COMMISSION COMMENDS POPULATION DIVISION FOR EXCELLENCE, USEFULNESS OF ITS CONTRIBUTION

Commission on Population and Development

Thirty-fifth Session

6^th Meeting (PM)

COMMISSION COMMENDS POPULATION DIVISION FOR EXCELLENCE,

USEFULNESS OF ITS CONTRIBUTION

Committee Also Hears from NGOs on Future World Demographic Trends

The Population Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs received high praise in the Commission for Population and Development this afternoon as the Commission considered programme implementation and future programme of work of the Secretariat in the field of population. 

The Division was commended for the high quality of its reports, and members of the Commission pointed out that the work of the Division was important for world demographic research and discussions.  Among the Division’s commendable achievements were its continuing efforts to improve demographic estimates, enhance demographic projection methodology, and increase understanding of the causes and consequences of population growth and change among policy makers and the general public.  The Division’s projections were of immense value to the international community.  Also highlighted in the discussion was the importance of topical databases and Web sites that continued to be developed by the Division.

Introducing the Secretary-General’s report on programme implementation and progress of work in the field of population in 2001, the Director of the Population Division, Joseph Chamie, said that its programme of work had evolved over the years.  It dealt with such variables leading to world population changes as fertility, mortality, migration, population ageing, technical cooperation and population policy. 

The Division’s work programme for 2000-2001 had been formulated and implemented within the basic framework set forth in the medium-term plan for 2000-2005, taking into account the recommendations of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) and the special General Assembly session on HIV/AIDS.  Its recent publications included the “World Population Estimates and Projections:  the 2000 Revision”, and the 2001 Revision of World Urbanization Prospects had been issued in draft form.  Among other publications being prepared by the Division was the second edition of the global review of abortion policies.  Information and publications were available on the Division’s Web site.

Regarding future requirements, the representative of the International  Union for the Scientific Study of Population said that, over the next 25 years, 2 billion people would be added to the world population even if fertility

6^th Meeting (PM)

continued to fall in the developing world.  Ensuring that couples possessed the means to have the children they wanted, and only the children they wanted, was a goal that should continue to have priority.  Another challenge was providing reproductive health services for the growing number of persons of reproductive age.  Research suggested that investment in ways to satisfy the need for information, education and services of the younger population was likely to yield the best dividends in the long run. 

Participating in the debate were the representatives of the United States, Norway, China and Bangladesh.  Speaking on behalf of the United Nations agencies were the representatives of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC); Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP); Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). 

The Commission was also addressed by non-governmental organization representatives, including the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, IPAS, the International Sexual and Reproductive Rights Coalition; and the Commonwealth Medical Association. 

The representative of Kenya made a statement on the subject of this morning’s general debate –- national experiences in population matters.

Also this afternoon, the Commission rounded out its Bureau by electing Joan E. Thomas of Jamaica as its fourth Vice-Chairperson.

The Commission will meet again at 10 a.m. Friday, 5 April, to conclude its session.

Background

The Commission for Population and Development met this afternoon to conclude its general debate and to consider programme implementation and the future programme of work of the Secretariat in the field of population.

For background information, see Press Release POP/817 of 28 March 2002.

Conclusion of General Debate

SIMON B.A. BULLUT (Kenya) said that immediately after the Cairo conference on population, his country had embarked on a process of implementing the resulting Programme of Action.  The process had culminated in acceptance of the National Population Policy for Sustainable Development, which included strategies and objectives in the areas of fertility, mortality, family planning, reproductive health and reproductive rights, gender perspectives and HIV/AIDS.  The Government had fully embraced the concept of reproductive health in the delivery of care.  The right for all couples and individuals to decide freely and responsibly the number and spacing of their children was clearly spelt out in the National Population Policy for Sustainable Development.

He said the right to sexual and reproductive health was still hampered by practices such as female genital mutilation.  According to a 1998 survey, 38 per cent of Kenyan women between 15 and 49 years old had undergone the practice. Strategies against female genital mutilation include information and education. Alternative rites of passage were promoted, and safety nets were provided to girls who said no to circumcision or to forced marriage.  Male involvement programmes were being implemented to enhance reproductive health programmes, family planning and reduction of sexual and domestic violence, including sexual abuse.

HIV/AIDS was the biggest socio-economic challenge in Kenya, where an estimated 700 people died daily from AIDS.  A total of 1.5 million had been killed by the disease and an estimated 2.2 million were HIV positive.  Awareness was almost universal and people knew that AIDS could be avoided through abstinence, use of condoms and avoidance of multiple sexual partners.  However, condom use was still quite low.  Challenges in his country included:  accessible and affordable quality health care; meeting unmet needs for family planning services; preventing reversal of the gains already achieved by the reproductive health programmes; and stopping the spread of HIV/AIDS.

