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Population policies: family planning and reproductive rights.
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Parliamentary Research Service
CURRENT
ISSUES
BRIEF
No.
71994
Population policies:
Family
planning
and
reproductive
rights
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Parliament
of
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Commonwealth
of
Australia
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Current Issues
Brief
No. 7 1994
Population policies: Family
planning
and
reproductive
rights
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CONTENTS
.
'·
t. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1
Execu
rve
l!lliilDl8lY · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · ·
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1
The
population 'problem' . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1
Preparations for
the
ICPD
family planning agenda . . .
. . . . . . .
2
Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Preliminary
meetings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Parliamentarians
for Global Action
......................
4
Australia's
National
Report on
Population
for
the
ICPD
......
4
Women's reproductive rights
as
a human rights issue.. . . . . . . . .
7
Other issues
in
family planning aid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
9
Australia's Overseas Aid
Program
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Australian
policies
and
problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
10
Conclusion .
.......................................
14
Appendix I Selected statistics on religious
and
ethnic groups
............
16
Appendix
IT
Population
of
the
world
and
of
major areas
1700-1985
and
projected population
in
2020
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Appendix
ill
UNICEF
Table
of
Births
by region . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
: g
Executive summary Family
planning
aid issues have been
prominent
in
recent
months
in
the
context
of
the
debate
on States
rights
versus women's
rights
and
human
rights,
and
in Australia's
preparations
for
the
United
Nations
Conference
on Population
and
Development
(ICPD)
to be held
in
Cairo
on 5 -13 September
1994.
Shortly
after
the
announcement
by Minister
Bolkus
in
September
1993
of
the
membership
of
the
national
committee for
Australian
preparations
for
the
ICPD,
two rows erupted.
The
first was over
the
membership
of
this
committee: despite all
of
the
rhetoric
on
the
importance
of
women's participation,
not
one
of
the
ten
individuals
named
for
the
committee was a woman. However organisations
and
departments
were also nominated for
representation
and,
in
the
event,
· their
nominees
brought
women's participation
on
the
committee to
near
parity.
The
second furore
concerned
the
announcement
on 8
December 1993
of
a
second
committee
to
be headed
by Professor
Dennis
Ahlburg
to
inquire into
the
links
between
rapid
population
growth
and
economic development,
and
the
temporary
freezing
of
part
of
the
population
aid
program
pending
the
outcome
of
the
inquiry.
The
Chair
of
the
Australian
Medical Association
and
the
president
elect
of
the
World Medical Association, Professor Priscilla Kincaid
Smith,
branded
the
decision to freeze
the
population aid
program
'an
appalling signal
to
the
international
community':
Only
by using
the
review
to
dramatically increase
our
contribution
to overseas
fertility
programs
will we avoid continued
international
embarrassment.
In
the
event
the
Independent Inquiry Report
into
Population and
Development,
released
on 13 April1994, cautiously found
that
'slowing
population
growth
from
high
current
levels, especially in poor,
agrarian
societies
...
is advantageous
to
economic development,
health,
food
availability, housing, poverty,
the
environment
and
possibly education
and
that
family
planning
programs help women
to
control
the
spacing
and
number
of
births.
Australia's
National Report
on Population for the United Nations
International Conference
on Population
and
Development,
chaired by
Richard Woolcott, was released
on
15 March 1994,
but
made
no
mention
of the
Ahlburg
inquiry
or
of
the
freezing
of
part
of
the
funding for overseas population programs.
The
National Report
on
Population for
the
ICPD
is supportive
of
Australia's family
planning
aid programs,
stating
that
·
access to
safe
and
effective family planning services
is
a fundamental
human
right.
(i)
Q
â¢
â¢
Both
reports
however note
strong
concerns
about
and
opposition
to
co
ercive
or
State
imposed programs.
The
National Report on
Population
for
the
ICPD
claims
that
'both access
to
family
planning
and
freedom
from coercive population control programs
are
basic
human
rights'
and
the
Ahlburg
report
notes
that
'population programs .
..
should have
built
into
them
adequate protection
against
the
violation
of
human
rights'.
Neither
report
suggested strategies
to
combat co-ercive
·
measures, except
to
note
that
women should be heavily involved
in
the
programs'
planning
and
implementation.
Issues
of
women's
status
and
women's rights have emerged
as
intrinsic
to
the
effect
or
success
of
population
aid
programs. A different
approach, from state-imposed demographic
targets
to
a women's
rights/human
rights
approach to population programs
and
problems is
now
being demanded
at
international
level.
