POP/666
REC/23

POPULATION MEETING URGES GOVERNMENTS TO COOPERATE WITH NGOS AND INTERNATIONAL AGENCIES TO IMPROVE IMPLEMENTATION OF POPULATION PROGRAMMES

BANGKOK, 27 March (UN Information Service) -- A high-level meeting on population and development ended today in Bangkok with a call on governments to adjust their population policies to reflect the increasing globalization, which has contributed to the emergence of new demographic, economic and social issues. Globalization reduces the ability of governments to act alone to exert control over development processes. This highlights the need for greater cooperation among governments, between governments and international agencies, and between governments and civil society.

The meeting, which brought together representatives of 29 countries from Asia and the Pacific, recommended in its final report that governments should cooperate on a regional basis with non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and international agencies to seek policy solutions to the problems of globalization. They include those relating to the magnitude of international migration, both legal and illegal, among countries of the region. The report also says governments should promote activities that strengthen the family so that it "can meet the challenges of new values and roles of family members".

The high-level meeting to review the implementation of the Programme of Action of the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) and the 1992 Bali Declaration on Population and Sustainable Development, and to make recommendations for further action, which began on 24 March, was organized jointly by the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). The report adopted today contains recommendations for key future actions required to achieve the goals of the ICPD Programme of Action and the Bali Declaration.

The report urges governments to address issues of youth/adolescent reproductive health and to involve young people in the planning, management and implementation and monitoring of youth programmes. Countries should also provide opportunities for the active participation of civil society, including NGOs, private sector and community-based groups, in all stages of policy formulation, programme implementation, and monitoring and evaluation, as well as resource mobilization.

Delegates acknowledged that there is an increasing economic disparity within and among countries in Asia and the Pacific and an erosion of traditional cultural values, particularly for youth/adolescent groups. In this changing context, the diversity of circumstances of those countries makes it difficult to apply specific population policies or programmes on a region- wide basis. For some countries, the issue of high fertility is paramount. For other countries, the aging of their population is the priority.

The experience shows that countries vary in their reproductive health needs, availability of resources and existing institutions. Many countries have also been slow to renovate their delivery systems and retrain their staff, decentralize management and allow community participation, among other things.

The report notes significant progress in the expansion of women's educational and occupational roles. Although there remains a gender gap in education in most countries, this has been reduced and, in some countries, it has been eliminated at the primary school level, although remaining at higher levels. Women are also increasingly involved in urban and industrial employment and, in some countries, in managerial and administrative positions. But in most countries, women remain disproportionately concentrated in lower wage sectors, the report says.

There is a clearly stated desire to provide integrated reproductive health services in many Asia-Pacific countries, and many have made important advances in promoting the quality of care. Indonesia, the report says, has developed a strategy that provides a broader range of contraceptive choices and promotes the integration of family planning and other reproductive health services. The Republic of Korea and Mongolia are also considering similar approaches. Several countries, including the Philippines, have undertaken studies to determine how the quality of care can be improved. India has adopted a "target free" approach to family planning.

Delegates at the meeting agreed that the ESCAP region is characterized by extreme diversity in terms of the prospects for population change, resource endowments, gender equality and equity. Many countries are already undertaking reforms to adjust to and benefit from the opportunities posed by the process of globalization.

While Asia-Pacific countries continue to support their individual right to autonomy in population policies, a major shift occurred with the adoption of the Cairo Programme of Action in the way population and development policies and programmes are to be formulated and implemented. With its focus on a broader approach to reproductive health and gender equality, the discussion of equity and the empowerment of women is rooted in a human rights approach, rather than in targets for fertility reduction.

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The meeting also drafted a resolution calling for a continuing flow of domestic resources for comprehensive health care, reproductive health, including family planning services, and other social development programmes, as many of the countries face financial constraints. The draft resolution will be submitted for adoption by the fifty-fourth annual session of ESCAP, to be held in Bangkok from 16 to 24 April. The text also called on the international community, including international organizations, bilateral agencies, foundations, NGOs and civil society to "substantially increase support to meet the urgent and pressing needs of the Asia-Pacific region in population and development, and to provide additional resources, as a temporary measure, to the social sector, including poverty alleviation in countries facing a major economic crisis.

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