Consideration of Programme Implementation and Future Programme of Work

JOSEPH CHAMIE, Director of the Population Division, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, introduced the Secretary-General’s report on programme implementation and progress of work in the field of population in 2001 (document E/CN.9/2002/5).  The report covers the activities of the Population Division dealing with the analysis of demographic variables at the world level.  The document also contains world population estimates and projections and information regarding socio-economic development monitoring, dissemination of population information, and technical cooperation.

The programme of work of the Division had evolved over the years, he said.  It dealt with such variables leading to world population changes as fertility, mortality, migration, population ageing, technical cooperation and population policy.  He described the core functions of the Division, whose work programme for 2000-2001 had been formulated and implemented within the basic framework set forth in the medium-term plan for 2000-2005, taking into account the recommendations of the International Conference on Population and Development and the special session on HIV/AIDS.  The Division collaborated closely with other United Nations agencies, funds and programmes.  The list of its expert group meetings, publications and other materials prepared by the Division was contained in the annex to the report. 

Last year, he said, the Division had issued its “World Population Estimates and Projections:  the 2000 Revision” and was in the process of preparing the revision for 2001.  The 2001 Revision of World Urbanization Prospects had been completed, and the results had been issued in draft form.  Among other publications being prepared by the Division was the second edition of the global review of abortion policies.  Information and publications were available on the Division’s Web site.

He also drew the Commission’s attention to the report of the Committee for Programme Coordination (document A/56/16), which had prepared recommendations on the work of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs.  In particular, the Committee had recommended the use of reliable country data, electronic dissemination of information and a reinforced system of routine data collection.  It also supported focusing on poverty eradication and improving accessibility of information.

Regarding the report of the Committee for Programme Coordination, the Commission Chairman, ANTONIO GOLINI (Italy) said that the Population Division had been commended for the high quality of its reports.  The work of the Division was important for world demographic discussions.  As a specialist in demography, he could testify to the high quality of the Division’s publications.

PETER O. WAY (United States) expressed appreciation for the report and for the work of the Population Division.  The Division’s sponsorship of two professional meetings on fertility was an important contribution to understanding  fertility levels and trends around the world.  On the topic of mortality, he eagerly awaited the Division’s manual on the estimation of adult mortality.  With a substantial portion of mortality from HIV/AIDS occurring in the adult population, and with relatively weak current systems of vital statistics in many regions, further development in methods of estimating adult mortality was urgently needed.

He said that the Division’s publications also included the results of the 2000 Revision of population estimates and projections, which showed the world’s population at somewhat over 6 billion people.  Among important population trends highlighted in that report were the concentration of population growth in the less developed countries.  Population growth would continue despite declining fertility and HIV/AIDS.  The latest data showed the devastating impact of HIV/AIDS. Prevention remained the best hope for halting the spread of the pandemic.

He commended the Division for its continuing efforts to improve demographic estimates, to enhance demographic projection methodology, and to increase understanding of the causes and consequences of population growth and change among policy-makers and the general public.  Those projections were of immense value to the international community.  He highlighted the global resources of topical databases and Web sites that continued to be developed by the Division.

HELGE BRUNBORG (Norway) said that he was always impressed with the work of the Division, despite the budgetary constraints that it faced.  He appreciated its world population evaluation report.  Perhaps it could be discussed next year.  He also welcomed the improved availability of data on the Division’s Web site.  It was commendable that the Division had made population projections, incorporating the data regarding HIV/AIDS.  However, the projections without that factor were also interesting, but not easily available.  He also approved of the population information network Web sites, and wanted to know if the funding for them had been secured.  He welcomed the fact that the new projections on city populations had been established, and expressed hope that they would prove useful in future work on that matter.

ZHANG HANXING (China) welcomed finalization of the population report, despite the fact that there had been certain restraints in the provision of data.  The findings of the Division, including those regarding the prospect of declining fertility rate, were forward-looking and strategic.  It was important to place more focus on HIV/AIDS, migrants and reproductive health.  The publications of the Population Division provided guidance to the international community in addressing world demographic problems. 

The Population Division had also done important work in coordination of information and upgrading its publications, which were of great help to users around the world.  He hoped there would be more messages in Chinese on the Division’s Web site.  Regarding HIV/AIDS, he agreed with the position that it was important to stress male responsibility in preventing and controlling the spread of HIV/AIDS.  It was an important aspect of the issue. 

