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) |
|
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This document is being made available by the Population Information
Network (POPIN) and the UNFPA/CST Bangkok. For further information please
contact Director, UNFPA/CST Bangkok, United Nations Building, 14th Floor,
Rajdamnern Avenue, GPO Box 618 Bangkok 10501, Thailand or via
fax (662) 2802715; telex 82315 ESCAP TH; or cable: UNDEVPRO BANGKOK
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UNFPA COUNTRY SUPPORT TEAM FOR EAST AND SOUTHEAST ASIA
NEWSLETTER
Volume 3, No. 2, August 1995
Monitoring, Reviews and Evaluation Figure Prominently in CST
Support to UNFPA Country Offices
The hectic pace of mission activity reported for July -
December 1994 has been exceeded during the period January to June
1995.
This was the observation of the CST Director, Mr. Ghazi
Farooq, as he reported to UNFPA Headquarters on the CST Team's
performance in his first progress report for the year.
"A total of 78 missions (as compared to 65 during July-
December 1994 and 52 during January-June 1994) were undertaken by
the CST Director and Advisers to Cambodia, China, DPR of Korea,
Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, the Philippines,
Thailand, Viet Nam, India, Pakistan and UNFPA Headquarters," he
said.
Excluding the CST Director, 11 Advisers spent 627 days on
mission. After applying a 50 per cent mark-up to take account of
preparatory and follow-up time, Mr. Farooq estimated that an
Adviser, on average, spent 85.5 days of the half year on mission-
related activities.
An analysis of the pattern of CST missions showed a
balanced use of Team resources.
Out of 654 net mission days, about two-fifths were spent on
programme/project development and technical backstopping of ongoing
projects and programme activities; 28 per cent on monitoring,
reviews and evaluation exercises; and the remaining for organizing
and acting as resource persons in training workshops, attending
international and regional conferences/seminars, and carrying out
special UNFPA HQ assignments. (See graph.)
"Monitoring, reviews and evaluation exercises," Mr. Farooq
noted, "have been identified by the Report of the Independent
Evaluation of TSS/CST system as very important activities to be
increasingly undertaken by CSTs "in their back-up capacity to UNFPA
field offices".
In terms of distribution of CST missions by countries,
although Viet Nam continued to receive the largest number of
missions (15), Indonesia was the biggest user of CST in terms of
mission days with 152 (23.2% of total number of mission days).
Heavy involvement of the Team in Indonesia was directly a
function of UNFPA programme phasing. The Team assisted the Country
Office in completing the process begun in 1994 for the appraisal
and evaluation of the UNFPA Country Programme, and the development
of the programme for the next cycle.
There was also a significant increase in CST support for
the development and implementation of the new UNFPA programme in
Cambodia with the number of missions during the reporting period
increasing to 9, from 5 in the preceding reporting period.
The CST Director was happy to report that "CST missions
were undertaken for programme development for the first time in DPR
of Korea by four advisers."
Follow-up to ICPD
The CST began follow-up to the ICPD almost immediately
after the return of the CST Director from Cairo. The follow-up
initiatives include:
o Intensive CST workshop in Pattaya on 3-7 January 1995
to carry out an in-depth internal review of the
implications of the ICPD-POA for UNFPA programmes in East
and South-East Asia. The meeting resulted in a unified
understanding of issues and how best to respond to
challenges at the sub-regional and country levels.
o The Second Consultative Meeting of UNFPA Country
Directors, National Programme Officers and CST in Bangkok
on 20-23 March 1995 provided another opportunity to
discuss the implications of the ICPD-POA for the sub-
region and individual countries, and to know the latest
thinking of UNFPA Headquarters on the implementation of
ICPD-POA, including the involvement of entire TSS system.
o The Director gave a seminar on ICPD in June 1995 in Ho
Chi Minh City during his visit to Viet Nam. Also, in
June 1995, he conducted a full briefing for the Team on
the major findings and recommendations of the UNFPA
Global Meeting held in Rye, New York.
o CST Advisers have taken every opportunity to explain
ICPD-POA and its implications for each country during
mission assignments, such as in CST's participation at
the Seventh World Conference of the International
Community Education Association in Jomtien, Thailand, on
31 July - 4 August 1995 and at the ICOMP-sponsored
workshop on "Innovative Approaches in Youth Reproductive
Health" in Mallaca, Malaysia, on 30 May - 4 June 1995.
Draft
UNFPA Fourth Country Programme Off to a Good Start with $26.7 M Aid
to the Philippines
The UNFPA and the Philippine Government recently signed an
agreement providing $26.7 million in assistance to the Philippine
population programme.
The amount is part of the UNFPA Fourth Country Programme's
$35 million aid programme for the Philippines in the next five
years.
The agreement was signed by the new UNFPA Country Director,
Mr. Satish Mehra, on behalf of UNFPA, and by Economic Planning
Secretary, Dr. Cielito Habito, and the Health Secretary, Dr. Jaime
Galvez Tan, on behalf of the Government.
Other signatories included Population Commission (POPCOM)
Executive Director Ms. Cecile Joaquin-Yasay, Dr. Sylvia Guerrero of
the University of the Philippines Center for Women's Studies, Dr.
Conrado Lorenzo Jr. of the Philippine Center for Population and
Development.
The signing ceremony was witnessed by 65 officials from
government agencies, donor community (JICA, AusAID and USAID), UN
agencies (UNDP, UNIDO, ILO and UNIC) and non-government
organizations.
