JOICFP NEWS NO. 253 JULY 1995.pdf

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extracted text
NO. 253 July 1995

ISSN 0911-0755

JOICFP NEWS
Balancing Population Growth and Food Supply
Sixteen former heads of state
urge action to ensure survival of
humankind in 21st century
Balancing population growth and food
production was top of the agenda for
participants of the 13th Session of the
r 'erAction Council where participants also
4ed the importance of promoting reproductive
choice. The meeting of 16 former heads of
government and 14 special guests was held at
the UN University in Tokyo from May 23 - 26
under the theme of “The Challenge to Balance
Population Increase and Food Supply.”
The theme was appropriate for the session
that marked the retirement of Honorary
Chairman of the InterAction Council and
former Prime
Minister of Japan
Takeo Fukuda.
Long an advocate of
balancing popu­
lation growth,
Fukuda opened the
session by noting
that the world’s
population had
iurayama
quadrupled from
1.7 billion when he
was born in 1905 to reach 5.7 billion this year.
Fukuda, a founding member of the council, is
also president of JOICFP.
Fukuda related some of the
recommendations of a high-level expert group
meeting held as a preparatory event to the
council session in Tokyo on April 10 - 11. “Of
particular note for developing countries is the
need to improve the status of women as an
essential ingredient in successful family
planning (FP),” he said. “The group felt the
most constructive recommendation for
industrial nations is to instill an awareness of
the negative consequences of excessive
consumption.” Calling for action, he stressed
that the 21st century should be viewed as a
turning point the survival of humankind.
The session was the second to be held in
Japan since the council was organized in 1983

on Fukuda’s initiative.
The previous Japan
meeting was held in
Hakone in 1986. The
council, which meets
annually, aims to foster
international cooper­
ation in the three areas
of peace and arms
reduction; global
population, environment
and development; and
revitalizing the global
economy. The promi­
Takeo Fukuda (2nd from left) speaks to Helmut Schmidt at the
nent members of this
council session.
influential group seek to
communicate the
proposals of the council directly to government million people at the time of Christ to reach 1.6
heads and other national decision-makers,
billion at the beginning of this century, outlined
heads of international organizations and
a “recipe against the explosion” of population.
influential individuals worldwide.
“We would propose that the donor countries of
Among this year’s guests were UNFPA
official development aid in the future make
Executive Director Nafis Sadik, Worldwatch
development aid dependent on the recipient
Institute President Lester Brown, former World
countries’ effective FP, enhancement of the
Bank President Robert McNamara, and former
education of girls, enhancement of the status of
Japanese prime ministers Kiichi Miyazawa and
women, FP programs and the easy availability
Nobuo Takeshita.
of contraceptives,” he said. “And, by the way,
Prime Minister of Japan Tomiichi
also make official development aid dependent
Murayama expressed Japan’s concern that the
on a reasonable limitation of military
global issues of environment, population, drugs expenditure by recipient countries.”
and AIDS threaten the whole of humankind. “I
Sadik, who spoke on the subject of
have constantly urged consideration of three
“Population and food: old questions, new
policy areas that I think should be stressed by
developments,” commented that the
all countries — namely, human-centered
International Conference on Population and
approach to social development, the
Development (ICDP) Program of Action
development of human resources through
adopted in Cairo last year contains clear and
education and training, and active participation
identifiable goals over a 20-year time frame to
tackle population and development issues.
of civic society as a whole in social
development,” he said.
“One of these is to provide universal access to
The session marked the retirement of
reproductive health information services
InterAction Council Chairman and former
including FP. This will enable individuals and
Chancellor of Germany Helmut Schmidt who
couples to freely and voluntarily choosethe _
took over the post of honorary chairman. The
number and timing of their chiIdrej^lf^ __ _
‘Another goal is to attaimi^flv^^. acceST ‘
position of chairman was filled by Andries van
Agt, former prime minister of the Netherlands.
to primary education and ^S^muragcess to
Schmidt, who noted that it took the world’s higher levels of education^^rcu^rly^for girls
population 19 centuries to grow from 200
and women,” she added. f
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InterAction Council

