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) |
|
DISPATCHES -- NEWS FROM UNFPA,
THE UNITED NATIONS POPULATION FUND
NUMBER 5, FEBRUARY 1996
DISPATCHES is a monthly bulletin dedicated to the activities of
the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). It is published in
English, French, and Spanish by the Information and External
Relations Division and is available free of charge from UNFPA
offices worldwide.
The designations employed and presentation of material in
DISPATCHES do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever
on the part of UNFPA concerning the legal status or authority of
any country, territory, city, or area or the determination of its
frontiers or boundaries. Views expressed are the authors' and
sources' own and do not necessarily reflect the opinions or
policy of the Fund. All material is checked for accuracy as
received from source; all enquiries should be addressed to the
source/further information address provided at the end of each
item. Material may be freely reproduced; credit and copies of
reproduced material would be appreciated.
We invite colleagues from UNFPA and cooperating organizations to
submit articles about UNFPA-assisted programmes and projects,
accounts of lessons learned from past and ongoing work, and
anecdotes from their country or area of work. These should be
sent to:
DISPATCHES, c/o IERD, UNFPA, 220 East 42nd Street, 23rd floor,
New York, NY 10017, USA. Telephone: (212) 297-5022. Fax: (212)
557-6416. Internet: <aslam@unfpa.org>, <o'haire@unfpa.org>,
<travers@unfpa.org>.
==========
In this issue:
Special Feature: Filipino insights
Coiffure and condoms in Haiti
Migration matters in Brazil
A first for Mozambique
1996 training programme
==========
Sadik: Promise, opportunities, and high expectations
New York - The new year is full of promise, opportunities, and
high expectations for UNFPA and its staff, according to Executive
Director Nafis Sadik. In her new year message to staff, Dr. Sadik
said 1996 "will be a time for continued change and adaptation."
"Looking back at 1995, we can be pleased about progress made
in the population field and about the work of UNFPA," Dr. Sadik
stated. Implementation of the ICPD Programme of Action "has
started in earnest and is well under way in many countries," she
said, noting that "UNFPA Field Offices and Headquarters have had
a definite positive role in this regard. At the inter-agency
level, the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Implementation of the
ICPD has demonstrated that effective and timely coordination is
possible within the UN system." Most notably, the IATF/ICPD has
produced several guidelines on specific themes for the UN
Resident Coordinator system and has developed a Common Advocacy
Statement on Population and Development.
"The past year has also seen the definition of UNFPA's own
new programme directions inspired from the ICPD, the comparative
advantages of the Fund, and the current needs of programme
countries," she stated, adding that copies of a UNFPA Mission
Statement meant to guide the Fund's operations over the next few
years are being circulated to all staff. As part of the new
programme directions, a new approach for allocating UNFPA
resources to country programmes was due to be discussed at the
first regular session of the Executive Board in 1996.
In light of "the high expectations that programme and donor
countries alike have of UNFPA, and given the importance of
maintaining the momentum" of ICPD implementation, "it is
imperative that further progress continue to be made by UNFPA on
all these fronts," Dr. Sadik emphasized.
The Fund will be expected to demonstrate a smooth transition
to its new programme directions and "register solid progress in
implementing the various ongoing programme-related processes,
including national execution, decentralization, cooperation
within the UN system and beyond it, partnership with NGOs and the
civil society, monitoring and evaluation, and improved
effectiveness in programme management and delivery overall," she
stated. "Requirements for coordination within the UN system,
NGOs, and other donors have continued to increase. The new
General Assembly resolution 50/120 not only reiterates much of
what was contained in GA resolution 47/199 but also implies more
stringent deadlines and reporting requirements for the entire UN
development system, including UNFPA."
Noting that "with a more financially conservative climate
overall, development resources are now under closer scrutiny than
ever before," Dr. Sadik pointed out: "While UNFPA's resource
prospects are relatively good, we like all other aid
organizations are expected to show more evidence of results and
effective utilization of the monies entrusted to us. Requirements
for monitoring, evaluation, audit, and overall management
effectiveness are high on UNFPA's and everyone else's agenda
today."
Dr. Sadik stated her personal expectation that UNFPA Field
Offices function and be "recognized as 'centres of excellence'
and reference for all matters pertaining to population."