DANIEL S. BLANCHARD, Director, Latin American and Caribbean Demographic Centre (CELADE)/Population Division, Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), said population trends in Latin America and the Caribbean were entering an important transition, marked by a significant decrease in mortality and fertility, which had slowed population growth.  During this and the next biennium, CELADE would concentrate on revising estimates based on updated figures from the 2000 population and housing census round.  Half the Latin American countries and practically all countries of the Caribbean had carried out their censuses, and results were beginning to become available.

He emphasized the success of a system developed by his organization to monitor ICPD goals in order to help countries measure their implementation of those goals.  It could be used to monitor implementation of other global conferences’ goals as well.  Regarding international migration, CELADE, together with the International Organization on Migration, had organized the Symposium on International Migration in the Americas in September 2000 in Costa Rica.

Over the last year, he said, CELADE had prepared a number of documents examining ageing trends in the region.  It would present a specific proposal next week on activities designed to implement the agreements and decisions reached during the World Assembly on Ageing in Madrid.  It would continue its strategic alliances with other agencies and with governments for carrying out tasks of common concern.

JACQUELINE DESBARATS, Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), said ESCAP’s population activities had continued to focus on the implementation of the 1992 Bali Declaration on Population and Sustainable Development, the Programme of Action of the ICPD, and follow-up to ICPD+5.  Major activities had centred around preparation of the Fifth Asian Pacific Population Conference, to be held in Bangkok from 11 to 17 December.  Two preparatory meetings had been held.  The theme of the Conference would be “Population and Poverty in Asia and the Pacific.”

In the area of population research, ESCAP’s work this year had focused on demographic dynamics, fertility decline, adolescent sexual and reproductive health, child and maternal mortality and international migration.  The ESCAP provided technical assistance to countries in the region through its regular budget activities.  Much of that assistance was aimed at developing capacity in census and survey data analysis.

As further activities, she mentioned organization of training courses, seminars, workshops, publications and other means of information dissemination, for example via Web sites.

MARGARET MCGAFFREY, Regional Commission of the New York Office on behalf of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), said the ECA had collaborated with its partners on the implementation of a range of activities.  They included: operationalization of the Population, Environment, Development and Agriculture (PEDA) Model; organization of the Fourth Meeting of the Follow-up Committee on the implementation of the ICPD; organization of a regional preparatory meeting for the World Summit on Sustainable Development; finalization of a study assessing the state of demographic transition in Africa; publication of a third issue of Africa’s Population and Development Bulletin; and publication of a Compendium of Best Practices in the Management of the Nexus Issues in Africa.

Also, in 2001, the ECA secretariat had continued to provide African countries with advisory services and technical assistance on cartography, census-taking, demographic data processing and analysis.

During 2002, advocacy and capacity-building at the national and regional levels designed to analyse and manage Nexus issues and monitor the implementation of global and regional conferences, would continue to be strongly pursued.  Planned activities included:  dissemination of the PEDA Model; organization of subregional workshops; organization of the Third Meeting of the Working Group for the follow-up to the DND and the ICPD; publication of a report on the state of the transition in population, environment and agriculture in Africa; publication of the fourth issue of Africa’s Population and Development Bulletin; and further development of Web sites on population and development.

In response to questions and comments, Mr. CHAMIE said that he appreciated the positive remarks.  An excellent tradition of research and performance had been established by the Division since its inception.  It was guided over the years by the distinguished membership of the Commission.  He agreed that there was room for improvement and appreciated an opportunity to receive guidance from the Commission today.  More work needed to be done that the Division could do, and there were more issues than could be covered with the resources available.  However, the Division was proceeding in the priority areas, including mortality and the HIV/AIDS epidemic. 

The Web site of the Division had improved, he continued, but at this point, it could be considered “user-neutral”.  He hoped that it would become user-friendly in the future. The issue of funding for the POPIN Web site was being addressed.  There were budget limitations in effect, and additional activities of the site would have to be absorbed.  It was also necessary to look for additional resources for those purposes. 

Regarding the report on urbanization, he said that in China alone, the number of cities presented a daunting task, and the variety of interpretations of information in different countries made the collection of information more difficult.

Regarding the availability of information in six languages, he said that efforts were being made towards that goal.  Executive summaries of several publications had been prepared in several languages. 