A Call to Action for
North & South
Malcolm Fraser, former prime minister of
Australia, provided participants of the 13th
Session of the InterAction Council with an
outline of the discussions and recommendations
developed by participants of a high-level expert
group meeting he chaired in Tokyo from April
10 -11. The expert meeting was a preparatory
event to the InterAction Council session. Below
are highlights.
The high-level expert group emphasizes
that continuous
global expansion
of population
and wasteful
consumption are
inevitably going to
increase pressure
on future food
supplies.
Official
Sadik
estimates of pop­
ulation and food
production should not lead to any complacency.
The most vigorous efforts will be required from
Third World countries and from donor countries
to avoid an increasingly serious and
unsustainable situation.
On one hand, low-income developing
countries, where the greatest pressures already

exist, must redouble
their efforts to
introduce wideranging population
policies. These
policies must fully
TAKEO FUKUDA
■ HELMUT SCHMIDT
.
recognize the status of
women. On the other
hand, many donor
Takeo Fukuda makes an address.
countries must target
their aid more
effectively. Such
lead to better informed women and voluntary
assistance needs to pay particular attention to
choice
in bearing children.
supporting agriculture and family planning (FP)
Broader
partnership with NGOs should be
in its broadest concept.
sought
to
encourage
more efficient ways to
Consumption patterns in the wealthiest
meet
the
needs
of
the
poorest people and ensure
nations are depleting world resources and in
more
equitable
sharing
of development benefits
ways that jeopardize the future of world
so
as
not
to
exacerbate
the
already critical
development. Moderation and a sense of
situation.
sharing our common world are required.
The affluent industrialized countries should
The global challenge of population growth
instill
consciousness among their own people
and food security is not insurmountable. It
that
their
excessive consumption is an integral
requires large-scale efforts from both North and
part
of
the
problem. It is not permissible for
South. Greater attention to social policy,
the
North
to
ask the developing countries to
including health care, FP and greatly increased
curtail
population
growth, while they
investment in education is required. Special
themselves
continue
to aggravate the ecosystem
attention is required to the status of women to
with
their
excessive
lifestyle.
ensure that in all respect they enjoy the same
quality of rights and opportunities. This will

Council Update

Feeding a Hungry World
Lester Brown, president, World watch
Institute, warned about the need to balance
population
growth and
limited
resources,
water and food
supplies
including
fisheries in the
21st century at
Brown with Shidzue Kato.
a Population
Forum 21
symposium, held in Tokyo on May 27. The
meeting, attended by 250 people, was organized
by Population Forum 21 in cooperation with

JOICFP and with the support of UNFPA and
the Mainichi Shimbun. Brown was guest
speaker at the event which took the theme of,
“Can humankind survive in the world of the
21st century?”
Taking China, India and the U.S. as
examples, Brown emphasized the importance of
balancing population with food production. As
the population increases in China and factors
such as dwindling water supply and declining
grain yields take effect, the country will find it
more difficult to feed itself, he stressed.
This scarcity of food, cropland and water in
the world’s most populous country will
ultimately mean shortages for the entire world,
he warned.

2

•
Isamu Miyazaki, Chairman, Daiwa
• Institute of Research, Ltd., outlined the
agenda of the
13th Session
of the Inter­
Action
Council at
a lecture
meeting of
the
Council
e
on
Pop
­
Miyazaki
ulation
J Education in Tokyo on May 17. The
• meeting, held prior to the council
• session, was attended by 40 members
• of the Council on Population
• Education. Miyazaki was a special
• guest at the 13th council session.

JOICFP NEWS, July 1995

China

Progress in Just
2.5 Years
After only two and a half years of
implementation, the Integrated Project (IP) is
proving to be an effective approach to improve
the quality of life for people at the grass roots.
This was one of the observations of a joint
JOICFP-China monitoring mission that visited
two fourth-cycle IP areas.
The acceptance of the project by the people
was particularly evident in Nankang Town,
Tieshangan District, Beihai Municipality,
Guangxi Zhuangzu Autonomous Region.
Despite a change in the administrative
;”"'sdiction of Nankang Town from Nanpu
jnty to Tieshangan District at the beginning
of the year, the project has maintained its

China Project Set to Expand
The National Workshop on the IP in China
focused on conducting an evaluation survey of
the areas where the fourth-cycle of the IP is
being implemented. The workshop, held in
Qujiang County, Guangdong Province, from
May 19-24, was attended by over 70
participants including representatives from 10
fourth-cycle project areas and seven potential
fifth cycle areas.
The workshop was held ahead of the end of
the first three years of the fourth cycle, which
was launched in 1993. According to plans for
project expansion, the fifth-project cycle will be
initiatedin 1996. A joint JOICFP-Chinese
team of experts visited Hainan Province and
Beijing to conduct feasibility studies of IP
expansion areas. The group also visited two
fourth-cycle areas and attended the national
workshop, while in China from May 7 - 30.
The creation of a strategy for an evaluation
survey of the fourth-cycle areas, which is
scheduled to be conducted at the end of this

year, was top of the agenda of the workshop.
Participants also discussed conducting a
baseline survey in the potential fifth-cycle
areas.