In a brief speech at the signing ceremony, Mr. Mehra
stressed that the UNFPA Fourth Country Programme in the Philippines
was based on the goals and objectives of the ICPD Programme of
Action.
The package of projects fully supported the country's
Medium Term Development Plan's vision of people empowerment and
human development which is the current focus of President Ramos'
Social Reform Agenda, the UNFPA Country Director pointed out.
The UNFPA assistance put together five projects which are
consistent with national development goals of alleviating poverty,
generating employment, and promoting equity and social justice,
environmental protection and the advancement of women.
A large portion of UNFPA assistance of $22.6 million went
to the programme to strengthen the management and field
implementation of reproductive health concerns, including family
planning. The programme will be implemented by the Department of
Health, two other government agencies, 16 NGOs and 127 local
government units.
Other programmes supported by UNFPA include: women's
research, population and development advocacy, and youth. The
women's research will develop the information and research base
which can be used in formulating and implementing women-sensitive
policies, programmes and projects.
The population and development advocacy programmes seeks to
increase public awareness and understanding of population and
development issues and to create a positive policy and programme
environment for sustaining initiatives in this area.
The youth programme hopes to develop the youth into
responsible individuals and future parents through projects that
will strengthen the policy, planning and monitoring of adolescent
fertility and youth development programme. It will also focus on
the guidance programme in public high schools.
The assistance will also address issues pertaining to
partnership with NGOs and to problems related to STD and AIDS.
The implementation of these projects has already started.
Newsline
Highlights of Country Events and the CST
CAMBODIA
A national conference on birth spacing, attended by high
level representatives from the Ministries of Health, Interior and
Education as well as provincial governors, was convened early this
year.
The participants drafted and approved a landmark national
birth spacing policy. The draft birth spacing policy was a
significant development in Cambodia and a positive indication that
attitudes of top-level government officials were slowly changing.
The birth spacing policy which re-affirmed the Ministry of
Health's commitment to maternal and child health through birth
spacing, also included ICPD Programme of Action concerns on
reproductive health.
This development further strengthened the birth spacing
programme funded by UNFPA. UNFPA major support in Cambodia focuses
on the integration of birth spacing in MCH activities.
Programme implementation of UNFPA-supported activities in
Cambodia is progressing smoothly. A number of key projects are now
ongoing. Project CMB/94/P01 (Integrating Birth Spacing in MCH
Activities) which is the centerpiece of the Cambodian programme has
organized two workshops on management and curriculum development,
and quite recently conducted an IEC workshop. A significant
development in the birth spacing programme was the completion of
the KAP Survey on Fertility and Contraception in July 1995.
A second project which has experienced a lot activities in
the last few months is CMB/94/P02. Jointly executed by UNFPA and
DESIPA, this project provides support to the national census. It
has carried out a number of activities, among them was the
renovation of the census project building. Already its Cartographic
section has started its activities and the members of the national
staff has been assembled. Two UN experts and UN Volunteer are now
in place. The project is implemented by the National Institute of
Statistics of the Ministry of Planning.
Another project (CMB/95/P01) which supports Cambodian
researchers aimed at training Cambodians in research in the areas
of development and social sciences.
CST's assistance has been called upon by the UNFPA Country
Director, Dr. Vincent Fauveau, to provide technical assistance and
advice between May and August 1995.
Iqbal Alam, RH/MIS Adviser, travelled to Cambodia from 27
April - 2 May 1995 to help the National Maternal and Child Health
Centre, Ministry of Health, in the analysis of the findings of the
birth spacing KAP Survey on Fertility and Contraception in
Cambodia. Earlier, in other separate missions, Mr. Iqbal together
with a CST colleague, Mr. Nuri Ozsever, had provided technical
inputs during the planning and reporting phases of this KAP survey.
In the area of logistics, Jane Schuler-Repp, RH/FP
Logistics and Management Adviser, visited Phnom Phenh from 19 - 23
June 1995 to assist the Ministry of Health in developing future
projections for contraceptive requirements. While there, she
explored ways and means by which contraceptive procurement can
become a normal part of the Ministry of Health's drug procurement
activities.
In the field of IEC, during his mission from 15 - 26 August
1995, the Population Communication Adviser, Francisco H. Roque,
assisted the birth spacing project in preparing for the IEC
workshop on birth spacing. He served as a resource person on IEC
planning, campaign and message design. During his stay in Phnom
Phenh, he helped plan future IEC activities for Cambodia's birth
spacing programme.
DPR of KOREA
The Government of DPRK has been carrying out various
population activities for many years now with UNFPA assistance.
Although population growth has reportedly gone down, the
Government still considers population concerns as important insofar
as they relate to the well-being of the country. Thus, it wanted to
address population problems through policies which enhance people's
well-being, such as education and health care.
The UNFPA-funded activities of DPRK include the national
population census, activities that address the lack of research
data, availability of population and demographic research and
policy-oriented studies, and training at the National Population
Centre, the Korean Academy of Social Science, and the Kim Il Sung
University. Three projects under maternal and child health area are
also going on.
In addition to these projects, the Government felt the need
to develop new ones in the areas of population policy planning,
information networking, and women and development.
The UNFPA Field Office sought CST assistance in formulating
three new bridging projects (1995 - 1996) before the launching of
the next Country Programme in 1997.
