Country Support Activities

At the request of the UNFPA Representative of the South Pacific, and in cooperation with the Population Studies Programme Director at the University of the South Pacific, the Adviser on Population Statistics developed a research project design on "Women's Health including Adolescent Sexuality and Women's Perspectives on Reproductive Health Services" for selected Pacific island countries.

The main purpose of the surveys is to help in establishing an empirical database that will include basic population parameters and more specialized programme-oriented data in these and other areas. The survey on Women's Perspectives will collect information on their health needs, views, beliefs, and expectations from current health services and programmes, as well as their self-awareness, particularly as it relates to their actual and potential decision-making power over their reproductive behaviour. Similarly, information on adolescent sexuality and fertility is essential if the sub-regional Programme is to address the needs of adolescents, to identify the more important issues to guide awareness creating activities at the national and community levels, and to highlight gaps in our knowledge as a basis for further research and IEC interventions.

Dr. Salesi F. Katoanga, the Adviser on Reproductive Health/Family Planning Programmes, was in Hawaii, from 17-22 February 1997, at the invitation of the University of Hawaii at Manoa, to deliver the keynote speech at the 13th Annual Pacific Rim Conference on Person with Disabilities and to participate in the conference deliberations. The theme of the conference, "Strengths Through Families, Communities and Culture", regarding the care of disabled persons highlighted the unique qualities of the Pacific island countries in terms of community participation in the promotion and support of this type of programme. Needless to say, the reproductive health of persons with disabilities was a major focus of the Adviser's address.

Strengthening population information systems in the Central Asian Republics, Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan

Mr. Laurie Lewis, the Adviser on Population Statistics, participated as a resource person at the above Symposium from the 17-22 March in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. Six technical papers were presented at the symposium by resource persons. The papers raised many of the more important technical issues in census planning and design, fieldwork, and processing and dissemination of data.

The Symposium also provided an opportunity to display the UNFPA TSS/CST system working in concert with other agencies. UNFPA was represented from New York by the Director of the Asia and Pacific Division, Mr. Nizammudin, and a senior official of TED, and locally by the UNFPA Representative. The UN Statistical Division was represented by its Director, Mr. Hermann Habermann and three other staff. The UNFPA/CSTs were represented by Mr. Laurie Lewis and the Population Adviser from the Kathmandu Team. The Regional Commissions for Europe (ECE) and Asia-Pacific (ESCAP) were both represented, reflecting the regional duality of the Republics. In addition representatives of the national statistical organizations of the United States, South Africa and India were present, added to the feeling, stressed by the Director of the UNSD, that national statisticians were part of a global community.

The Adviser on RH/FP Programmes was in New Caledonia from 15-18 June 1997 attending the Pacific Women in Action-Shaping the Future Towards the year 2000 Conference. The main objective of this regional conference was to provide the opportunity for the National Government Focal Points and Non-Governmental Organizations to review planning and programming strategies for increased participation and recognition of women's contribution to the total development of Pacific island nations and territories. The meeting was sponsored by the South Pacific Commission.

The adviser's presentation focused on what has been achieved in the area of reproductive health including family planning and sexual health since Cairo and Beijing.

Preparing for the 1998 population and housing census

With barely a year to go, the RMI is preparing for the major census field enumeration, scheduled for November next year. The last census, held in 1988, recorded the highest fertility and population growth rates in the Pacific. Although these rates have declined, they remain high and pose serious problems for sustainable national development. Data from the census will help in addressing many of the demographic and economic problems currently being confronted. Apart from high population growth, and exceptionally high levels of urbanization, flows of external funding are in decline and unemployment is rising as job opportunities in the private sector fail to respond in a generally depressed economy. The census results will help in planning and implementing the package of reforms initiated by the Asian Development Bank, especially the reduction in size of the public sector.

The need for a census is widely recognised and is given full support by the Government and NGOs. At a Cabinet meeting held in April 1997, His Excellency the President of the RMI approved the conduct of a Population and Housing Census in 1998 and authorised the Office of Planning and Statistics (OPS) to carry out the census exercise.