Mt ■

'

i,' . ,^7 rf
Children in Qujiang County use personal
drinking cups.

i

The workshop produced a proposal of
survey guidelines which were submitted to the
National IP Steering Committee for
consideration. A decision on the proposals is
expected in September.

Potential New Project Areas

|

A woman gets water from a covered well in
tangxi Zhuangzu Autonomous Region.

momentum and continued to gain the support of
the people and local government.
The monitoring mission also observed that
toilet and drinking water facilities had been
much improved by the people without receiving
external funding.
Since the IP was initiated in Nankang Town
in 1992, the infant mortality rate (IMR) has
dropped from 38 to 29.8 per 1,000 births
(1994). Infection of hookworm dropped from
52% in 1992 to 15% in 1994, and Ascaris from
70% to 30% among school students.
The mission also visited Qujiang County,
Shaoguan Municipality, Guangdong Province,
where it also observed positive changes. As in
Nankang, the people showed an awareness of
health and hygiene issues and enthusiasm for
the concept of helping themselves to raise the
quality of life through the project.
JOICFP NEWS, July 1995

A joint JOICFP-Chinese team found that
Fangshan District in Beijing Municipality
despite dramatic economic progress, the health
which has a population of 745,000. Located in
and sanitation situation of Hainan Province has
the southwest of the municipality, the district
not kept pace with development. The team,
has an Ascaris infection rate of 59%, according
which was in Hainan and Beijing to study the
to 1994 statistics.
feasibility of implementing
the fifth cycle of the IP, found •
a pressing need to raise
•
people’s awareness of health
•
CFPA Marks 15 Years
and hygiene issues including •
sanitary toilets and safe
•
The China Family Planning Association celebrated its 15th
•
• anniversary with a reception held at the Great Hall of the People •
water supply.
|
• in Beijing on May 28. The event was attended by party and
In Hainan, the team
government dignitaries, senior family •
visited the potential IP area of •
planning officials and invited guests. •
Qionghai City. According to a
One of the guests was V. T. Palan,
*
1993 sampling survey, the
regional director, ESEAOR-IPPF, who •
infant mortality rate (IMR) is
drew attention to IPPF’s document
•
extremely high in Hainan at
“Vision 2000” and noted that IPPF has J
44.67 per 1,000 births, while
stressed sexual and reproductive
•
the parasite infection rate is
health. “The essential focus of this is •
• Palan speaks at
to ensure that NGOs such as CFPA do *
as high as 95% according to
• the ceremony.
not take a very narrow contraceptive •
figures recorded between
• perspective in promoting planned parenthood,” he said. “While •
1986- 1991. For the team,
e contraception is very important, the ultimate objective must be
J
the lack of recent figures
• the creation of responsible and healthy individuals and
•
highlighted the need to
• communities, who are able to exercise their freedom of choice
•
conduct a baseline survey.
e not only in the area of contraception but in their own lives.”
®
The team also visited

3

Japan

FPA Goes to Work on Pill Issue
in Japan
The Japan Family Planning Association
(JFPA) has been taking its advocacy role
seriously by working to get the low-dose oral
contraceptive pill approved by the government
in Japan, the only industrialized country where
it is still not approved for contraception.
Approval of the pill was postponed in 1993 in a
controversial decision made on “public health ”
grounds. An increased threat of HIV/AIDS was
said to be the reason for the decision. The
efforts ofJFPA reflect the importance it places
on widening the choice of contraceptives,
particularly for women, to promote repro­
ductive health and rights — key issues in the
International Conference on Population and
Development (ICPD) Program of Action.
In September 1994, Dr. Kunio Kitamura,
director, Ichigaya Clinic, JFPA, visited the U.S.
to exchange information and opinions about the
pill issue with key people working in the
reproductive health field. Below are excerpts of
comments received from various opinion
leaders in the U.S.
Alexander Sanger
President and CEO
Planned Parenthood of New York City, Inc.
I was surprised to learn that your
government has not yet approved low-dose
birth control pills, particularly because birth
control pills are the most widely studied
medication in history and have been
consistently shown to be both safe and
effective. In the U.S., oral contraceptives are
the most widely
used method of
reversible birth
control, and a
growing number of
women are
choosing the lowdose pills.