MS. VILLAREAL of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations said recent years had shown that the HIV/AIDS epidemic was not just a health problem, but also an important development issue that required a multidisciplinary approach.  Given the fact that populations of many poorer countries were still overwhelmingly rural, the epidemic was bound to have serious consequences for agriculture, food security and sustainable rural development.

Studies conducted since the early 1990s revealed that AIDS-related morbidity and mortality had intensified existing labour bottlenecks in agriculture, increased widespread malnutrition, fueled food and livelihood insecurity, exacerbated gender inequalities in access to land, and added to the problems of rural poor who had limited rights to land.  According to FAO estimates, at least 7 million agricultural workers had already died of AIDS in the 25 most affected countries, and more than 16 million could be lost before 2020.

In recent years, FAO had shifted its focus to identifying the linkages between HIV/AIDS and rural development that were open to agricultural policy and programme intervention.  Agricultural policies and programmes could have an important impact by alleviating rural poverty and empowering rural men and women.  Interventions aimed at reducing fluctuations in commodity prices could diminish the necessity for temporary rural-urban migration and thus lessen the vulnerability of rural people to the disease.

Much could be done to minimize the negative effects of the epidemic on the rural sector in poorer countries and to reduce rural vulnerability to HIV/AIDS, she said.  To achieve progress, it was necessary to move beyond solely medical issues towards looking at the socio-economic dimensions of the epidemic.  It was also necessary to re-examine policy approaches, keeping in mind that effective strategies should not only address high-risk behaviour as such, but also the underlying factors responsible for such behaviour.  Also requiring attention were the problems of malnutrition, gender inequalities and participation of all sectors which provided subsistence to the world’s poorest. 

Non-Governmental Organizations

MAHENDRA SHAH, International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, announced that its Global Science Panel was planning an assessment of the role of population in sustainable development, with the aim of providing substantive input to this year’s Johannesburg Summit.  The panel consisted of 30 scientists of various disciplines, and was working on a draft statement which would be submitted at Johannesburg.  The human population must be put at the core of the sustainable development agenda; otherwise the goal of improving humankind’s well-being would not be achieved.

He said demographic factors were intimately linked, and population strategies were essential for implementation of actions for sustainable development.  According to the panel, the 2015 Millennium goals were intertwined and must be dealt with jointly.  Since 1991, a substantive demographic transition had taken place across the world, emphasizing issues of age, gender, location and health concerns.  The demographic diversity presented different challenges requiring different responses.  The panel also focused on population as it related to environment and development.  Mobility and population distribution were a significant determinant of sustainability.  Vulnerability was another focus of the panel.

BARBARA CRANE of IPAS said she represented an international non-governmental organization working globally to protect women’s health and advance their reproductive rights.  One of the most crucial concerns raised in the Secretary-General’s world population monitoring report was the continuing worldwide toll from the complications of unsafe abortions.  Since the ICPD, millions of women had suffered trauma and injuries due to abortions performed unsafely, and the WHO estimated that over half a million had died.

At the ICPD, the consensus had been that where abortion was legal, it should be safe, she said.  At the ICPD+5, governments had agreed that where abortion was not against the law, health systems should train and equip providers and take other measures to ensure that such abortions were safe and accessible.  Significantly, all but four countries in the world allowed abortion under some circumstances.  The services were often not available or affordable, however.  Women in vulnerable positions (poor women, adolescents and refugees) had the least access to contraception and safe abortion care. 

The resources available to address the problem were still minimal relative to the scale of the need, she continued.  Many of the programmatic efforts had so far focused on post-abortion care.  More than 40 countries had undertaken programmes to improve post-abortion care.  To prevent unsafe abortion and its consequences in the first place, however, it was important to work together to empower both women and men, give women access to effective methods of contraception, inform them, train providers and create awareness of the problem as provided for in the ICPD Programme of Action and the ICPD+5 resolutions. 

It was the responsibility of the Commission to provide leadership and inspire action on behalf of all the ICPD recommendations, she said.  The Commission could provide accountability and strong monitoring, ensuring that adequate resources were devoted to measuring the scope of the problem, assessing its consequences for maternal mortality and morbidity, and tracking health systems’ responses. 

FRANCOISE GIRARD of the International Women’s Health Coalition, speaking on behalf of the International Sexual and Reproductive Rights Coalition, said that worldwide there were over a billion adolescents aged 10 to 19.  Since the ICPD, substantial advances had been made in many countries to meet their reproductive health needs, but much still remained to be done.  In many places, adolescents continued to experience countless violations of their human rights, especially with regard to access to sexual health education and services.  Even where services did exist, health providers often discriminated on the basis of age, marital status, sex, parental or spousal consent. 