"The advocacy role UNFPA field staff and offices must play
is very important," she stressed. "This calls for being well
informed as well as courageous about speaking out on issues that
may be sensitive and difficult, including reproductive and sexual
health and rights, adolescent reproductive and sexual health,
harmful traditional practices such as female genital mutilation,
customs and practices which discriminate against girls and women,
and other such issues."
Update: Mission Statement
As DISPATCHES went to print, Dr. Sadik issued the UNFPA Mission
Statement to staff. The document reflects discussion that took
place in the Executive Board, elements of Board decision 95/15,
and the General Assembly's decision, made on 20 December 1995, to
designate UNFPA resident Country Directors as UNFPA
Representatives.
The Mission Statement consists of an introduction, a
statement of principles, and sections on Programme Areas
(reproductive health, including family planning and sexual
health; population and development strategies; and advocacy),
Operational Strategy, Strategy for Resource Allocation, and
Institutional Arrangements and Adjustments. Its annexes include
Chapter II of the ICPD Programme of Action and pertinent
decisions adopted by the Executive Board at the 1995 annual
session.
Details of the Fund's resource allocation strategy --
Section V of the Mission Statement -- were being discussed at the
Executive Board's 15-19 January session as we went to print. The
outcome of these discussions will be issued as an annex to the
Mission Statement in due course, Dr. Sadik reported. In the
meanwhile, she urged all staff to read and familiarize themselves
with the Mission Statement. "I also welcome any views you may
wish to share with me pertaining to the Mission Statement," she
said in a memo to all staff.
-Further information from: Information & External Relations
Division, UNFPA, 220 East 42nd Street, New York, NY 10017, USA.
Fax: (212) 557-6416.
==========
Dominican Republic: Focussing on reproductive health
Santo Domingo - The State Secretariat of Public Health and Social
Welfare and the National Population and Family Council have
teamed up to focus attention on reproductive health in the
Dominican Republic. With technical and financial assistance from
UNFPA, the two bodies have published the [1995 Health Atlas of
the Dominican Republic] and [...The path is made of the
footprints you leave behind: Elements for a national IEC strategy
on sexual and reproductive health in the Dominican Republic].
The atlas was prepared using the PopMap computer software
package in collaboration with the UN Secretariat's Department for
Economic and Social Information and Policy Analysis and the UNFPA
Country Support Team (CST) based in Chile.
The national IEC strategy document is the result of a year-
long effort involving 18 government and non-governmental
organizations working with technical advice from the CST in
Chile.
Both were published in Spanish and are in great demand among
the media as well as public and private sector professionals and
decision-makers.
-Source/further information from: Gilka Melendez de Chez, UNFPA,
Apartado 1424, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Fax: (809) 537-
2270.
==========
Mozambique: Pilot programme launched
Quelimane, Zambezia Province - A pilot population programme has
been launched here with UNFPA support. The programme, which aims
to improve some of the worst social indicators in Mozambique, is
the first of its kind in Southern Africa.
With some 3.5 million pople, Zambezia is home to about 20
per cent of the country's population. It has among the country's
highest fertility and mortality levels and has received large
numbers of returning refugees and internally displaced people.
The first instance of UNFPA support at the provincial level
in Mozambique, the pilot programme may be the first integrated
population programme of its kind in Southern Africa. The
provincial and central governments worked closely to develop the
programme, the main components of which are: strengthening
reproductive health and family planning services; population
information, eduation, and communication; integrated population
and development planning; and strengthening women's interest
groups. A component on population education in schools is in the
pipeline.
Those involved in formulating the programme are aware of the
many challenges facing it, including the coordination of
activities and shared use of equipment by several provincial
institutions, and the province's considerable distance from the
UNFPA country office in Maputo. But the chances for success seem
considerable. Project personnel are enthusiastic about
implementing the programme, which enjoys the personal commitment
of the Governor of Zambezia and the active support of the central
government. It is also anticipated that the lessons learned in
Zambezia will inform future undertakings in other provinces.
-Source/further information from: Zulma Recchini de Lattes, UNFPA
Country Director, P.O. Box 4595, Maputo, Mozambique. Fax: (258-1)
493577.