Population policies: Family planning
and
reproductive
rights
1
Introduction Family
planning
aid issues have received significant coverage
in
Australia
in
recent
months,
through
inquiries, reports,
parliamentary
debates
and
Australia's
representation
at
international
population
policy meetings. Particularly, these issues have been given prominence because
of
the
United
Nations
International
Conference
on Population
and
Development
(ICPD)
to be held
in
Cairo
on 5 -13
September
1994.
Participating
nations, including Australia, were
required
to
submit
national
reports
for
this
Conference,
outlining
relevant
policies
and
actions including those
relating
to
family
planning
programs.
This
paper
comments
on some
of
the
issues now being raised
in
the
areas
of
family
planning
aid and. reproductive rights. Controversy
over Australia's expenditure on family
planning
aid programs,
pressure
for
greater
representation
of
women
in
these
programs, challenges
to
state-imposed demographic policies as contravening women's rights, and
conflicting ideas
of
human
rights
and
women's
rights
in
this
context,
have
produced lively
and
heated
debate.
The
population 'problem'
As
did
the
Earth
Sumrp.it
in Rio de
Janeiro·
with
sustainable
.development,
the
ICPD
will, for two weeks, focus public
attention
worldwide
on the
issue
of
population growth.
The
world's population
problem is described
in
the
recently-released
report
prepared
for
the
ICPD,
Australia, National Report
on Population:
The
human
;>opulation
of
the
world now
exCeeds
five billion people
and·
is
increasing by a
quarter
of
a million each day. Never
in
its
history
has
the
world
had
to cope with this kind
of
rate
of
growth.
Over 90
per
cent
of
this
growtli is
occurring
in
developing countries, while perhaps
90 per
cent
of
the
growth
in
consumption is
in
the
industrialised world.
The
burden
of
increasing population
is falling
on countries
least
able to cope.
1
And a
preparatory
UN
committee
report
stated:
...
the
results
of
inaction
during
this decade will be painfully visible: 28 billion
people
may
inhabit
the
Earth
in
2050
...
2
1
Australia,
National
Report
on Population
for the
United
Nations
International
Conference on Population
and
Development, Cairo 1994,
March 1994.
2 Report
of
UN
Executive Committee, New York,
10-11 September 1993.
2
Population policies: Family planning
and
reproductive
rigbta
Preparations for
the
ICPD
family
planning
agenda
Background The
first
United
Nations
International
Conference
on Population
was
held
in
Bucharest
in
1974, with 136 participating nations.
There
the
'human
_
right
to
reproductive freedom
and
to
information
on
contraceptives' was recognised.
This
conference also recognised
the
critical relationship
of
economic development
and
improved education
of
women
with
the
slowing
of
population growth.
At the
second
UN
population conference
in
Mexico
City
in
1984
the
US
announced
cessation
of
aid
to
organisations providing information
or
services
involving abortion. Two major organisations,
the
International
Planned
Parenthood
Federation
and
the
UN
Fund
for
Population
Activities (established
in
1969) lost
their
funding.
3
This
decision was
overturned
only
last
year, 1993, by
President
Clinton.
Family
planning
was also addressed
at
the
1992
UN
Environment
Conference
in
Rio de
Janeiro
(Earth
Summit) where
agreement
was
reached
that
all Governments should implement:
measures
to
ensure
that
women
and
men
have
the
same
right
to
decide freely
and
responsibly
on
the
number
and
spacing
of
their
children, [and]
to
have
access
to
the
information, education
and
ll!eans
as
appropriate
to
enable
them
to
exercise
this
right
in
keeping
with
their
frOOdom,
dignity
and
personal!);'
held
values,
taking
into
account ethical
and
cultural
considerations.
Also agreed were:
programs
to
establish
and
strengthen
preventive
and
curative
health
facilities
which
include
women-centred, women-managed, safe
and
effective reproductive
health
care
and
affordable, accessible services
as
appropriate
for
the
responsible
planning
of
family size
...
4
According
to
Marie Coleman,
an Australian
delegation
member
to
the
Rio de
Janeiro
conference,
this
was
the
first time
that
all
nations
represented
at
the
UN
(and including
the
Vatican which was also
represented)
had
agreed
in
a plenary session to references to
the
'equal
3
The
CQ Researcher,
Population Growth,
Congressional
Quarterly
Inc,
16
July
1993,
Vol
3. No. 26.
·
4 Coleman, Marie, 'Family planning:
it
was
never
off
the
agenda'.