The failure to respect, protect and fulfil young people’s sexual and reproductive rights resulted in ignorance of basic facts about sexuality, lack of access to contraception and other necessary services, and vulnerability to sexual violence and abuse.  It put young people at high risk of unwanted pregnancy, unsafe abortion and HIV/AIDS.

Recent international conferences, including the ICPD and the Beijing Fourth World Conference on Women, had agreed that adolescents had the right to make informed choices about their sexual and reproductive health and that access to sexual and reproductive health information, education and services should be equitable and responsive to the full diversity of young people’s situations.  Empowering young women, in particular, to exercise greater control over their sexual and reproductive lives was an essential part of ensuring their future.  She urged governments to reaffirm their commitments regarding adolescent sexual and reproductive health and rights.

MARIANNE HASLEGRAVE, Commonwealth Medical Association, said her organization was concerned that the concepts of sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights, as defined in ICPD and ICPD+5, were not fully understood by health professionals in many countries.  Doctors, nurses and other health workers in those countries would probably not have received training in the relevant ethical, human rights or gender issues necessary to ensure that the reproductive rights of the patient were fully respected.  Her organization had therefore encouraged national medical and other health professional associations to provide continuing medical education for their members on sexual and reproductive health and rights.

Among issues she put forward for consideration by the Commission were the need to train professionals to develop appropriate communication skills with adolescents, and the need for professional organization and regulatory bodies to provide clear guidelines on issues such as respect, confidentiality, informed consent and right to information.  Also needed was partnership with religious and community leaders in the provision of sexual and reproductive health services.

Regarding HIV/AIDS, she said several measures should be promoted far more strongly if a global catastrophe was to be avoided.  They should include: widespread and free availability of condoms; universal education of children, adolescents and adults in the mode of transmission; readily available sexual and reproductive health information and services; and intensification of research into both vaccines and microbicides.

Mr. BANKOLE of the International Union for the Scientific Study of Population, said that his organization comprised 1,800 population specialists from over 120 countries.  Its scientific studies had increased understanding of the causes of population dynamics and their impact at the individual, household, national and international levels. 

Clearly, a key issue of concern for governments and the international community was the continuing spread of the HIV epidemic.  The International Union's work in that area had contributed to the understanding and modeling of the dynamics of the epidemic.  By supporting basic research, the Union had been a catalyst in developing the methods and approaches that had proven successful in assessing the demographic and social impact of the disease.  Through its Committee on Reproductive Health, the Union was planning work on the assessment of interventions to prevent the further spread of the disease.  Through the Committee on Emerging Health Threats, an analysis of the interactions between HIV infection and other diseases was being pursued. 

Population specialists agreed that over the next 25 years, 2 billion people would be added to the world population even if fertility continued to fall in the developing world.  Ensuring that couples possessed the means to have the children they wanted, and only the children they wanted, was a goal that should continue to have priority.  Another challenge was providing reproductive health services needed for the growing number of persons of reproductive age.  Research suggested that investment in ways to satisfy the need for information, education and services of the younger population was likely to yield the best dividends in the long run.  Programmes focusing on the needs of adolescents and young adults were also well-suited to promote gender equity by addressing reproductive health needs of both men and women.

Among the population trends that were likely to become more important in the years ahead were below-replacement fertility and population ageing, as well as growing worldwide urbanization.  Also, concerned about the inter-relations between economic development and population processes, the Union had just established a Committee on Poverty to consider development experiences over the past 30 years in order to identify economic and demographic approaches that could best lead to improved human welfare. 

Mr. HAKIM (Bangladesh) said that his delegation appreciated the activities of the Population Division.  Following the comments of other delegates, he wanted to focus on several issues that were important to his country.  Regarding fertility decline, he said that in Bangladesh some progress in family planing had been achieved over the last two decades.  The contraceptive prevalence rate had risen, reaching 54 per cent.  Fertility rates had declined, but for the last five or six years, that process had stagnated.  Definitely, the demographers should consider the causes of that phenomenon, with the help of the Population Division.  Among the factors to be considered were an increase in the use of contraception and the delay in the age of marriage and pregnancy.  He was confident that his country would get solutions with the help of the international community.

Among other issues that needed to be addressed were maternal mortality and unsafe abortion, he said.  Top priority was given in his country to the prevention and management of unsafe abortion.  With the assistance of UNFPA, several mother-and-child health centres had been established in Bangladesh, but to cover the whole population, more comprehensive solutions were needed. 

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