We feel the best
Sanger
way to foster sexual
health is to give our
clients the widest
possible array of safe, effective birth control
options, full information about STDs and HIV
risks, and the freedom to make the choice that
works best for them.
As FP providers, we share the same
mission: to enable women to protect their
sexual health. Of course, to do that effectively

means we must respond to the individual needs
of our diverse range of clients. Approval of the
low-dose contraceptive pill would be an
important step in that direction.

Steven Sinding
Director
Population Sciences
& Mahmoud Fathalla
Senior advisor
Biodmedical and Reproductive Health
Research and Training
The Rockefeller Foundation
Notwithstanding the argument that use of
low-dose oral contraception would increase the
spread of HIV infection and AIDS in Japan,
there is scant
evidence of an
association between
oral contraceptive
use and HIV/AIDS.
One of the major
demands from
women’s
reproductive health
groups
during the
Smdmg
preparatory process
for the ICPD and at
Cairo itself was for increased access to safe and
reliable methods of contraception. Women are
demanding the right to make their own choices
about which forms of contraception they use.
We believe they deserve that right and that, if
they have it, they will exercise it responsibly.
We can think of no medical, ethical, or political
grounds on which the right to choose among a
range of safe proven methods of contraception
should be denied to women in any society.

f

R

Malclom Potts
Bixby Professor
Population and Family Planning

International Health Office
School of Public Health, Maternal
& Child Health
University of California
I continue to think that the Japanese
restriction on the availability of oral
contraceptives is most unfortunate.
We know from empirical evidence around
the world that the more choices society offers
individuals for FP the higher the contraceptive
prevalence. In general, the number of abortions
4

-

JFPA is pushing to get the low-dose pill
authorized in Japan.

or unintended pregnancies will be lower the
more widespread contraceptives are used.
I would
strongly
recommend
condoms for
individuals with a
high risk of
acquiring HIV, such
as commercial sex
workers, but I
Potts
would not deny
other people access
to a highly reliable
contraceptive such as the pill which also carries
with it a unique range of non-contraceptive
benefits.

o

Allan Rosenfield
DeLamar professor and dean
Columbia University School of Public Health
It remains a mystery to me and to most
public health and medial practitioners
throughout the
world why the
Japanese Ministry
'1'
of Health and
Welfare has refused
to approve the
use of oral
contraceptives since
their introduction
Rosenfield
35 years ago.
The women of
Japan have been
very poorly served by the current policy in that
in forcing Japanese women to rely primarily on
barrier methods of contraception, with their
high pregnancy failure rates, means that Japan
has one of the highest rates of abortion in the
Western world. For a country such as Japan,
which is among the most advanced countries in
the industrialized world, this policy is
surprising to reproductive health scientists and
practitioners throughout the world.
JOICFP NEWS, July 1995

I

Japan

Reaching Out to Adolescents
When young people in Japan need to turn
to someone for advice or information about
sexual issues, there is usually no one there. A
rare exception to the rule is the Japan Family
Planning Association (JFPA) which runs an
innovative “Open House” where young people
can come for counseling and services.
The center, housed at the JFPA’s head office
at the Ichigaya Clinic in Tokyo, broke new
ground in Japan 14 years ago when it was
opened to answer the information and service
needs of young people. It is still only one of a
handful of such places in Japan offering
counseling and reproductive health services
’-•'’uding family planning (FP).
One of the key ways that JFPA serves youth
is through its adolescent health phone guidance
services. The majority (65%) of callers using
this service are adolescents and in 1994 the
clinic received over 6,000 calls. The service

oshima Opens
Door to AIDS
Information
Toshima City is again leading the way as a
_ Regressive city of Tokyo. A pioneering
■ ^rember of the Municipal Coordinating

The unique AIDS Information Center based
in Ikebukuro, Toshima City.