Canberra
Times,
12 June
1992.
·
Population policies: Family planning
and
reproductive
rights
3
rights
of
men
and
women
to
decide freely
and
responsibly
on
the
numbers
and
spacing
of
their
children'.
5
Preliminary
meetings
Preliminary
Expert
Group Meetings convened
by the
United Nations
Economic
and
Social Council were held
in
1993
to
prepare
for
the
Cairo Conference.
As
reported,
the
objective
of
the
Expert
Group
meetings was
to
identify practical steps
that
governments,
intergovernmental
and
non-governmental organisations,
donors·
and
the
private sector could
take
that
'would help empower women, would
have desirable effects on health, as well
as
on the
process
of
family
formation
and
other
population
trends
and
would also promote
development'.
The
agreed outcome was
that
sensitisation
to
gender
issues should be a priority,
that
gender-based analysis should become
an
essential
instrument
in
the
design
and
implementation
of
all
development activities
and
that
development policies
and
strategies
should be assessed from
the
perspective
of
their
impact
on women's
social,·
economic
and
health
status.
A major
theme
emerging from
these
meetings was
the
need
for women
to be represented
in
much
greater
numbers
in
the
policy
making
arena
and
at
all
levels
of
planning,
managing
and
executing population
and
development
and
environmental
programs
--
both
for reasons
of
equity
and
.,, as
a precondition
of
success
of
policies.
6
The
Preliminary
Expert
Group Meetings have reflected
the
shift
that
has
occurred
in
the
understanding
of
population
and
development
issues
within
the
international
community:
rather
than
a perspective
based on demographic
planning
and
state-imposed targets,
the
debate
in
more often
now
in
terms
of
the
need
to
enhance women's
status
a:J.d
their
role
in
decision making, including
in
reproductive
health
and
reproductive rights,
if
population control in democratic arid developing societies is
to
be successful.
Governments
and
non-governmental organisations
and
other
donors
have
been
urged to seek 'culturally appropriate' methods for
both
the
delivery
of
services
and
the
integration
of
women
in
population
and
development initiatives:
any
development, population
and
health
programs
that
solicit
the
involvement
of, or
attempt
to
deliver benefits
5
Coleman, Marie,
op.
cit.
6
· UN Economic
and
Social
Council,
Preparatory
Committee for
the
International
Conference
on
Population
and
Development,
Synthesis
of
the
Expert
Group
Meetings
convened
as
part
of
the
substantial
preparations
for
the
Conference,
10-21
May
1993.
4
Population policies: Family planning
and
reproductive
rights
to, communities should be based
on the
direct participation
of
women.
In
particular,
they
should
not
assume
that
information exchanged
with
or
resources delivered
to
men
will nec.essarily
reach
women
7 â¢
Parliamentarians for Global Action Representatives
of
world parliaments have also held population
and
development meetings which
have
focussed
on
issues
of
family
planning
aid
and
women's rights.
In
1993
'Parliamentarians
for
Global.
Action',
with
representatives from 24 countries including Australia, called for family planning
to be
integrated
into
community
based
health
services, with a focus on
the
quality
of
health
care
provided,
and
for special
attention
to be given
to
the
needs
of
adolescents, particularly
with
regard
to
family planning.
They
called
upon
governments
to
attain
a
three
per
cent
reduction
in
current
military
expenditure
to
meet
these costs
as
well
as
to
allocate
four
per
cent
of
their
official development assistance programs
to
population
activities
by the
year
2000.
In
addition,
they
called
upon
all OECD
countries
to
attain
the
0. 7
per
cent
of
GNP
target
for
official
development assistance.
8
In
identifying basic issues
at
an international
parliamentary
workshop
in
May 1993,
Parliamentarians
for
Global
Action
stressed
the
role
of
women:
Women's education
is
the
single most important variable
in
population planning.
Education affects
their
social and cultural
status
as
well
as
their
fertility
and
the
health
of
their children. The right
of
women to have
accesa
to
an education
needs
to
be univeraally
recognised.9
Australia's National
Report
on Population
for
the
ICPD
The
Australian
Government announced on 1
September
1993
the
setting
up of
a
national
committee for Australian
preparations
for
the
United
Nations
International
Conference
on
Population
and
Development.