The CST Adviser on Population and Development Planning and
Policy, J. Krishnamurty, visited Pyongyang from 23 April - 7 May
1995 to help prepare a project on developing the capability of the
State Planning Commission in incorporating population parameters
into its overall social and economic development planning. The
project called for a series of training, procurement of equipment
and facilities, and improvement of linkages regarding population
matters among the counties, provinces and central level.
In the area of population information, Carmelita L.
Villanueva, CST Adviser on Population Documentation, travelled to
Pyongyang from 23 April - 7 May 1995 to assist the staff of the
Grand People's Study House (GPSH) to design a project intended to
build the capacity of the GPSH to collect, organize, analyze,
repackage and disseminate population information. The capacity-
building initiative will be done through a series of training,
acquisition of materials, building and computerization of GPSH
collection, and repackaging and dissemination of information.
In the area of women and development, the Government has
developed a programme of education for rural women functionaries
after assessing the capability of existing facilities in meeting
these needs. In July 1995, the CST Adviser on Gender and
Development, Sandra Rennie, visited Pyongyang to assist the
Government in formulating a project on awareness-raising in women's
status and population issues for the agricultural sector.
The projects to develop the capability of the State
Planning Commission (DRK/95/P12) and of the Grand People's Study
House (DRK/95/P13) have already been approved by Mr. Ian Howie,
Country Director for China, DPR of Korea and Mongolia.
Implementation is ongoing. The project on women is still under
review.
INDONESIA
UNFPA is now on its Fifth Country Programme (1995-1999) in
Indonesia. In the last Country Programme, UNFPA funded 20 projects
in management, training and operations, biomedical research,
strengthening family planning programmes in low performing
provinces, regional population studies centres, involvement of
youth in family planning movement and women and development.
In December 1994 a sectoral programme review was conducted
jointly by the Government, UNFPA Field Office and the CST to
identify factors contributing to success and to know gaps as well
as weaknesses with the aim of making recommendations for the Fifth
Country Programme.
Resulting from this review was the development of key
projects by the Government with the assistance of the CST for East
and South-East Asia.
UNFPA Country Director, Mr. Ugur Tuncer, well utilized a
number of CST Advisers to undertake joint, multi-disciplinary
missions to assist in developing some of those projects.
Atiqur Khan, RH/FP Adviser, and Darshan Khanna, Labour and
Population Adviser, undertook a joint mission from 30 April - 20
May 1995 to formulate three projects. These projects included the
provision of reproductive health/family planning services for the
urban poor in selected municipalities; HIV/AIDS prevention within
the framework of reproductive health/family planning through
family-centred approach in four provinces in Indonesia; and the
strengthening of quality of care in family planning and
reproductive health services in six provinces. This assistance was
followed by another from 9 - 15 July by the same two Advisers to
finalize the project document on quality of care in reproductive
health/family planning.
Ansar Ali Khan, Population Education Adviser, assisted the
Government on two occasions (15 - 27 May and 9 - 15 July 1995) in
preparing and finalizing the project document on strengthening the
education of the youth on reproductive health and family well-being
through the the participation of family institutions.
LAO PDR
For the past three years, two major programmes have been
ongoing: The birth spacing programme's KAP survey and IEC
activities (LAO/93/P02) undertaken by the LAO Women's Union and the
National Statistical Centre, and the birth spacing and MCH
programme (LAO/93/P03) implemented by the Institute of Maternal and
Child Health of the Ministry of Health.
In recent months, the Lao Fertility and Birth Spacing
Survey has gathered information from 6,000 households on fertility
and infant-child mortality, KAP on birth spacing methods, health-
related matters, such as breastfeeding, antenatal care, abortion,
fertility preferences and immunization.
To assist the National Statistics Centre and the Lao
Women's Union in reviewing the completed tables of tabulation and
in drafting the outline of the KAP survey report, Tan Boon-Ann,
Population Policies, Strategies and Programmes, travelled to
Vientiane from 30 July - 4 August 1995.
Similar technical backstopping support was provided to the
birth spacing programme of the Institute of Maternal and Child
Health between April and August 1995.
The CST Adviser on RH/FP, Atiqur Khan advised the project
on Phase II activities and made recommendations for Phase II
programme implementation. In the area of IEC, Francisco H. Roque,
Population Communication Adviser, visited Vientiane from 20-25 June
1995 to assist the project staff in developing a strategy for radio
spot announcement, song contest and mass MCH/BS campaign. The CST
Adviser on Database Management and Processing, Nuri Oszever, gave
further backstopping to this project from 13 - 19 August 1995. He
assisted in further processing the MIS data for birth spacing. As
a result, province and country tables were produced and relations
between data collection forms were clarified.
MALAYSIA
The Malaysian population programme has also received
technical assistance from the CST during the period under review.
From 28 August - 4 September 1995, J. Krishnamurty,
Population and Development Adviser, visited Kuala Lumpur to assist
the National Population Family Development Board in preparing its
National Plan of Action on Population and Development.
At the invitation of the UNFPA Country Office, Francisco H.
Roque, Population Communication Adviser, visited Kuala Lumpur from
16 - 20 April 1995 to review IEC activities, including the
production of social marketing IEC materials under MAL/93/P05
(Social Marketing Research) and MAL/93/P06 (Strengthening Service
Delivery). Roque met with the Project Director of the University of
Malaya, Regional Director of DKT Consultants and the Executive
Director of Federation of FP Associations. Among the
recommendations he proposed was closer collaboration between the
social marketing research and FFPAM in sharing of research findings
and the exchange of experiences in the development/production of
promotional materials as well as demand generation materials.