==========
Ghana: Teen reproductive health guidelines
Accra - The Ministry of Health is drawing up guidelines on
reproductive health to address the special needs of adolescents,
a special concern not only of Ghanaians but also of the ICPD
Programme of Action.
The guidelines will form the basis of reproductive health
services nationwide and health workers will be held responsible
for making sure they address teenagers' needs, Henrietta Odoi-
Agyarko, head of the ministry's MCH/FP Unit in October told the
Second National Conference on Adolescent Reproductive Health,
organized by the Ghana Association for Adolescent Reproductive
Health.
According to Dr. Odoi-Agyarko, the University of Ghana is
also conducting a needs assessment on teens' reproductive health.
She is urging NGOs to collaborate with the government in
establishing innovative and appropriate programmes for
adolescents. Such programmes, she says, should include support
mechanisms to educate and counsel teens in the areas of gender
relations and equity, violence against adolescents, family life,
reproductive health, and STD and HIV/AIDS prevention.
She emphasizes that sexually active adolescents will require
special family planning information, counselling, and services
and that those who become pregnant will need special support from
their families and communities during pregnancy and early child
care. Equally, she is promoting programmes aimed at educating
parents to enable them to help their children through the process
of maturation, particularly in the areas of sexual behaviour and
reproductive health.
Cairo, Beijing follow-up
The October conference was one of a series of recent
developments stemming from the government's and NGOs' concerns
and the agreements reached at ICPD and the Beijing Fourth World
Conference on Women.
Following the Beijing conference, for example, UNFPA teamed
up with the National Council on Women and Development (NCWD) to
sensitize trainers on key issues raised and agreed upon in
Beijing. The Fund and NCWD also are seeking to improve the
knowledge and skills of project managers and women's group
leaders in project management and issues relating to population
and family welfare.
In November, the Fund-supported Muslim Family Counselling
Service (MFCS) and the Ghana Association for Women's Welfare
organized a workshop to highlight the problems affecting the
health and welfare of Muslim women. Issues raised included female
genital mutilation, family planning and reproductive health,
early marriage, and nutrition.
MFCS Director Alhaji Baba Issa reports the religious
organization is initiating income-generating projects in selected
Muslim communities as part of its efforts to help Muslim women
become self-supporting.
NCWD and UNFPA also are collaborating on seminars -- for
example, among fisherfolk -- to promote men's involvement in
family planning and welfare and HIV/AIDS prevention.
-Source/further information from: Duah Owusu Sarfo, UNFPA, P.O.
Box 1423, Accra, Ghana. Fax: (233-21) 772829.
==========
Haiti: Beauty and protection
Port-au-Prince - Haitian women can now learn about safe sex while
getting their locks trimmed at the local beauty parlour, thanks
to an award-winning project implemented by Population Services
International (PSI) and funded by UNFPA and the USAID-funded AIDS
Prevention and Control Project (AIDSCAP).
In its pilot phase, the "Haiti Condom Social Marketing:
Women's Protection Initiative" revealed that Haitian women were
largely unaware of the need to protect themselves from STDs and
HIV/AIDS; did not have easy access to condoms; and did not have
the skills or power to convince their partners to use condoms.
This in the country believed to have the western hemisphere's
highest seroprevalence among the sexually active population (7-10
per cent, according to WHO/PAHO) and where the average age of an
AIDS patient is 30 years. In one 1994 survey, 1.8-10.5 per cent
of pregnant women in five cities were infected with HIV.
UNFPA's continued support to the initiative, under project
HAI/95/P08, has been aimed at:
o training and supporting condom salespersons and hairdressers
so they can provide reliable information to clients on STDs,
HIV/AIDS, safe sex, and negotiation tactics;
o providing condoms through 50 new sales points accessible to
women;
o developing IEC activities involving focus groups on condom
use, radio talk shows and discussion groups, and a sustained
advertising blitz featuring three radio commercials providing
tips for negotiating safer sex which, between April and December
alone, were broadcast 500 times a month; and
o producing and distributing a manual on negotiating condom
use.
The urgency of these efforts is underscored by rising
seroprevalence in rural areas and the disbanding, in 1991, of the
government units responsible for the national AIDS prevention
programme. Efforts are now being made to revitalize the public-
sector programme, in the absence of which NGOs have tried to fill
the service-delivery vacuum. UNFPA and USAID have been the only
donors providing contraceptives to Haiti's public, NGO, and
social marketing sectors.