The
committee's
report
for the
Conference was released
on 15 March 1994.
7 ibid. 8
Parliamentarians for Global Action,
June
1993.
9 Parliamentarians for Global Action. International Parliamentary Workshop
on
Selected Issues
of
the
ICPD
Debate: How to Achieve Success in
Cairo,
An
Overview, 14-16 May 1993, New York.
(1
Population polides:
Family
planning
and
reproductive
rights
5
The
national
committee was chaired
by
Richard Woolcott; former
Secretary
to
the
Department
of
Foreign
Mfairs
and
Trade,
and
Ambassador
and
to
the
United
Nations.
As
announced,
the
other
governmen_t committee members were: â¢
community
and
business
representatives-
Councillor
Henry
Tsang,
Deputy
Lord
Mayor
of
Sydney;
Mr
Nino Randazzo,
Editor
of
"Il
Globo"
Melbourne;
Mr
Bert
Evans,
Chief
Executive
of
the
NSW
Metal
Trades
Industry
Association; Professor
Ian
Lowe,
Faculty
of
Science
and
Technology Griffith
University;
Dr Bob Birrell, Reader
in
Sociology
at.
Monash
University;
Professor
Stephen
Castles,
Centre
for
Multicultural·
Studies,
University
of
Wollongong;
Mr
Alan
Matheson,
International
Officer ACTU;
Professor Gavin
Jones,
Co-ordinator Demography
Program
ANU
and
Mr
Phillip
Toyne, Visiting Fellow, Law Faculty
ANU.
â¢
representatives
of
non-government
organisations-
Community Aid
Abroad;
Australian
Council for Overseas Aid; Family
Planning
Australia; Australian Conservation Foundation; World Wide
Fund
for
Nature;
National Women's Consultative Council.
⢠·
representatives from
relevant
government agencies -
the
Bureau
of
Immigration
and
Population Research
and
the
Departments
of
Immigration
and
Ethnic
Affairs, Foreign Affairs
and
Trade,
· Environment,
Sport
and
Territories,
Human
Services
and
Health;
., the
Aboriginal
and
Torres
Strait
Islander Commission;
Office
ofthe
:.:status
of
Women and.
the
Australian
International
Development
Assistance
Bureau
(AIDAB).
10
In
light
of
the
stress
placed
in
all
international
preliminary
and
planning
activities on
the
need for
strong
participation by women,
it
was
unfortunate
that
all
of
the
individuals
named
for Australia's
committee were men, causing
the
Coalition
of
Australian
Participating
Organisations
of
Women
(CAPOW)
to comment:
It
is alarming
that
in
1993,
in
the
International Year
of
Indigenous People, a
government could appoint a group
of
ten
non-indigenous
men
to a national
committee. Although
there
will be non-government representatives on
the
committee (some
of
these women),
it
is astounding
that
the
government did
not
include one single woman
in
their
list
of
members.
11
Iii the
event,
and
possibly
announcement
provoked,
in
part
due
to
the
reaction
that
the
departmental
and
non-government
10
Senator
Nick Bolkus. 'Group to advise on population issues',
Media
ReleaSe,
1
September 1993.
11
CAPOW!
Bulletin
September-
October 1993.
i)>.
6 .
Population policies: Family planning
and
reproductive
rights
representation
brought
the
numbers
of
women on
the
committee
to
12,
with
14 men.
· The
Report
highlights
national
population policies,
programs
and
approaches
and
aims
to
present
an overview
ofthe·key
population
and
development issues for Australia.
The
Minister for
Immigration
and
Ethnic
Affairs
and
the
Minister Assisting
the
Prime
Minister
for
Multicultural
Mfairs,
Senator
Bolkus,
in
his
foreword describes
the
document
as reflecting
the
complexity
of
issues
and
the
diversity
of
views
in
contemporary . Australia,
'rather
than
coming
to
firm
conclusions'.
The
report
covers a wide range
of
population issues
such
as indigenous peoples, immigration policy, multicultural policy
and
environmental issues.
It
also outlines Australia's policies
and
goals
in
maternal
and
child
health
and
family planning-related areas.
Chapter
7 concerns 'the role
and
relevance
of
the
world population
plan
of
action
(WPPA)
and
other
instruments' for Australia's
internal
policies,
· and
chapter
8 concerns
the
role
of
Australia
in
'international
co
operation
on population'.
