LINKS BETWEEN FAMILY PLANNING, HEALTH AND FAMILY WELL-BEING EXAMINED IN REPORT FOR POPULATION/DEVELOPMENT CONFERENCE
Press Release
POP/625
LINKS BETWEEN FAMILY PLANNING, HEALTH AND FAMILY WELL-BEING EXAMINED IN REPORT FOR POPULATION/DEVELOPMENT CONFERENCE
19961108 United Nations Study Also Finds Status of Women Affected by Numerous Elements; Regional Differences in Availability of Contraception Also DiscussedNEW YORK, 8 November (DESIPA) -- As part of the substantive preparations for the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development, the Population Division of the United Nations Department for Economic and Social Information and Policy Analysis, in consultation with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), organized a meeting of experts on family planning, health and family well-being at Bangalore, India, at the end of October in 1992.
The United Nations has now issued a report on those proceedings. The primary objective of the meeting was to identify practical measures to make family planning programmes more effective and efficient, to help meet the reproductive health needs of women and have desirable effects on the status of women and the health and well-being of the family.
The report emphasizes that there is a strong need to examine the status of women in relation to social organizations and cultural contexts which vary from society to society. It was recommended that the removal of gender inequalities would enhance the status of women, which in turn would have a positive impact on family planning.
It was stated that social development might be contributing more to fertility decline than economic development, so instead of presenting those programmes as competitive or alternative approaches, they should be seen as a gradual process with synergistic effects. Studies have also shown that even in ostensively unfavourable conditions, fertility decline could be accelerated by programme efforts which were sensitive to local conditions, responsive to community needs and designed to encourage social change. The general conclusion to be drawn from the report is that organized family planning programmes and socio-economic development went together to affect fertility.
The report identifies several important programme characteristics crucial for the success of family planning programmes: political commitment and strong leadership; adoption of a client's perspective; contraceptive
availability/accessibility; quality of services; and campaigns of information and education. It was noted that although contraceptive use had increased substantially throughout the developing countries during the past decades, many sectors of the population, such as minorities, remote rural areas and adolescents, had been neglected by the programme. Thus there were pronounced regional differences in contraceptive use, and it was recommended that every effort should be made to reach those groups to remove regional disparities.
It was stated that adolescents were, in many countries, increasingly at high risk of sexually transmitted diseases, HIV infection and AIDS. Adolescents often lacked proper education, and the importance of involving youth in identifying their special needs was emphasised. Governments were urged to make provisions for sex education, family life education and HIV/AIDS education, and to ensure easy access to reproductive health services, including family planning.
The issue of safe motherhood, it was agreed, should be considered in a wider perspective of the role and status of women, rather than being narrowly focused in the context of health; motherhood should be recognised as an important social function and not a disease. Women wanting to avoid unwanted pregnancy should be provided with family planning services, including access to safe abortion, to protect their health and well-being.
Linkages between reduced family size and family welfare systems (including economic well-being of the family, welfare of the children, wife's employment opportunities and parental old-age security) were also examined. Studies have revealed that reduced family size has positive effects on a couple's ability to accumulate wealth, participate in new forms of consumption and thus have more material possessions and a better quality of life.
Finally, the report concludes that despite progress in family planning, there are still many challenges, including a growing demand for services. Government must at least sustain, or increase, support for family planning and try to remove legal and other barriers to expanding services. The existing role of non-governmental organizations in innovative service delivery should be extended to offer appropriate reproductive and sexual health services to those in need, to improve quality of care and community involvement and to demonstrate cost effectiveness and address women's concerns.
An official of the Population Division said the materials presented in the publication not only made a valuable contribution to the 1994 Conference, but would serve as useful tools for future research on family planning programmes and health and family well-being, and also contribute to the work of the United Nations in those areas.
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