In June, Roque returned to Malaysia to participate at the
ICOMP-sponsored intercountry workshop on "Innovative Approaches in
Youth Reproductive Health" in Malacca. He served as a discussant in
one of the sessions. He is the focal point in the UNFPA/CST,
Bangkok, on adolescents and youths.
Tan Boon-Ann, Adviser on Population Policies, Strategies
and Programmes, participated in the TV "Global Talk Show" on
population and development issues wherein he highlighted how UNFPA
helps developing countries in solving their problems. He took the
occasion to make a brief presentation of the ICPD Programme of
Action. Taking advantage of his visit to Kuala Lumpur, Tan also
provided met with key officials at the Ministry of National Unity
and Social Development, persuading MNUSD officials on the needs of
quality data for planning programmes for the disabled. He proposed
a study design to assess data quality of registration systems with
that of sample surveys in pilot states. At the Population Studies
Unit of the University of Malaya, he discussed research and
suggested priority research areas in line with the ICPD Programme
of Action.
MYANMAR
J. Krishnamurty, Population and Development Adviser,
participated as resource person in a 3-day Awareness-raising
Seminar on Human Resource Development Indicators (HRDI) under
project MYA/94/P06 from 4-6 July 1995. During this workshop, he
provided technical guidance and served as resource person which
resulted in the sensitization of high-level policy makers on the
changing nature of planning and the need to have HRDI.
Following the awareness-raising seminar in July, he and Tan
Boon-Ann, Population Polices, Strategies and Programmes Adviser,
assisted in the conduct of the Technical Workshop on Human Resource
Development Indicators from 22 - 26 August 1995, where Krishnamurty
provided technical guidance on the design and content of the
workshop. He also assisted in clarifying data sources,
methodologies, level of disaggregation and possible uses of HRDI.
Meanwhile, Tan presented the Vietnamese experience in the
development of social indicators and key issues in indicator
construction.
MONGOLIA
The UNFPA Country Programme in Mongolia addresses key
population issues affecting the country. The Country Programme
includes the population policy programme implemented by the
Ministry of Population and Labour; the RH/FP by the Ministry of
Health; population policy, demographic research and data collection
by the Population Teaching and Research Centre and State
Statistical Bureau; women, population and development by the
Women's Federation, among others.
Under the MCH/Birth Spacing project (MON/93/P01), recent
activities conducted by the Ministry of Health included an
Adolescent Sex Education Media Meeting which discussed a new
approach to adolescent sex education with representatives from MOH,
Mongolia Radio and Television, newspaper and erotic sex magazines.
A refresher training for regional coordinators and health
workers was also organized and a reproductive health self-care card
was produced and distributed to aimag households. The MCH/FP
logistics and information system was also reviewed with the
assistance of the CST Adviser on Logistics and Management, Jane
Schuler-Repp, from 23 April - 9 May 1995. She prepared the
guidelines for improving the logistics and information system
MCH/BS.
Providing further technical backstopping to the same
project, another CST Adviser, Iqbal Alam, assisted the Ministry of
Health in formulating the design, work plan and budget for the
adolescent reproductive health survey during his visit to Mongolia
from 20 July - 3 August 1995.
THE PHILIPPINES
With the recent launching of the UNFPA Fourth Country
Programme in May 1995 and the arrival of the new Country Director,
Darshan Khanna, Adviser on Labour and Population, became the first
CST Adviser to undertake a mission to the Philippines from 20 - 27
August 1995. He reviewed the implementation on the strengthening of
FW/FP programmes of the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines.
Khanna assisted in the finalization of the project's work
plan and advised on the role and place of the project in the entire
NGO-track of projects executed by the Margaret Sanger Centre. He
also discussed the preparatory work and arrangement for the
Regional Meeting on Comprehensive Member and Family Welfare
Services by Trade Union Organizations.
VIETNAM
Early this year, the UNFPA Fourth Country Programme went
through the process of a mid-term evaluation. The mid-term review
was one of many evaluations carried out in the last eight months in
preparation for Programme Review and Strategy Development (PRSD)
exercise.
The MTR consisted of individual project assessments by the
project staff; three sectoral reviews on RH/FP, IEC, and population
and development and data collection by three groups of national
experts and capped with an overall review which presented
recommendations for improvement of ongoing project activities as
well as identification of key issues for the Fifth Country
Programme formulation.
The first six months of 1995 have seen a breakthrough in
the implementation of the RH/FP programme. Satisfactory
achievements and outputs have resulted from a more improved
implementation of RH activities.
With regard to IEC programmes and activities, evaluation
findings showed that the implementation of IEC projects had become
smoother and more efficient as the national executing agencies had
acquired more experience in implementing UNFPA-supported projects.
Census database was successfully developed and the Inter-
censal Demographic Survey completed and the results disseminated
during a one-day workshop. The Guidebook on Social Indicators was
also published and released.
Subsequent to the MTR process, several missions were
undertaken by the CST Advisers to continue backstopping the various
population projects as well as contribute to the PRSD preparations.
In the area of population policy planning, the CST
Director, Ghazi Farooq, travelled to Hanoi from 6 - 9 June 1995 and
held discussions with top-level persons of VIE/93/P07 ("Support to
the National Committee for Population and Family Planning and
Development of National Population Policy") and reviewed the
progress made by the project. He visited Ho Chi Minh City where he
gave a seminar at the University of Economics on "ICPD: Its Follow-
up and the Research Training Needs in Support of the Implementation
of the Programme of Action".
