ASIAN AND PACIFIC POPULATION CONFERENCE
International organizations supporting the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) adopted in Cairo, have launched a campaign to press the United States and the Bush administration on the eve of the Fifth Asian and Pacific Population Conference, held in Bangkok, Thailand. The Jakarta Post reported December 12, “Whereas all the other 60 member countries of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific agreed to reaffirm the commitments from previous population conferences, the U.S. rejected the wording and insisted it would only ‘take note of,’ ‘acknowledge’ or ‘recall’ the commitments.” Agence France Presse reported December 13 that Planned Parenthood Federation of America and Population Action International said the U.S. delegation "seems insistent upon watering down language on women’s health and rights" in a draft document now being debated. "The overwhelming majority of country delegations came to this meeting intent on reaffirming the ICPD Programme of Action," they said in a joint statement. "Recent State Department claims to the contrary, it seems clear that reaffirmation is the furthest thing from the U.S. delegation’s mind."  

CNSNews.com reported December 11 that activists on both sides of the abortion debate are closely watching the conference, especially the language of an action plan the countries are expected to adopt. CNSNews.com noted that Catholics for a Free Choice is circulating two petitions directed to the Bush Administration—one signed by 100 religious leaders and the other by 400 individuals—that endorse the agreement reached at the 1994 population conference in Cairo. "Since the Bush administration came into office, we've seen a very programmed and strategic effort by the U.S. delegation to roll back the language of these agreements," said Ellen Sweet of the International Women's Health Coalition, which signed one of the petitions. "We are expecting more of the same at this current meeting.” According to The New York Times’ December 15 story, Representative Carolyn B. Maloney, a New York Democrat who sent an observer to the conference, said, "This is another example of the Bush administration versus the world that, regrettably, will be at the expense of women."

A December 16 story by Agence France Presse noted that Gene Dewey, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration, admitted the United States was alone in refusing to agree to the draft, but denied it was abandoning the pact. "The U.S. does indeed strongly support the overall goals and objectives of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD)," he said. Dewey said he was disturbed by a "deplorable misinformation campaign... perpetrated by some participants at this conference, which has spread the lie that the U.S. is trying to pull back from or overturn the ICPD Plan of Action." AFP noted that the disagreement centers on issues like adolescent sexuality, where the United States supports an emphasis on abstinence, which Dewey called "the healthiest form of sexual behaviour for adolescents." Read: New York Times, Associated Press (Dec. 15 and Dec. 16), Reuters, Voice of America, and CNSNews.com. Read about Catholics for a Free Choice’s campaign against the Bush Administration at the conference.

UNFPA’S STATE OF WORLD POPULATION REPORT 2002
Coverage UNFPA’s State of the World Population report spanned the world. Agence France Presse reported December 2 that UNFPA’s report urged developing countries to invest in family planning to cut fertility rates and open a "demographic window" for economic growth. The report, "People, Poverty and Possibilities," argued that addressing population concerns was crucial to meeting the UN's Millennium Summit goals, which include halving global poverty and arresting the spread of HIV/AIDS by 2015. The December 2 story by the Associated Press emphasized that educating girls and improving women's access to family planning and other sexual health services are crucial to combating poverty. "There is a vicious circle that links fertility with poverty, " UNFPA Executive Director Thoraya Obaid told the AP. "To fight poverty, you can't just talk about economic growth by itself. You need to have investment in the social sector in the area of health and education so that that it can contribute to economic growth." With improved general health care and education, children are more likely to survive infancy, which makes women more comfortable with having fewer children, she added. To read the full global coverage of the SWOP, go to: PLANetWIRE.org

SAVING WOMEN’S LIVES
Afghan Women
"We are asking the world to not forget us if there's something that happens in Iraq or the attention of the world goes to Iraq, or anything else," said Ferozudeen Feroz, Afghanistan's deputy minister of public health, according to a December 10 story by Agence France Presse. A survey funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development, the European Commission, the UN Population Fund and Japan's International Cooperation Agency has helped Afghanistan's health ministry pinpoint priorities for overhauling a nationwide health care system in dire need of improvement, with better health care for women and children topping its list. The rate of mothers dying in childbirth is "the highest of any country in the world"--some 1,600 deaths for every 100,000 live births, Feroz said, adding that only 25 percent of Afghan health care facilities offer basic services for expectant mothers and children.

Germany Funds Safe Motherhood Initiative in Kabul
Germany has contributed 500,000 euros to UNICEF to contain maternal mortality and to improve the health of women and children in Afghanistan, said a United Nations spokesman. Deutsche Presse-Agentur reported December 1 that "The contribution will fund the Safe Motherhood Initiative within Maternal Child Health Programme of UNICEF for three months," according to spokesperson Chulho Hyun in Kabul. Hyun said the money will procure essential obstetric supplies, equipment, medicine and rehabilitation of the Malalai maternity hospital to benefit 150,000 pregnant women in and around the city. The German funding will also be used to support translation of an updated reference manual developed by UNICEF, WHO, UNFPA and World Bank for training over 200 doctors and midwives in Kabul, Kandahar, Herat and Nangarhar provinces.

