the UNFPA - funded project MAS/93/P02 ‘Population/Family Welfare Education for Women and Youth'. Mr. K. Paramanathan, CST Adviser on Population IEC and Labour facilitated and technically guided the two workshops and made presentations on ‘New Perspectives on Population: Lessons from Cairo', ‘Role of Mass Media in Population and Family Welfare Programmes', and ‘IEC Materials Development Techniques and Pre-Testing Methods'.

The Media Workshop underlined that mass media can effectively reach enormous numbers of people with convincing messages, inspire ideas, and create awareness as well as change behaviour and attitudes. Drama scripts on Teenage Pregnancy and Family Communication; radio/TV spots on Alcohol abuse, Youth crime and Family welfare; feature articles on Protection of the environment and Why family planning is necessary; posters on Alcohol, Environment, Plan Your Family and Caring and Sharing; and leaflets on Teenage pregnancy, Family Well-being, Population and development, Rural-Urban Migration and Gender Equality were developed. During a field visit, some of the materials were pre-tested with sample groups of target audiences. The adviser also assisted in the revision of the project workplan to reflect national priorities.