Committee for Overseas Bicycle Assistance
(MCCOBA), which is donating reconditioned
bicycles and other items to developing
countries, Toshima established a unique AIDS
Information Center in October 3,1994.
The first of its kind in Japan, the center
JOICFP NEWS, July 1995

operates with 25 counselors, including
midwives and public health nurses, who receive
about 30 calls daily.
From the calls received last year, JFPA
noted certain major issues that concerned
adolescent callers. For the male callers, 18.9%
were concerned about their foreskins interfering
with sexual activity; 17.9% about masturbation;
11.5% about penis size; and 9.9% about
ejaculation. For the young women, 22.4%
asked about menstruation; 20.4% about
pregnancy; and 10.1% about disease.
The center received 1,732 calls in 1994
about AIDS and contraception. The biggest
group of callers in this area comprised people
in their 20s. Of those who had used contra­
ceptives, JFPA found that 68.1% used condoms;
9.0% used spermacides; 8.8% used withdrawal;
and 6.0% used the oral contraceptive pill.
The lead taken by JFPA has been followed

Phone counselors answer questions about
adolescent health issues at JFPA.

in other parts of Japan yet services for
adolescents remain few and far between. In
1994, similar clinics were opened in Sendai
City and Kobe City. The government recently
began introducing sex education into schools,
beginning in elementary school. However, the
move has come late for the present generation
of adolescents and young adults who rely on
friends, magazines and movies for information.

reflects the community-minded style
of Mayor Kazutoshi Kato under
whose leadership the city allocated
a special budget for the center’s
"A;
establishment. The center is based
- KSI. I
II
...
in the Ikebukuro Health Center, one
v g
of the city’s two public health
centers. Located in downtown
Ikebukuro, the public health center
covers 160,000 people out of a
population of 260,000 in Toshima
City with a staff of 40.
The aim of the information
center is to provide information
on HIV/AIDS and promote
expansion of a community
Saff provide a range of IEC materials at the center
network for HIV/AIDS
which also offers counseling.
prevention. The center also
actively promotes ties with
to such bodies as NGOs and to the public, the
foreign residents in Japan and related
facility offers books, videos, computers and
| bodies overseas.
includes meeting and training rooms. It is
A focus of the facility is the
dissemination of appropriate information on designed as an open, user-friendly space and
regularly invites people infected with HIV to
HIV/AIDS, particularly to younger age
groups. The center recently published a
speak to visitors. At the end of March, just six
months after opening, the center had received
handbook on HIV/AIDS for hotel employees
3,886 visitors.
with the support of the Japan Travel Bureau
The center is also actively cultivating a
(JTB). With the assistance of volunteer
network
for the prevention and care of HIV/
translators, it also provides regular updates on
AIDS and has so far targeted schools, medical
HIV/AIDS information from overseas.
Open seven days a week including evenings staff, hotels and business groups such as JTB.

5

Around the World

Bringing Services to Women in Laos CsT Covers the
Field in Latin
America

A mobile health clinic is making inroads
into rural areas and bringing services and
counseling to women in need of information
and family planning/matemal and child health
(FP/MCH) services. The clinic, the first of its
kind in Laos, was observed by a JOICFP
mission in Laos to monitor activities of the
UNFPA-supported Sustainable Community­
based FP/MCH Project with Special Focus on