Getting Pregnant Women to the Hospital in West Africa
Villagers in parts of Western Africa have come up with an ingenious way of helping pregnant women get to hospital. BBC News reported December 10 that villagers place yellow flags on the side of major roads, literally flagging down passing truck drivers. The drivers transport the women to hospital, which can sometimes be hundreds of miles away. The scheme follows an agreement between villagers and drivers' unions. Pramilla Senanayake of the International Planned Parenthood Federation said the scheme was devised by villagers. "They discussed with the lorry drivers' union whether lorry drivers who drive between big cities carrying ground nut and oil might in fact be mobilized to help transport women,” said Senanayake. The lorry drivers said: “Sure, but what can we do?” The villagers replied saying: “If there's a woman in difficulty in a village - and the village could be a mile away from the main road - what we will do is get her family to plant a yellow flag on the main road.” Read: BBC News

HIV/AIDS: U.S. JOINS COALITION IN FIGHT
United Press International reported December 12 that the United States will participate in an international coalition to ensure that people infected with HIV/AIDS have access to treatments readily available in richer, industrialized nations. The International HIV Treatment Access Coalition, which includes The World Bank, the Rockefeller Foundation, the Global Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS and UNAIDS, will provide technical assistance to developing nations to help them obtain lower-cost anti-retroviral drugs. "We have come together to discuss scaling up access to treatment for people living with HIV/AIDS and delivering AIDS treatment to the millions in Africa who need them. We have set ourselves quite a task, one in which the realities of poverty and inequality will confront us daily, but this challenge we must confront and win," said Tomris Turmen, Executive Director of Family and Community Health for the World Health Organization.

ENVIRONMENT: WATER SHORTAGE AND CONFLICT
By 2025, two-thirds of the world's population could be living in countries that face a serious shortage of water, warned the UN World Water Council. The Financial Times reported December 12 that at the launch of the International Year of Freshwater, the UN will call on governments, businesses and communities for coordinated action to improve access to drinking water and sanitation for billions of people. "Water is likely to become a growing source of tension and fierce competition between nations if present trends continue, but it can also be a catalyst for co-operation," said Kofi Annan, the UN Secretary-General. The most prominent event of the Freshwater Year will be the 3rd World Water Forum, a 10,000-strong meeting in Kyoto next March that will attempt to galvanize action on the UN's commitment to halve the proportion of people without access to clean water and sanitary services by 2015.

EDITORIALS AND OPINIONS
Regarding UNFPA’s 2002 release of the State of the World report, The Toledo Blade’s December 11 editorial observed, “Too bad for women in developing nations that American conservatives disregard the link between poverty and women's access to family planning. Efforts to foster economic growth in Third World nations are futile if those women can't get family planning or education.” It noted, “These families cannot break out of the cycle of poverty unless access to family planning is improved. The U.N. report states that families in developing nations select to have fewer children when they are presented the option. Other important results often overlooked when family planning is available involve the general health and well -being of children and their families.” The Blade concluded, “When health care and education are improved, children survive infancy, and mothers and other family members live healthier lives.” Read: The Toledo Blade (OH)

Women’s Enews ran a December 11 op ed by Francoise Girard of International Women's Health Coalition who wrote that President Bush's blockage of the United States' $34 million contribution to UNFPA revealed a much broader anti-woman agenda, one that is threatening women's health, human rights and equality in the United States and worldwide. “The reason Bush invoked to bar funding for UNFPA is particularly strange, because the organization has done more than any other to persuade the Chinese government to relax what is commonly known as the ‘one-child policy,’ and the resulting coercive practices,” Girard wrote. “[Bush] will continue to chip away at women's reproductive rights and human rights, and the new conservative-controlled Congress will likely support his efforts. Advocates must continue to press pro-choice Democrats and Republicans to fight for women's rights, starting with reinstating the UNFPA funding, so that women and girls worldwide can have access to the information and services they need to survive.” Read: Women’s Enews

The Atlanta Journal and Constitution’s December 5 editorial noted, “When the U.S. government reneged on a pledge to provide family planning aid to poor women around the world, Jane Roberts of California and Lois Abraham of New Mexico asked Americans to honor the commitment.” AJC explained that Roberts and Abraham each decided that even if the government turned its back on poor women, Americans might be willing to raise the money a dollar at a time. Now they've linked forces with the United Nations and titled their combined effort the "34 Million Friends" campaign. The campaign and its history are explained in detail on the UNFPA Web site. "The total received is now above $100,000, and at least $2,000 is arriving every day in hundreds of envelopes," says Roberts. The promised U.S. contribution represented 12.5 percent of the U.N. family planning budget, and its loss cripples efforts to discourage female genital mutilation and distribute safe-birth kits to poor women. "These are real people, not just numbers," says Abraham, an attorney. "Young girls will suffer injuries in childbirth and women who want to space their families will not receive the contraceptives they need." Read: The Atlanta Journal and Constitution and Jane Roberts’ op ed in The San Bernardino Sun (CA) and The Seattle Post-Intelligencer (WA)

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The above summary was written by Elena Cabatu and Kathy Bonk at the Communications Consortium Media Center, 1200 New York Avenue, NW, Suite 300, Washington, DC 20005, 202/326-8700. Redistribution is encouraged with credit to CCMC.