In the area of IEC, Francisco H. Roque, Population
Communication Adviser, assisted three projects during his mission
from 3-24 May 1995. He assisted project staff in further refining
the 1995 work plan and strategy of VIE/93/P11 - Support to
Population Training for Mass Media Workers and finalized a
trainer's curriculum for training of motivators. He assisted
Vietnamese researchers in developing a proposal to evaluate the
training of field motivators and IEC campaigns under VIE/93/P08 -
Coordinated Activities in UNFPA IEC Programme. He travelled to
communes in one province to monitor the quality of youth clubs'
activities under VIE/93/P10 - Support to Education of Youth on
Marriage, Population and FP.
Under the reproductive health area, four CST Advisers
undertook mission to backstop the various components of this
project. The CST Adviser on Logistics and Management, Jane Schuler-
Repp, travelled to Vietnam from 11 - 26 May 1995 to visit three
central warehouses and observe logistics system in three provinces.
She reviewed the logistics management information system. She co-
facilitated a 3-day Logistics Management Workshop for central and
provincial level staff. She prepared a report on "RH/FP Logistics -
- Findings and Future Directions" wherein she identified needs for
additional training in logistics management and possible funding
needs in logistics within the PRSD framework.
A National Workshop on the Use of the Population Data for
MCH/FP Planning, Programming and Monitoring was also organized by
the Ministry of Health from 8 - 12 May 1995 to train national
senior officials and trainers on population data use for MCH/FP
planning, monitoring and evaluation. CST Advisers Iqbal Alam and
Tan Boon Ann served as resource persons in the workshop. They
presented simple data analysis techniques from bivariate tabular
method to multivariate regression technique, using population data
to illustrate applications of this technique for determining the
independent effects of explanatory variables on programme output;
use of population data classified by sex-age and spatial
distribution, fertility and mortality estimation, and population
projection methodologies. The participants were provided with
computers and SPSS software and taught to run regression equations
using simple data sets.
Atiqur Khan, RH/FP Adviser, visited Vietnam from 18-27 July
to assist in conducting the field testing of a new curriculum and
technical manuals on reproductive health for use by trainers and
medical personnel. He made significant comments to improve the
manuals.
In the area of basic data collection, Nuri Ozsever,
Population Data Processing and Database Management Adviser,
assisted the Government Statistical Office in reviewing the data
processing system for Multiround Survey (MRS) under VIE/93/P03 -
Support to the Inter-censal Demographic Survey (ICDS) and
Multiround Surveys.
In the field of population information, Population
Information and Documentation Adviser, Carmelita L. Villanueva,
together with Mr. Fred Burian, Chief of Population Information,
ESCAP, came from 2 - 12 July 1995 to assess the present situation
with regard to the flow, exchange and use of population information
and materials. The situation of population documentation and
information centres in the country in terms of personnel,
facilities and services was also reviewed. The report, prepared by
them, proposed a mechanism for setting up an integrated nationwide
population information network which will facilitate a more
effective flow, exchange and use of population information and
materials. The report served as input into the PRSD exercise.
In the field of population education, the CST Adviser Ansar
Ali Khan took part in the TPR meeting to review the achievements,
problems and gaps of the VIE/94/P01 - Population Education Project,
proposing recommendations for future actions. He helped in
finalizing the pre-service teacher's training curricula for primary
and secondary school levels, and undertook monitoring visit to
nearby provinces to assess the potential of a regional population
education centre and to prepare the development of test item bank
and production of materials in mass media. He took part in the
national training course of VIE/93/P13- Population Education in
Peasant Union, for the provincial and district officers, delivering
a lecture on teaching methodologies, design of learning materials
and preparation of plans for a follow-up training course.
CST Strategies and Approaches
Population and Development Strategies:
Some Reflections on the Global and Asian Experience
Context and Need for New Approaches
Radical major changes are taking place in the context,
processes and mechanisms of development planning.
There is a tendency even among planners and policy-makers
to assert that development planning as practised from the 1950s
through the 1980s is dead; government today has little or no role;
short-run considerations are now paramount; and the economy and
society are at the mercy of rigid international economic forces.
This defeatist and false perception is in sharp contrast to
global thinking on development priorities. An outcome of the Cairo
International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) was
an acceptance that population policies are necessary and should aim
at providing better living conditions through achieving a balance
between population dynamics, sustainable social and economic
development, and the environment in a manner that promotes gender
equity and equality. The ICPD Programme of Action places
priority on achieving the ICPD goals of reducing mortality,
empowering women, universally accessible services, and providing
primary education.
We need new population and development strategies and a
revamping of planning mechanisms to ensure that these time-bound
goals are reached.
Major Issues in Planning Today
In a number of countries, the market system is replacing
the command economy approach to planning; economies are tending to
open up to world market forces. This progressive shift to a
market-based system implies an increased dependence on market
signals of costs, prices and profits to determine the allocation of
economic resources and the production, distribution, and
consumption of goods and services.
New approaches and methodologies, however, to tackle the
new type of planning have been slow to emerge. Data collection and
research systems still tend to assign little or no importance to
collecting and using information on wages, prices and costs in the
context of an open economy. Also, governments find it increasingly
difficult to monitor the impact of economic restructuring and
reforms in the social welfare system on the economic and social
condition of vulnerable people.