include services. It is now playing a vital role
in motivating women to work as volunteers to
promote the project. The volunteers, mostly
Lao Women’s Union members, are trained to
resupply oral contraceptive pills and condoms
and provide essential drugs.
For the JOICFP team, the openness of the
women attending the clinic and the success of
group counseling were impressive. Most
women of reproductive age attended the clinic
along with men and children where they
showed a desire to learn about birth spacing and
contraception. The team observed volunteers
and satisfied users sharing information and
■
women raising questions freely.
The volunteer system is particularly
important to follow up and support the health
staff of the clinic which visits on a monthly
basis. According to health staff, the clinic
enabled the volunteers to be trained from
Insertion of the IUD is explained to women
scratch and gain knowledge and confidence to
attending the mobile clinic.
assist village women in a very short time. In
response to a strong demand for the IUD,
Women from April 27 - May 19.
training for health staff in IUD insertion is now
The mission also discussed the work plan
planned with an eye to ensuring quality of care.
for 1995, internal evaluation to be conducted
Another important aspect of the mission
this year and a plan for further technical
was proposed collaboration with the Thai
assistance with Thailand. The team visited
government and the Population and Community
Naxaithong District, Vientiane Municipality,
Development Association (PDA) in training of
and Bolikhamxay Province where it observed
government and non-governmental staff.
project activities in Pacsane District and
Thailand’s expertise and experience in the field
Thaphabat District.
has already been beneficial to the project in
The mobile clinic began with the provision
Laos where the language is almost the same as
of information and counseling and expanded to
Thai. Health staff, volunteers, women’s union
members and district and village
1 • • • J chiefs have received training in
ggp, • Thailand. The Thai side has also
JOICFP Film Debuts
Sity J provided technical assistance and
• support for management and
•
JOICFP’s animated film, Rakhee and Mausee,
• community-based development
e premiered in Bombay, India, on May 23 to an
• activities.
• audience of 350 people comprising officials of the
•
The project, which aims at
e government and non-governmental organizations
• sustainability of services, has pro• (NGOs) including women’s NGOs and the media.
• moted the concept of fee-charging
• Shigenobu Suzuki, consul general of Japan, also
• for services from the beginning of
• attended. The premier was organized under the joint 2• the project. Despite the fees, the
• auspices of JOICFP, Sakura Motion Picture Co., Ltd. • demand for project’s services is
• and the Family Planning Association of India. The • strong in the communities. An
• film was shown again in Delhi on May 31. Set in
• evaluation to determine the
• India and focusing on the theme of early marriage
• expansion of the services will be
• and education of the young girl, the film was created •» conducted at a workshop to be held
• as a joint Indian-Japanese production. It is now
• later this year in cooperation with
• available in four languages: English, Hindi, Bengali • the Institute for Mother and Child
• and Nepali.
• Health (IMCH), the implementing
• ••••••••••••••••••••••••a body of the project in Laos.

6

The UNFPA Country Support Team for
Latin America and the Caribbean will provide
technical assistance to JOICFP for an
evaluation of the UNFPA-supported project in
Guatemala to be conducted in August. The
mission will be led by CST member Isabel
Hernandez, adviser on socio-cultural research.
The CST Office was created in 1992 and is
based in Santiago, Chile. It brings together the
wide experience of 12 experts drawn from su'1
agencies and organizations as UNFPA,
UNESCO, WHO/PAHO, FAO, ILO and
CELADE/ECLAC and the Population Council.
Headed by Team Director Joop Alberts, the
CST is organized in three major working areas:
reproductive health and family planning; IEC;
and population and development.
The CST was established in response to the
growing demand from countries in the region
for an “integrated, inter-agency, inter­
disciplinary and inter-sectorial” approach to
population programs. The team assists
countries with technical cooperation and
provided over 100 missions in 1994. Of these,
37% were for project monitoring, 24% for
project formulation, 19% for PRSD/MTR/
country programs, and 19% fortraining.
UNFPA priority countries Bolivia, Haiti,
Honduras, Nicaragua and the Dominican
Republic received 35% of the missions.
Another 45% of the missions were sent to
Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador,
Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and
Venezuela. The team also assisted Costa Rica,
El Salvador, Guatemala, Panama, Cuba and
some English-speaking Caribbean countries.

Members of the CST with a JOICFP staff
member (center).

JOICFP NEWS, July 1995

I

In the News

Women’s Rights Advocates on
Defensive in U.S.
Jill Norgren, professor, The City University
ofNew York, spoke about the women's rights
agenda in the U.S. at a lecture organized by the
Family Planning Federation of Japan (FPFJ) in
Tokyo on May 26. Below are highlights.
Many of the civil rights organizations
which litigate in state and national courts on
behalf of women’s rights have been forced into
a defensive position by actions of anti-abortion
groups in the U.S. and, increasingly, since the
November 1994 election, by conservative
politicians.
Planned Parenthood (PP) Federation of
. .erica is a good example. It has not only
devoted most of its resources to protecting
access to contraception and abortion and to
preventing clinic violence against both
physicians and clients by anti-abortion groups,
but conservative political policy has also led PP
to challenge school curriculum that limits

information about sexuality. PP anticipates
having to challenge conservative political action
that would limit public welfare benefits to any
woman who has a child while on welfare. The
American Civil Liberties Union and National
Organization for Women are other examples.
The list of issues addressed by the
contemporary women’s rights movement is
extensive and includes cases involving sexual
harassment in schools and workplaces, equal
educational rights of pregnant teenagers,
employment rights, domestic violence and
rights and welfare of immigrant women.
Among special focus organizations, there are
the Reproductive Rights Project of the New
York Civil Liberties Union and the Center for
Reproductive Law and Policy. Both were
founded several years ago and have been taking
challenging cases.
Yet, as I interviewed the lawyers who head