The
report
recognises
that
ideally
...
slower population growth
is
achieved within
the
context
of
development efforts
that
promote
ecJnomic
growth, extend education
and
health
and. improve
women's rights,
breadth
of
choice
and
status.
Bringing benefits directly
to
women helps
to reduce fertility. There
is
also
a need
to undertake
targeted
family
planning
activities, both
to inform people
and
to
provide quality services.
The
Report
affirms Australia's recognition
that
the
education
of
girls
and
the
involvement
of
women
in
decision
making
are
crucial
to
long
term
population control.
This
is consistent
with
the
stand
taken
by
the
Parliamentarians
for Global Action.
It
also indicates recognition
that
providing women with a choice
of
quality
family
planning
methods,
in
culturally appropriate ways, is
both
more
effective
in
limiting
pop·:.~lation
growth
than
coercive approaches
and
more
in
keeping with democratic
and
status-of-women ideals.
The
report
lists the following guiding principles for its
support
of
family
planning
programs:
â¢
individuals should decide freely
the
number
and
timing
of
their
children
and
have
the
information
and
the
means
to exercise this choice;
â¢
access to safe
and
effective family planning services
is
a
fundamental
human
right;
â¢
women should have access
to a full
range
of
reproductive health services;
and
·
â¢
Australia's assistance should actively work
to improve
the
quality
of
care
in
family planning programs by
ensuring
access
to a significant choice
of
family planning methods; by improving the skills, competence
and
human
rights awareness
of
family
planning
service providers; by providing
information
and
counselling for users
and
follow-up advice
to support
Population policies: Family planning
and
reproductive
rights
7
continued
usage
and
ensuring
the
appropriateness
and
acceptability
of
services.
12
Women's reproductive rights
as
a
human
rights issue
Control
over fertility is
an aspect
of
reproductive choice which
in
turn
opens
up
a
range
of
other
choices for women.
Thus
it
is seen
as
important
from a
human
rights
perspective
that
development
assistance be
targeted
to
ensuring
that
quality family
planning
services
are
made
available
to
even
the
poorest citizens
of
the
world.
It
is also
important
that
human
rights
considerations·
provide
the
framework
and
starting
point
for nations' population
programs
and
provision
of
family
planning
services.
A reproductive
rights
workshop
held
at
the
World Conference
on
Human
Rights
in
Vienna
in
1993
noted
that
in
population control,
the
rationale
had
been
state
demographic policies.
The
challenge now is
seen
to be to
regard
reproductive
rights
as a women's
issue
and
to:
ensure
that
women's control
over
their
bodies
and
sexuality
and
their
ability
to
control
fertility
are
addressed
as
human
rights
issues.
The
workshop highlighted
the
need
for
strategies
to
give
content
and
meaning
to
the
concept
of
women's reproductive rights.
13
,!}
A ·n:ew
'reproductive
health'
approach, focussing
on the
social, economic
arid
cultural
factors which influence reproductive health, is advocated
by' many
participants
in
the
population/fertility control debate.
This
new
approach
would
en<;ompass
safe motherhood, family planning,
child survival
and
development
and
control
of
sexually
transmitted
diseases.
It
would recognise
that
individuals do
not
perceive
their
health
needs
in
isolated categories,
but
rather
as
part
of
the
circumstances
of
their
whole lives.
The
new
approach
would
promote
three
objectives: develop a comprehensive socio-economic, legal
and
bio-medical framework for reproductive
health;
empower
women
to
better
understand
their
own reproductive
health
needs;
and
promote
public dialogue
and
advance public awareness
about
reproductive
health
and
population issues. This should
translate
into
support
for
community-based activities, development
and
encouragement
of
women-centred models for reproductive
health
care
and
support
for
education
on these rights:
12
Australia, National Report on
Populatio_n,
op cit,
Chapter
8.2.
13 Women's
Health
Journal.
Latin
American
and
Caribbean Women's
Health
Network,
No
3, 1993.
8
Population policies:
Family planning
and
reproductive
rights
While a family
planning
program,
in
terms
of
targets
set,
methods
pushed, etc,
may
or
may
not
be necessary,
the
availability
of
safe
and
effective
contraceptives
which
women
can
handle
must
be ensured. Supportive
and
advisory services
must
also
be available
to
those
who
want
to
plan
families
and
also
deal
with
problems.
such
as
infertility.