In several countries with mixed economies, the planning
system has been modelled on that of a command economy. The control
areas of the government were not large to begin with and, in fact,
they have been progressively shrinking. This has made the older
style of planning untenable.
Many countries are facing balance of payments and debt
problems, and have embarked upon structural adjustment programmes
aimed at increasing economic efficiency and eliminating structural
disequilibria in the balance of payments. Unfortunately, this has
frequently been accompanied by cuts in social expenditures and the
withdrawal or curtailment of existing social safety nets. Short-
term concerns like macroeconomic stability are dominant and
population-related issues tend to get ignored.
Planners have not adjusted adequately to the current
reality that they need to work more and more through the market
mechanism rather than against it. Consumers and producers respond
better to signals coming from well-functioning markets. On the
other hand, direct controls often lead to serious distortions of
prices and costs, thereby giving wrong signals to public and
private decision-takers.
Another recent development is that Ministries of Planning
are losing their importance while Ministries of Finance are gaining
increased importance, dealing directly with the sectoral and line
ministries. Major decisions now relate to budget allocations and
sector-level decision-making assumes greater importance. At the
same time, planning is being decentralized to the provinces,
states, regions and districts where planning systems are still
rudimentary.
Future Directions for Planning and Policy
A new approach to planning and policy is needed. It should
take into account the following considerations:
o Despite major changes in the institutional framework,
planning (i.e. the ex-ante coordination of resources to
achieve desired ends) should retain its importance. It
may now be necessary to involve new partners, such as the
Ministry of Finance, sectoral ministries, the private
sector and NGOs.
o Planning has to concentrate much more on creating
appropriate conditions for markets to function properly.
Not only have such "market-friendly" policies to be
followed but conditions have to be created and sustained
where markets are "people-friendly". In other
words, markets should be promoted and assisted to work
better in the achievement of agreed social and economic
objectives.
o The government has to concern itself with: developing a
national consensus on long-term social and economic
goals; devising a development strategy including a
macro-policy framework; creating the required
institutional structure including setting up of legal and
other measures to regulate the system; and using tax,
subsidy policies and other regulatory measures to
influence the working of markets and social processes in
the direction of desired outcomes.
o Planning has to become more participatory and a
significant degree of decision-making needs to be shifted
to subnational levels. This reflects the importance of
empowering local communities to promote activities
reflecting their own priorities and needs.
East and South-East Asia: Current Situation and Needs
While the sub-region is highly diverse, some of the
features of the current situation are highlighted with a view to
identifying future needs in the area of population and development
strategies, policies and planning.
1. There is usually a broad consensus on development
goals but many countries have not yet come up with consistent long-
term policies. Planners and policy-makers tend to view family
planning as the sole population-influencing policy and underplay
the role of other population-influencing policies and the role of
intersectoral impacts on fertility and mortality. Typically,
environmental issues and the effects of education, migration and
poverty alleviation programmes on population tend to receive
inadequate emphasis.
2. In many countries satisfactory coordination
mechanisms to cover private sector and NGO activities do not exist.
Also, population sector coordination may be confined to family
planning coordination.
3. While data collection systems have greatly
improved, there are weaknesses. In the transition economies of the
sub-region, the pre-existing system is not oriented to the needs of
market-based planning. In these and many other countries, there is
also the problem that data collection and processing continues to
be primarily producer-driven. The needs of the policy-maker in the
face of rapid socio-economic change are not adequately taken into
account.
4. Many countries now have good projections of
population, labour force, education, health and housing, but these
are rarely sensitive to market factors, such as wages, fees, user
charges and the operation of the external sector (i.e.
international trade, payments and migration).
5. Generally, key planners and policy-makers are in
their 50's, and given their prior background, may not be familiar
or positively oriented towards market-based planning. Younger
planners are more open to new ideas and methods, but often they do
not wield power. There is also an urgent need to train the new
cadres on population and development planning in the context of a
market economy, and to ensure that a critical mass of young modern
planners is created and sustained.
6. Even in countries where there are enough trained
personnel it is often found that economists/planners are more
concerned about the balance of payments and macroeconomic policies
than about population. On the other hand, demographers often feel
that demographic outcomes are certain and are invariant with
respect to costs, prices and economic policies. As a result, we
often find that economists and demographers do not have a common
level of understanding.
7. Government agencies involved with population and
planning are generally overstaffed and underpaid especially when
compared to the private and NGO sectors. Enough attention is not
paid to cost considerations and efficiency when deciding upon
staffing levels, and on whether a particular activity should be
carried out by the Government or by the private/NGO sector or under
joint auspices with clearly defined roles and financial
arrangements.
Needs
The urgent needs of the sub-region can be briefly spelt out
and flow from the situation analysis just presented.
1. Most countries need to devote more effort to
developing national long-term goals with supporting long-term
policies. This is not a once-over task, but would require periodic
revision and updating. At the country level, one or more powerful
national development research institutions need to be supported so
that they can play a lead role in this process.
2. New and/or revised multisectoral population
policies are needed to take account of the changing context in
certain countries. Issues, such as HIV/AIDS, adolescent sexuality,
aging, new regional labour patterns of migration and the future of
the family planning programme, have to be addressed. In low
fertility countries, strategies to maintain and strengthen family
planning acceptance, to reduce the government's role, and to
recover costs have to be developed.
3. Efforts should be made to influence resource
allocation processes at the overall and sectoral levels by
developing more links and promoting activities with Ministries of
Finance and sectoral ministries.