The Programme on AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Diseases
awarded its 1995 Marco A. Aguayo Prize to PSI in recognition of
the project's "scientific quality and programmatic impact."
Similar UNFPA-funded projects have trained barbers to spread safe
sex messages to Haitian men. The Fund is supporting a "safe
fatherhood" initiative that aims to reach 400,000 men with AIDS
prevention messages and to establish 100 new condom distribution
points nationwide.
-Source: Marja-Leena Oja, Latin America & Caribbean Division.
Further information from: Heidi Swindells, UNFPA Country
Director, 34 Avenue Charles Sumner, Boite Postale 557, Port-au-
Prince, Haiti. Fax: (509) 458-670/239-340.
==========
Brazil: Changing views on migration
Sao Paulo - The population studies unit of the State University
of Campinas recently held a series of seminars to examine
international migration to and from Brazil. The seminars,
supported by UNFPA, have sparked changes in the way Brazil views
the impact of migration on the country.
Brazil is no longer simply a receiving country; for the
first time, it has been experiencing a significant net migratory
outflow. Changing patterns of migration are shedding new light on
economic policy and social programmes.
Brazil has a long history of receiving immigrants from all
parts of the globe. Immigration evokes a range of reactions from
policy makers and the general public, a large portion of which
sees the question of international migration as one of
controlling the numbers of people admitted to the country. This
view has been reinforced by the economic integration of Brazil
with its neighbours in Latin America's southern cone under
MERCOSUR.
Research presented at the seminars confirmed the fact of
continuing immigration into the country, encouraged by the easing
of border restrictions among the region's countries and by the
sheer expanse of the country's land borders. The "Latino"
character of the new immigration from neighbouring countries
contrasts with earlier decades, when immigrant groups were
principally European or Japanese.
There were surprises at the seminars, too, notably on
emigration from Brazil. There are no official sources of such
data, since the entry and exit of Brazilian citizens is not
subject to any form of registration. In a novel approach,
however, Professor Jose Alberto de Carvalho of the centre for
regional planning and development at the Federal University of
Minas Gerais devised a simple yet convincing means of estimating
the outflow, based on the 1991 census and looking at changes in
the ratio of men to women.
The data revealed that, for groups aged 25 and older, the
1991 ratio of men to women was consistently lower than in 1980,
indicating, in effect, that men had "disappeared" between 1980
and 1991. The evidence contradicted two possible explanations for
the disappearance: a lower census coverage for men in 1991, or an
increase in men's mortality between censuses. Thus, the lower
ratio of men to women in 1991 could be viewed as the result of
migration out of the country, consistent with the knowledge that
more Brazilian men than women live abroad.
Next, the size of the "missing" population in 1991 was
estimated by first calculating the "expected" 1991 population on
the basis of the intercensus survival ratio, then comparing it to
the actual census results. The gap between the two became the
estimated net migratory outflow. Under the conservative
assumption that mortality rates did not change between censuses,
it was estimated that some 302,000 women and 741,000 men left the
country between 1980 and 1991. Assuming declining mortality, the
figures were 1,187,000 women and 1,352,000 men moving abroad
during this period.
Anecdotal evidence suggests that Brazilians' preferred
destinations during the 1980s were the United States of America,
Japan, and Western Europe -- the latter two, traditional points
of origin of migration to Brazil. With the more recent
development of MERCOSUR, substantial numbers of Brazilians also
are searching for opportunities in neighbouring countries.
The significance of this emigration is greater than the
numbers suggest. The higher figures of 1,187,000 women and
1,352,000 men add up to a net outflow of 2,539,000, or about 1.5
per cent of a total population of 164 million. But the emigrants
are mainly of working age. In addition to sparking debate about
the drain of skills and talent that this outflow could represent,
the news has also underscored the challenges already facing the
country in shifting policy debate and responses from the
perception of Brazil as having a fast-growing, young population,
to the reality of a declining birth rate, emigration, and
resulting aging of the population.
Furthermore, the expansion of migration in MERCOSUR has
highlighted a lack of planning, in all of the member countries,
for the policy implications of these movements -- specifically,
changes in the demands placed on social services and national
pension systems.