Every
support
must
be given
to
women
to
decide
whether
they
want
to
bear
children
or
how
many
and
when. While
this
is
the
subject for a
larger
debate,
it
is unethical
for
the
state
to
decide
on how
many
children a couple
must
bear. Women
must
certainly
become
the
planners
as
well
as
the
deliverers
and
receivers
of
care.
But
such
participation
is
not
possible
with
a top-down
approach
and
enough
room
must
be allowed
to
women
to
select
their
priorities
and
implement
their
plan.
14
If
such
a women's
rights/
human
rights
approach
to
planning
could
be
adopted as
an integral
part
of
the
services
and
aid
provided,
and
if
women
are
not
only
the
recipients
of
services
but
the
policy
makers
and
administrators,
the
problem
of
coercion
by states
may
be lessened
without
loss
of
effectiveness.
For
example,
the
'promotional' approach
taken
by Indonesia
in
the
1970s
and
1980s
has
been
instanced
as
being
successful
in
lowering
the
size
of
families,
and
contrasted
with
the
compulsory
nature
of
many
programs
in
China
and
India
15 â¢
The
issue
of
coercion
in
family
planning
programs overseas
and
the
loss
of
human
rights (women's rights)
in
State
imposed
birthrate
targets
has
been raised often
in
the
Australian
parliament,
in
particular
by
Senator
Harradine
(Independent, Tasmania),
and
particularly
in
connection
with
the
policies
of
China
and
Indonesia.
16
Senator
Harradine
has
also viewed
the
issue
in
terms
of
competing
women's/human rights:
Will
the
so called "right
to
contraception" eclipse
the
basic
human
right
to
form
and
found a family
and
the
rights
of
couples
to
detemnne
family size
without
the
interference
of
the
State?
Will
it
eclipse
the
right
of
women
to
exercise free
and
informed
consent
before
havin!i
dangerous
long-acting contraceptive
and
abortifacient
drugs
injected
into
them?
7
In
response
to
Senator
Harradine's concerns
the
Minister for Foreign
Affairs,
Senator
Evans,
and
the
Minister for Development Co-operation
and
Pacific Island Affairs,
M.r
Bilney, have
stated
that
'Australian
aid
14
Padma,
Prakash.
'New Approach
to
Women's
Health
Care,
Means
to
an End?'
Economic
and
Political Weekly,
Special
Number,
18 December 1993: 2783.
15 Murdoch, Lindsay. 'Naive
youth
challenge Indonesia's
birth
targets',
The
Age,
2
February
1994: 8.
16 Australia.
Senate.
Hansard,
22 February
1994, p.887ff, 2
March
1994, p.1273
and
p.1277.
17
Australia.
Senate.
Hansard,
22 February
1994, p.887ff.
Population policies: Family planning
and
reproductive rights
9
funds will
not
be used
to
implement
in
any
way advanced [sic] coercive
family
planning
programs'.
18
No means
of
ensuring
this
have
been
. stated,
other
than
accepting
the
assurances
of
the
countries involved.
On
28 October 1993,
Senator
Reynolds
(Laborj
Queensland) expressed
concern
that
the
United Nations appeared
to
be overlooking 'the need.
for
the
reproductive
rights
of
women
to
be central
to
the
[ICPD]
debate',
and
criticised
the
'bland' guidelines issued
by
the
United
Nations
for
the
national committees' reports.
Noting
that
[t]he fundamental sexual
and
reproductive rights
of
women
cannot
be
subordinated, against a woman's
will,
to
the
interests
of
partners, family
members, ethnic groups, religious institutions, health providers, researchers, policy makers,
the
state
or
any
other
...
she
expressed
the
hope
that
a
chapter
solely devoted
to
the
issue
of
women's reproductive
health
would be included
in
Australia's
national
report.
19
In
the
event, Australia's national
report
for
the
ICPD
concentrates more on
'maternal
and
child health, family
planning
service delivery'
and
related
programs
than
on the
'reproductive rights,
reproductive
health
and
family planning' promised
in
the
Overview.
On
the
issue
of
coercion
in
the
delivery
of
family
planning
and
health
services
to
developing countries,
the
Australian
stand
as
expressed
in
the
report
for
the
ICPD
is that:
Both
access
to family planning
and
freedom from coercive population control
i.<
programs
are
basic
human
rights. Coercion
must
have no place
in
family
·:;r. planning
programs
...