4. In several countries, there is still the need to
set up and/or strengthen one government agency which will act as
the watchdog/advocate of population concerns and channel them into
the development process. It could also coordinate private sector
and NGO activities in the population field. There is considerable
scope for partnership and for developing collective responses to
commonly identified needs.
5. A national data utilization strategy is urgently
required especially for transition economies where the scope and
content of planning has radically changed or where there is a weak
articulation of data user interests. Given the pace of social and
economic change, there has to be a relative shift from elaborate
time-consuming surveys to building up systems of social indicators
for monitoring change and facilitating speedy policy and programme
responses.
6. A complement of well trained staff is needed in
each country especially for population-sensitive sector planning.
Technical training programmes are needed for middle-level planners,
especially in the areas of sectoral planning and market-based
planning techniques. A common approach and understanding of
population and development issues has to be created among
economists, demographers and other technical personnel in the
population field. New training strategies are needed to ensure
that a sufficient number of trained persons at different levels can
be in position within a relatively short time.
7. Sensitization programmes are needed to promote a
better appreciation of the role and working of markets among top
level planners and policy-makers. This should not be confined to
population issues, but should cover the entire development planning
field.
8. Mechanisms for the systematic exchange of
experiences in the field of population and development are needed
at the regional level. This would be very useful given the very
different stages reached by countries of the region. There is
considerable scope for technical cooperation activities between
countries in this highly heterogenous sub-region.
Conclusion
The view that there is no future for development
planning has no real basis. The form and content of planning has
changed, but the need for population-sensitive planning has never
been stronger. In particular, there is an urgent need to set out
consistent long-term goals and to develop regulatory frameworks and
supporting policies and programmes. There is also much that needs
to be done in the related areas of data collection, research and
training to develop market-based people-friendly planning systems,
policies and programmes.
Future Direction for Planning and Policy
The government has to concern itself with:
o developing a national consensus on long-term
social and economic goals;
o devising a development strategy including a
macro-policy framework;
o creating the required institutional structure
including setting up of legal and other
measures to regulate the system; and
o using tax, subsidy policies and other
regulatory measures to influence the working of
markets and social processes in the direction
of desired outcomes.
Attachment Training
Building up national capacity is a crucial element in the
successful implementation of nationally executed projects.
This was recognised to be a continuous process carried out
through various means and channels, such as attachment training at
the CST Office, Bangkok. (See box on study visits.)
Attachment training was one of the main points discussed at
the Consultative Meeting of UNFPA Country Directors, National
Programme Officers and CST on 20 - 23 March 1995.
Its importance as a mechanism for building national
capacity was raised by the CST Director, Ghazi Farooq during the
meeting. Concurring on its usefulness, one of the Country Director
said: "Attachment training provided officials the opportunity to
concentrate on technical issues away from their daily routine and
chores".
The CST in Bangkok has carried out training in a variety of
settings. In addition to training conducted in-country while on
mission, CST Advisers have organized and held extensive training
activities in Bangkok.
Last year, CST has conducted five attachment training for
various top-level policy-makers and middle-level managers in
different programme areas, such as policy and development, IEC and
MIS.
This year, encouraged by the positive response of Country
Directors during the Consultative Meeting in March 1995, the
CST/Bangkok has organized attachment training for various high-
level officials in 12 countries. These included:
o Computing fertility estimates and finalizing the
country survey report, attended by officials of the Government
Statistical Office, Viet Nam.
o Processing of Lao Fertility Birth Spacing Survey for
two officials from the National Statistical Center, Lao PDR, 30
January - 3 February 1995.
o Demographic Analysis for 10 Master Trainers for
officials from Cambodia (2) and Indonesia (8), 3 - 15 July 1995.
o Processing REM Surveys and Using EPI Software for an
official from Ministry of Health, Lao PDR, 25 - 29 July 1995.
o Inter-country Training Course on Population
Documentation and Information Services organized by UNESCO in
collaboration with UNFPA/CST for ten participants from six
countries (Cambodia, DPR of Korea, Lao PDR, Nepal, the Philippines
and Uganda), 7-25 August 1995.
o Development of a System of Human Resource Indicators
for nine officials from UNDP/UNFPA, Ministries of National Planning
and Economic Development, Labour, and Health, Myanmar, 6-15
September 1995.
These attachment training activities were conducted in
collaboration with professionals from other agencies, such as ESCAP
Statistical and Population Divisions, ILO East Asia Multi-
disciplinary Advisory Team, Thailand National Statistical Office,
and Thammasat University.
The multi-disciplinary approach which the CST has used to
carry out the training was a distinct advantage. It included visits
to academic and research institutions, government departments and
other agencies.
Study Visits
Bangladesh
Six top-level Bangladeshi officials visited CST on 1 May
1995. The aim of their visit to Thailand was to observe family
planning programmes through cooperatives/community development. CST
briefed them on CST's role in population activities in the sub-
region.
DPR of Korea
Two high-ranking government officials from the National
Coordinating Committee for UNFPA visited CST on 28 August 1995.
They were in Thailand on a familiarization study tour with UN
agencies, particularly UNFPA/CST and UNESCO. CST gave a short
briefing on CST activities in the East and South-East Asia.