Sadik Outlines
Progress After
ICPD
■
Dr. Nafis Sadik, executive director,
" UNFPA, spoke to Japanese parliamentarians
on May 26 while in Tokyo to attend the Inter­
Action Council meeting. Below are excerpts.
The recommendations of the International
Conference on Population and Development
(ICPD) are very strong and the conference was
a success due also to the work of parlia­
mentarians and non-governmental
organizations (NGOs), particularly women’s
organizations.
After Cairo, most of the developing
countries are reviewing their policies and
programs to make them in line with the Cairo
recommendations. They are looking at the
goals that have been set in Cairo and making
programs to achieve those goals. The goals are
to be achieved in 20 years, but their programs
will be in five-year segments. We at UNFPA
have carried out a review of our own policies
and programs and will be presenting to our
JOICFP NEWS, July 1995

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JillNorgren

these legal divisions, I was told that they had
not expected to have to continue to invest as
much time and organizational funds in
defending abortion and birth control rights.
They now also feel that they are likely to have
to go to court to oppose new welfare
restrictions that would be harmful to the lives
— and rights — of women and their children.
This means that other legal areas of concern,
issues that they had hoped to place at the center
of the women’s rights agenda, may be relegated
to a less prominent place on that agenda for
some time to come.

News on GII

Nafis Sadik (file photo)

executive board the direction that UNFPA
should take after Cairo.
Most of the donors have increased their
contribution to UNFPA for 1995. This year our
income is expected to be over US$300 million,
which is about a 20% increase over last year.
This includes a contribution from the U.S.
which originally was US$50 million.
Sadik concluded by urging Japanese
parliamentarians to work together with other
donor countries including the US to mobilize
sufficient resources in implementation of the
ICPD Program of Action.

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The Ministry of Foreign Affairs
(MOFA) of Japan provided an update of
progress on the Global Issues Initiative
(GII) on Population and AIDS at a
regular meeting with Japanese nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) on
May 31 in Tokyo. Thirty NGO
representatives joined government
officials for the update.
Among the topics discussed was the
U.S.-Japan Common Agenda of issues
which includes population and AIDS,
coral reefs, women in development,
narcotics and children’s health. MOFA
also outlined the project formulation
mission to Bangladesh from June 11-21
in which JOICFP will participate.
Included in the update was an outline
of training courses for Gil-related
personnel and information on the
increased budget for Grass-root Grant
Aid, small-scale grants administered by
the Japanese embassy in respective
countries. The NGO side provided
information on HIV/AIDS-prevention

• activities.

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VOICE OF VOICES
By Chojiro Kunii

The Passing of a Friend
Dr. Muneo Yokogawa, professor emeritus,
School of Medicine, Chiba University, passed
away on May 3 as the result of a subarachnoid
hemorrhage. I was shocked by his sudden
passing. My first thought was how to continue
parasite control (PC) activities without him.
Parasite control brings immediate and visible
improvement to health and is an excellent tool
for awakening community people to health
issues and paving the way for the promotion of
maternal and child health and family planning.
Dr. Yokogawa was a pioneer in this field
domestically and internationally.
Dr. Yokogawa’s friends gathered together
after his death and discussed what we should do
without him. Our first concern was to work out
what to do with the PC movement within Japan.
Our other concern was the IP, which is being

myself. A great many people are upset about
his sudden death. A sense of loss is shared by
his colleagues and officials of the Ministry of
Health and Welfare and other agencies.

implemented in developing countries around
the world. Of particular concern was the IP in
China which was launched over a decade ago.
The IP is now being implemented in 18
project areas in 16 provinces of China. An
exciting new development of the project is the
work of the Taicang IP Center located on the
outskirts of Shanghai. The center, which is
strongly supported by the government, is key to
the promotion of school health programs under
which parents pay to have their children
examined and treated for parasites. These
activities not only contribute to project selfreliance, but also serve as an entry point for
other integrated health-care services.
Dr. Yokogawa sowed the seeds of this
ambitious program which is now spreading to
other areas and fostering community
development that is driven by the efforts of the
people themselves.
Dr. Yokogawa was at the front-line of the
PC movement in Japan for the last two decades.
He was a great leader who guided many
“students” to enlightenment — including

Yaei Ito, governor, District 332-D, Japan, *
• The International Association of Lions Clubs •
• (center), and fellow Lions Club member
J Yoshiakira Nagao
• (left), present a
• donation of 36,600
• used prepaid cards to
• Yasuo Kon, executive
• director, JOICFP, on
• May 24. The cards,
• which will be sold to
• raise funds for the
J JOICFP Voluntary
• Fund, were donated by the Fukushima
• Prefecture Lions Club comprising 79 clubs
•
e and a total membership of 3,338.