While
states
should
not
impose family planning
on
individuals,
the
opponents
of
family planning should
not
impinge
on the
rights
of
people
to
make
their
own choices by denying
them
access
to
the
means
to do
80.20
Other
issues
in
family planning aid
Australia's Overseas Aid Program As background to issues
of
aid funding for family
planning
and
maternal
health
programs,
it
may
be useful
here
to
outline Australia's
aid commitment.
18 Australia. Senate.
Hansard,
3 March 1994, p.1385.
19 Australia. Senate.
Hansard,
28 October
1993: pp.2728-2730.
20
Australia,
National Report on Population, op cit,
Chapter 8.1.
10
Population policies: Family planning
and
reproductive
rights
The
1993-94
Australian
federal
Budget
allocated $1
402
million
for
overseas
development aid,
an
increase
in
nominal
terms
of
$17.4
million,
but
a decrease
in
real
terms
of
one
per
cent.
This
represents
0.35
per
cent
of
Australia's
Gross
National
Product
(GNP),
which
is
a
drop
from
the
0.36
per
cent
aid/GNP
ratio
achieved
during
1992-93.
The
United
Nations
recommends
that
developed
countries
have
an
0.7%
aid/GNP
ratio.
The
Minister
for Development
Cooperation
and
Pacific
Island
Affairs
stated
in
1993
that
his objective
was
to
increase
aid
to
0.4
per
cent
of
GNP
'as soon
as
possible'.
21
.
As described
by
a
recent
parliamentary
report
on
Australia's
international
health
programs,
most
of
Australia's
aid
is
in
the
agriculture
sector,
and
this
exceeds
aid
in
the
health
sector
'by a
factor
of
eight'.
In
1992-93
the
Australian
International
Development
Assistance
Bureau
(AIDAB) allocated 3.45
per
cent
of
its
budget
to
health
and
population
programs,
a figure which
the
World
Bank
considers
should
rise 'immediately'
to
seven
per
cent
of
total
official
development assistance
and
then
continue
to
rise
substantially.
22
In
1993
Australia
increased
its
funding
for
overseas
population
programs
to
$130m
spread
over four years.
In
1993-94
assistance
for
population
based
activities
trebled
to
$30
million (some
of
this
was
temporarily
'frozen'
as
outlined below). Initiatives included focussing
on improving access
to
family
planning
for
men
as
well
as
women.
Australian
policies
and problems
â¢
The
Australian
report
for
the
UN
ICPD
concedes
that
there
are
problems
and
shortcomings
in
Australia's domestic family
planning
and
reproductive
rights
strategies.
Federal
and
State
Government
funding
is available
to
Family
Planning
Associations
in
each
State
and
· Territory
to
deliver services
through
the
provision
of
clinical services,
counselling
and
education for clients,
and
professional
education
for
general
practitioners
and
nurse
practitioners.
Rather
than
offer
integrated
programs
to
suit
the
needs
of
all with
a complete
range
of
family
planning
and
birth
control advice,
Australia
chooses
to
fund
separately
family
planning
services provided
by the
Catholic
Church
of
Australia
which
are
based solely
on natural
methods
of
regulating
conception. Also,
Family
Planning
programs
within
Australia
do not
reach
significant
major
community
groups -
rural
women, Aboriginal
and
Torres
Strait
Islander
women
and
women
of
non-English
speaking
21 House
of
Representatives
Standing
Committee on Community Affairs,
&port
on
Australia's International
Health Programs,
December 1993: 16.
22
ibid.:
18.
if
.·
Population policies: Family planning
and
reproductive
rights
11
background
are
poorly served.
23
On
Bathurst
Island, for example,
birth
control aids
are
denied to
the
community.
24
It
is hardly
surprising,. therefore,
that
this
ambivalence
on
family
planning
is reflected
in
Australia's overseas aid policy
and
is
exacerbated
by Australia's religious differences
and
its
pluralistic,
diverse
and
multicultural society. Lack
of
population
pressure-
in
the
past
government policy
has
been directed
at
increasing population -
combined
with
divisions
of
opinion
within
Australia
regarding
family
planning
and
population control activities, have contributed to Australia's decision to
have no population policy.
25
Opposition
to
birth
control
and
family
planning
measures have been
made
on
religious
or
moral grounds, for example
by
leaders
of
the
Roman
Catholic
Church
and
of
some Muslim
and
Orthodox
religions,
and
may
have contributed
to
official hesitancy
to
action on
these
policies.
26
While
most
recognise
the
link between overpopulation
and
poverty
in
. developing countries, a causal effect is
not
necessarily accepted by
everyone.