Nepal
Five key officials from the Department of Cooperatives
visited CST on 5 June 1995. The officials were in Thailand to
familiarize themselves with the experiences population/family
affairs and the integration of FP education in the cooperative
sector. CST brief the officials in population and family welfare,
FP education in general and modes of integration in cooperatives
and related institutions in the sub-region. Mongolia
Four high level officials visited CST on 18 May 1995. The
purpose of their visit to Thailand was to hold discussions with the
Population Council of Thailand and other relevant agencies. The CST
briefed them on the population activities of CST in the sub-region.
Viet Nam
Six top-level officials from the Government's
coordinating agencies visited CST on 28 July 1995. They were in
Thailand to learn from Thailand's experience in coordinating its
national population programme. The Director of CST brief them on
the ICPD Programme of Action and the programme approach to national
execution, and explained CST's role in national capacity building
and timely technical backstopping.
Occasional Paper Series
The Occasional Paper Series of the CST was launched in
May 1995 with the publication of Paper No. 1 on "Issues and
Approaches to Women, Population and Development in East and
South-East Asia." The paper was written by Ms. Sandra Rennie,
Gender and Population Development Adviser.
The first paper was followed in June 1995 by Paper No.
2 on "Management Information System for Reproductive Health/Family
Planning: Myths and Realities", written jointly by Mr. Iqbal Alam,
FP/MCH MIS Adviser, and Mr. Tan Boon-Ann, Population Policies,
Strategies and Programmes Adviser.
In September 1995, Paper No. 3 on "Reproductive Health
and Family Planning: A New Challenge for the East and South-East
Asian Countries", written by RH/FP Adviser, Dr. Atiqur R. Khan, was
published.
The occasional paper series is not intended to reflect
original and path-breaking research -- which is not a function of
the CST -- but to provide analytical and thought-provoking reviews
and perspectives on important and emerging issues of particular
relevance to the sub-region.
The occasional papers go through peer review and are
revised in accordance with comments from the CST Reading Committee.
Several more occasional papers are in preparation and
will be published soon.
Copies are available at the CST Office in Bangkok and
can be obtained by writing to the CST Director, Mr. Ghazi Farooq
(FAX: [662] 280-2715).
Follow-up to ICPD: Seventh ICEA Conference
Integrating Reproductive Health including Family Planning
and Sexual Health in Community Education Programmes
"Midway through the decade, the Jomtien goal of Education
for All remains very much alive. The WCEA recommendations were
reinforced last September in Cairo, in the ICPD Programme of
Action. The ICPD reaffirmed the Jomtien call for ... universal
primary education in all countries. In addition, ... (it) called on
governments to ensure the widest and earliest possible access by
girls and women to secondary and higher levels of education and
training, before the year 2015."
This was the message of Dr. Nafis Sadik, UNFPA Executive
Director, in her opening address read by Mr. O. J. Sikes, Chief of
Education, Communication and Youth Branch, UNFPA New York, at the
Seventh ICEA (International Community Education Association) World
Conference on Sustainable Development through Community Education
held in Jomtien, Thailand, from 30 July - 4 August 1995.
Attended by 538 participants from 41 countries, the
Conference was inaugurated by H. R. H. Princess Maha Chakri
Sirindhorn and H. E. Mr. Banharn Silapa-Archa, Prime Minister of
Thailand.
The ICEA, which promotes cooperation in development of
community education, organizes world conferences once every four
years in different parts of the World to allow community
organizations, agencies and those involved in community education
to exchange ideas and share experiences. This year the Thai
Government was the host for the Seventh World Conference on
"Sustainable Development through Community Education".
UNFPA's participation in the conference included not only
the opening address of Dr. Sadik but also the organization of a
double-session Workshop on Population Education with Special
Reference to Reproductive Health, Girl Child and Adolescent
Education, and a Sub-plenary session on "Population, Health and
Sustainable Development."
In the Workshop the need to reconceptualize population
education was presented to make education approaches responsive to
emerging new issues/problems. The participants were urged to take
immediate initiative to integrate population education in their
community education programme with the assistance of UNFPA country
offices. Reproductive Health including HIV/AIDS was presented
with emphasis on the need to place high priority on family
planning. Youth and adolescent needs with specific reference to
youth education and contraceptive counseling were also addressed.
Two recommendations were introduced: (i) the organization
of inter-country consultative meetings to exchange experience from
programmes on adolescents and to plan strategies involving the
youth in the design, implementation and evaluation of youth
programme; and (ii) the involvement of NGOs in catering to the
reproductive health education and service needs of young people,
including playing a pioneering role in parental education.
In the sub-plenary session on Health, Population and
Sustainable Development, the recommendations at ICPD concerning six
important current issues to achieve the reproductive health and
socio-economic goals were re-affirmed by Ghazi Farooq who chaired
the session: (1) education of girl child; (2) education and
services for the adolescents; (3) rising trend of HIV/AIDS
transmission; (4) maternal health and the high maternal mortality
rate; (5) reproductive rights, including rights for information
and services; and (6) empowerment of women. The global policies of
health for all and the importance of community participation as
well as the importance of education and economic development as
basic needs of people to achieve health goals were discussed.
The UNFPA/CST, together with UNFPA Country Office for
Thailand, organized an exhibition of publications and activities at
the conference site. The exhibition presented the mandate,
functions and work of UNFPA, and provided a graphic display of
UNFPA's work in reproductive health, adolescence education, women's
education and empowerment and population, environment and
sustainable development.
The ICEA conference was organized in collaboration with the
National Education Commission, Ministry of Education, Government of
Thailand and United Nations Organizations (mainly UNFPA, UNDP and
UNICEF).