Mr. Laurie Lewis and Mr. Bill House of the UNFPA CST assisted the OPS in developing a strategy for the census and preparing budget estimates.

In addition, during their joint mission on 23 June-4 July, Messrs House and Lewis helped to conduct two awareness-raising workshops in Majuro, the capital, and Ebeye, a densely populated island heavily dependent for employment and income on a nearby US Military base. Despite the formulation of a National Population Policy in 1995, implementation of the population programme in RMI faces severe constraints, including a major downsizing of the public sector and budgetary reductions. The workshops were aimed at rejuvenating the population programme and promoting the design of a National Action Plan in which each agency will fully articulate a well designed and coordinated set of activities, including more emphasis on awareness-raising on Ebeye and the outer islands.

Emanating from the Ebeye Workshop was the identification of the Primary Health Care Unit as the principal focal point for future population activities and a call for UNFPA to assist in data analysis of an on-going household survey and the provision of support for a volunteer nurse/midwife.

The advisers also briefed the recently appointed National Population Coordinator on the major role he might play in raising the profile of population concerns throughout the Republic of the Marshall Islands.

Sponsored by the Niue National Committee on Population and Development and Statistics, a series of workshops were held from 17 to 23 April, utilising the results of the 1994 Mini-census to identify the more important population issues and to consider the policy implications and strategic options. Separate workshops were conducted for the Heads of Departments and for mid-level managers. More informal sessions were provided for members of the National Committee of Population and Development and for Members of Parliaments.

Apart from a brief period between 1991 and 1994, the population of Niue has experienced continuous decline since 1966. Even since 1994, this decline has continued, reducing the population of Niue in the last 30 years from in excess of 5000 to about 2000 people.

The most important contributing factor to this decline was the large stream of emigration to New Zealand. The age-sex structure of Niue, reflects the youthful nature of this emigration. The elderly are over-represented as the 20-35 year old cohorts have become depleted. Falling fertility and the reduction in the number of young women entering reproducing age, has also resulted in a rapid fall in the birth rate.

Attempts to attract overseas-based Niueans to return to the small island nation have proved largely unsuccessful. A common theme in all the workshops was the importance of ensuring that development planning concerned itself with improving the attractiveness of Niue, especially to young Niueans. Job creation, housing, leisure and education were important to the youth, and national policy should be directed to these areas. Young people themselves, in special questions added to the 1994 census, claimed that they preferred to live in Niue.

The Niue government was assisted by Mr. Laurie Lewis, the UNFPA CST Adviser on Population Statistics, in the analysis of the 1994 census and in conducting the workshops.

The Adviser on Reproductive Health/Family Planning assisted in conducting a training workshop organized by UNIFEM on Gender Analysis in Tonga from 16-18 April 1997. There were 21 participants, from government departments and NGOs, 3 observers and 8 resource persons.

The primary objective of this workshop was to provide follow-up gender analysis training with specific reference to local case studies and to identify and discuss existing and new mechanisms to integrate gender dimensions at both national and sectoral levels. The adviser also reviewed and held discussions on existing data in the socio-economic sectors with particular emphasis on the gender disparities and helped develop follow-up sectoral activities.

Following a mission to Niue, the Adviser on Population Statistics was able to spend an afternoon in Tonga, with the staff of the Statistics Office to discuss progress in the National Population Census. Preliminary results are now being prepared and the low growth since 1986 is a reflection on the continuing out-migration, especially to New Zealand, but increasingly to Australia and the United States.

A short Post Enumeration Survey was conducted to confirm the census count, and the Acting Government Statistician is confident of the accuracy. The meeting provided a useful opportunity to discuss some of the problems being experienced during data entry and editing, and the overall impression is that processing is proceeding smoothly.

Unlike the 1986 census for which a delay of almost 5 years was experienced in releasing the official report, the plans for 1997 are to complete all processing and basic analysis within a year.