JOIC'J-T ‘Women's health andStatus Series

DIARY
- Margaret Catley-Carlson, president,
Population Council, exchanged information with
JOICFP while in Japan from May 11-12.
- JOICFP senior program officers Ryoichi
Suzuki and Atsushi Yoshino and staff member
Soon Hee Lee were in Bangladesh from April
21 - May 2 for photo shooting. Suzuki relumed
to Japan from Thailand on May 5. Yoshino and
Lee returned to Japan after photo shooting in
Thailand on May 14.
- Dr. Jigjidsuren Altantuya, Department of
Macroeconomic Policy, National Development
Board, Mongolia, attended a one-day seminar
on FP/MCH at JOICFP on May 18.
- Sari Kailanko, commercial assistant, Trade
Office, Embassy of Finland, visited JOICFP on
May 19 to exchange information.
- Dr. Nafis Sadik, executive director, and Dr.
Hirofumi Ando, deputy executive director,
UNFPA, were in Japan to attend the 13th
Session of the InterAction Council, held in
Tokyo May 23 - 26.

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- Lester Brown, president, Worldwatch Institute,
()
provided a lecture at Population Forum 21
o
Symposium on May 27 in Tokyo.
o -JOICFP senior program officers Sumie Ishii and
C)
Aiko lijima were in Laos and Thailand for project
T monitoring and project-related activities from
o April 27 - May 19. Ishii was later in India until
() May 26 to attend the premier of the new JOICFP
C) animated film on early marriage and education of
C) the girl child, Rakhee and Mausee.
Q - Yoshio Koike, country director of Sierra Leone,
() UNFPA, visited JOICFP to exchange information
C) between May 24 and 26.
() - JOICFP Executive Director Yasuo Kon; Dr.
() Noriji Suzuki, professor emeritus, Kochi Medical
< > College; JOICFP Senior Program Officer Yukio
o Honma; and Program Officer Yoshitatsu Kanno
C) were in China for activities related to the 5th
of the IP, from May 7-28.
4 cycle
Davidson
R. Gwantkin, director, International
o
Health Policy Program, U.S., visited JOICFP on
()
June 9 to exchange information.

RAKHEE and MAUSEE
12 min., Color/English, Hindi, Bengali, Nepali

Education is a key to improving the health and
status of women. The process of change begins
with learning how to read and write. As women
use these skills to earn money, they gain the power
to make decisions for a better future.
RAKHEE AND MAUSEE is a joint Indian-Japanese
production and part of the women's health and
status series of animated films. The theme is early
marriage and the story concerns 14-year-old
RAKHEE whose fate is changed by an independent
woman called MAUSEE.

Distributed by

Sakura Motion Picture Co., Ltd.
Yoyogi Center Bldg., 57-1 Yoyogi 1-chome
Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 151, Japan
Tel: 81-3-332O6311/Fax: 81-3-3320-7666

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16mm-VTR (Beta, VHS/NTSC, PAL, SECAM)

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Japan’s TFR Jumps
The average number of babies bom to a woman in a lifetime in Japan, or total fertility rate
(TFR), jumped from an all-time low of 1.46 in 1993 to reach 1.50 in 1994, according to a
recent report of the Ministry of Health and Welfare of Japan. A total of 1.24 million babies
was born in 1994, the first year-to-year increase in 21 years, and up 50,000 from 1993.
The report also noted that the average age of women giving birth to their first child was
27.3 years, an increase of 0.1 year from 1993. Meanwhile, couples married later with men
marrying at an average age of 28.5 years and women at 26.2 years, both all-time highs.

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JOICFP NEWS is a monthly newsletter published by
the Japanese Organization for International
Cooperation in Family Planning, Inc. (JOICFP).
JOICFP NEWS welcomes your comments,
suggestions and contributions. Please mail to:

JOICFP NEWS
Hoken Kaikan Bekkan
1-1, Ichigaya Sadohara-cho
Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 162 Japan
Phone: 81-3-3268-5875
Facsimile: 81-3-3235-7090
JOICFPNEWS, July 1995

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