-Source: John Kowalski, Consultant, UNFPA Brazil. Further
information from: George Walmsley, UNFPA Country Director, SCN
Quadra 2 Lote B, 70710-500 Brasilia-DF, Brazil. Fax: (061) 224-
2524.
==========
Special Features:
Philippines: Young people at risk of HIV/AIDS
by Lita J. Domingo
Deputy Project Director, Young Adult Fertility and Sexuality
Study, University of the Philippines Population Institute
Almost one out of four Filipino men aged 15-24 who have had sex
report having paid for it at least once. Of these, nearly 40 per
cent said that they paid for sex in the past 12 months. Of those
who paid for sex in the past year, the greatest proportion -- 64
per cent -- were also the youngest: men aged 15-17, some 72 per
cent of whom went to places offering commercial sex with their
[barkada], or group of peers.
These are among the findings of YAFS II, the second Young
Adult Fertility and Sexuality Study implemented by the University
of the Philippines Population Institute with financial assistance
from UNFPA. The nationwide study, conducted in 1994, involved
some 11,000 men and women aged 15-24.
The study found that young Filipinos generally are aware of
HIV/AIDS, and that most understand how HIV is transmitted and how
it can be avoided. But many do not know that an infected person
may remain asymptomatic for years. And there are still some who
believe -- mistakenly -- that AIDS can be cured.
Some 17 per cent of young people surveyed believed that AIDS
can be transmitted through mere skin contact with an infected
person. This misconception needs to be corrected, as it may lead
to discrimination against HIV-positive people, who deserve
compassion and the support of their community.
The survey revealed that in the preceding 12 months, about
10 per cent of the male population engaged in risky sexual
behaviour: commercial or casual sex. However, owing perhaps to
their negative opinions about the use of condoms and their belief
that they were unlikely to be infected with HIV, only a small
proportion used condoms. Although awareness of the function of
condoms as protection against sexually transmitted diseases and
HIV/AIDS is growing, this has not resulted in increased condom
use among the sexually active.
Whether commercial or casual (but especially in the former
case, as young people themselves recognize), unprotected sex
exposes a person to high risks of infection. Furthermore, the
risk is passed on to that person's wife, girlfriend, or other
sexual partners, as well as children. There is an urgent need,
therefore, to address the sense of invulnerability that seems to
dominate the thinking not only of these high-risk groups, but
also the general population.
The Department of Health has launched the National AIDS
Prevention and Control Programme, which includes among its
activities a campaign to promote safer sex through condom use.
The survey findings underscore the need to support this campaign,
especially considering the very low level of condom use among
those at risk of HIV/AIDS.
Perhaps an even more effective way to protect young people
from infection is to impart the value of responsible sex to the
majority who have not yet had any sexual experience.
The slogan made popular by Senator Juan Flavier when he was
Health Secretary seems appropriate: "ABC -- Abstain. If you can't
abstain, Be faithful. And if not, use a Condom."
For young people who are not married, emphasis should be
given to the first of these concepts through proper value
inculcation by their parents, teachers, religious leaders, and
other influentials. Equally, however, there is a need to have a
deeper understanding of the motivations that drive the young to
have sex before marriage, to engage in commercial sex, or to be
sexually involved with more than one person.
Only with a fuller understanding of young people's needs and
drives, including their sexuality, will programmes for them prove
effective in helping them avoid serious consequences such as
HIV/AIDS, and to help them realize their greatest potentials.
Young Love: Filipino insights
by Satish Mehra
UNFPA Country Director, Philippines
The Young Adult Fertility and Sexuality Study (YAFS II), a
nationwide survey conducted in 1994, was undertaken primarily to
strengthen the national and regional data base on the knowledge,
attitudes, and practices of young Filipinos relating to sexuality
and reproduction, and to provide policy- and programme-oriented
information to improve adolescent fertility and sexuality
education programmes. Conducted 12 years after its predecessor,
YAFS II -- including its ongoing analysis and dissemination -- is
a UNFPA-assisted project of the University of Philippines
Population Institute, in collaboration with the East-West Center
Program on Population.
To stimulate civic discourse on the survey's findings and
their implications for Filipino society, the YAFS II research
team has so far put together two press kits and held two press
conferences on the theme of "Sex and related issues facing
today's young Filipino." Feature articles prepared by the
researchers, such as the one appearing here, elicited encouraging
public reaction and an overwhelming response from the media.
The articles in the press kits reveal quite a number of
interesting, and some alarming, trends in young people's views on
subjects ranging from virginity to single parenthood, what they
do during dates, how sexually active they are, how they protect
themselves from the possible unwanted consequences of sex, and
how much they know about STDs and HIV/AIDS.
In addition to appearing in leading newspapers and
magazines, the articles have inspired editorials and radio and TV
broadcasts and have informed news coverage of these and related
topics. All of us concerned with the study are hopeful that the
enthusiasm and concern generated by its findings will be
translated into concrete actions by the state, NGOs, religious
and cultural institutions, families, and individuals.
-Further information from: Satish Mehra, UNFPA Country Director,
P.O. Box 7285, Domestic Airport, Post Office Lock Box, 1300
Domestic Rd., Pasay City, Metro Manila, Philippines. Fax: (63-2)
817-8616. Or: Young Adult Fertility and Sexuality Study II,
University of the Philippines Population Institute, College of
Social Sciences and Philosophy, Palma Hall, U.P. Diliman, Quezon
City. Fax: (63-2) 641-3918. E-mail: <popinst@nicole.upd.edu.ph>.
==========
Publications Received
>> From UNFPA Country Support Team for Arab States and Europe,
P.O. Box 830824, Amman 11183, Jordan. Fax: (692-6) 816580.
1. [Reproductive Health in Countries with Economies in
Transition: Needs and Priorities], Working Paper by Gaston
Legrain, CST Adviser on Reproductive Health.
>> From UNFPA Country Support Team for East and Southeast Asia,
P.O. Box 618, Bangkok 10501, Thailand. Fax: (662) 280-2715.
1. [Reproductive Health and Family Planning: A New Challenge
for the East and Southeast Asian Countries], Occasional Paper.
>> From UNFPA Country Support Team for the South Pacific,
G.P.O. Box 441, Suva, Fiji. Fax: (679) 304877.
1. [Are We Really Serious? Going Beyond Reconceptualization
of Population Education], Discussion Paper by Allan K. Kondo,
Population Education Adviser.
2. [Reproductive Health and Family Planning in the Pacific:
Current Situation and the Way Forward], Discussion Paper by Sun-
Hee Lee, Adviser on Reproductive Health/Family Planning Research
and Training.
3. [Hitch-hiking Along the Super-Highway: Redirection for
Population Statistics in the Pacific], Discussion Paper by Laurie
Lewis, Adviser on Population Censuses & Surveys.
==========
Staff Training: All about change
New York - UNFPA's 1996 staff training programme was unveiled in
late December by Deputy Executive Director (Policy &
Administration) Hirofumi Ando. Change is its watchword.
Aimed at helping the Fund to implement the ICPD Programme of
Action, the training strategy pays special attention to country
offices and the need for a cadre of managers and administrators
who are flexible, adaptable, and skilled in implementing change.
Much of the training programme is given to increasing
knowledge of the Fund's three post-ICPD core programme areas;
skills training in programme formulation, appraisal, monitoring,
and evaluation; mainstreaming gender concerns into the
programming process; and improving the financial monitoring of
country programmes. Most of these activities are intended for
country office staff.
To build up the Fund's managerial and administrative
capacity, senior staff members will be offered training
emphasizing communication and decision-making skills, strategies
for change, and team building and leadership.
UN Resident Coordinators are to be briefed in depth on
UNFPA's mandate and operations, in addition to the Fund's support
for training workshops by the Turin Centre. This is in keeping
with UN General Assembly resolution 47/199, which calls for
measures to strengthen the Resident Coordinator system.
UNFPA will continue to participate in collaborative
workshops for senior UN system representatives on the management
of field coordination. Collaborative training on HIV/AIDS
prevention and sexual harassment will be conducted within the
JCGP mechanism.
-Source/further information from: Coordination & Training Branch,
Planning & Coordination Division, UNFPA, 220 East 42nd Street,
New York, NY 10017, USA. Fax: (212) 297-4914.
==========