Thus
there
has
been
pressure
to
provide different types
of
aid
aimed
rather
at
alleviation
of
poverty
than
at
population control.
Arguments for family
planning
aid,
on the
other
hand, have included
those
of
improved
maternal
and
child
health
and
welfare, reduction
of
instances
of
abortion
and
infanticide
27
," and
even reduction
of
the
spread
of
diseases including AIDS.
·
Late
in
1993
the
Australian Government announced a
temporary
freezing
of
some family
planning
aid
pending
a
new
inquiry
into
the
links between
rapid
population growth
and
economic development.
Tl:{is
was reportedly aimed
at
addressing
strong
concerns
of
Senator
Harradine
on population programs.
In
presenting
the
House
of
Representatives
Standing
Committee on
Community
Affairs
report
on
Australia's
international
health
programs, soon
after
this
announcem~nt,
Mr
Allan Morris,
MP,
openly criticised his
Government's decision:
One
important
principle
of
aid funding is
that
it
is
most
effective when funded
on a
9ecure,
long-term basis. Long-term expenditure commitments provide
23
Australia, National Report on Population, op cit,
Chapter
4.6.
24
Former
NT
health researcher,
20 April 1994.
â¢
25
The
reasons for this
are
outlined
in
Australia, National Report on Population,
op
Cit,
especially pp.
7, 29-30,
and
include immigration
and
other
questions.
26
See
Appendix
1.
27
The
world is said to have
60 million fewer women
than
could
be statistically
expected.
Age,
11 February 1992.
12
Population policies: Family planning
and
reproductive rights
stability, which
assists
developing countries to strengthen-
their
own
support
structures
and
assists
Australian individuals
and
institutions.
The
committee is concerned about
the
government
decision
in
October 1993 to
freeze expenditure
of
all non-committed funds
in
the
population
program
pending
an independent inquiry into
the
relationship between
rapid
population
growth
and
economic development. Such
short-term
action destroys Australia's
reputation
for providing justified
and
well planned aid programs and,
in
this
case,
flies
in
the
face
of
internationally recognised policy directions.
That
decision
also
creates
a potential precedent for
other
aid
programs
which
could
also
be disrupted
at
short
notice. These views were reinforced by
the
Chairman
of
the
World Bank, who told
us:
"Family
planning
is a key,
and
cost-effective,_ component
of
maternal
and
child health
and
its vigorous promotion is justified on
that
ground
alone.
Smaller
and
better
spaced families
are
much
more healthy ...
in
addition,
the
eradication
of
illegal abortion would reduce
the
number
of
maternal
deaths
per
year
by about
30 per
cent."28
The
Chair
of
the
Australian Medical Association
and
president-elect
of
the
World Medical Association, Professor Priscilla Kincaid-Smith,
branded
the
decision to freeze
the
population aid
program
'an appalling
signal
to
the
international community.' Professor Kincaid-Smith said
putting
the
aid
on hold while a review was carried
out
was
particularly
unfortunate
at
a time
when
significant progress
is
being
made
to
get
the
global community
to
put
more effort into curbing population
growth:
Unsustainable population growth is
the
most
pressing problem facing
the
world
today.
The
unavailability
of
contraception
in
parts
of
the
developing world is
not
only
fuelling
the
world's population explosion,
but
is
also
causing untold misery
for
millions
of
women.
Only
by using
the
review to dramatically increase
our
contribution to
ove""""!
fertility programs
will
we avoid continued
international
embarrassment.
29
·
The
Minister for Development Cooperation
and
Minister for
Pacific
Island Affairs, Mr Bilney, moved
to
limit
this
'embarrassment'
by
assurances
that
only
the
uncommitted portion
of
the
$130m
was
affected: $95m
had
already been committed for
the
period 1993-94
to
1996-97
and
all of
these projects would
proceed
30 â¢
On
8 December
1993
Mr
Bilney announced
that
the
inquiry into
the
links
between
28 Australia. House
of
Representatives.
Hansard,
16 December 1993: 4154.
29
Garrett,
Jemima.
'Population debacle',
Pacific Islands Monthly,
December 1993:
39.
30
Australia. House of Representatives.
Hansard,
Speech by
Mr
Hollis, 28 October
1993:
2850.
Population policies: Family planning
and
reproductive
rights
13
population
growth
and
development would be conducted by Professor
Dennis Ahlburg, former head
of
the
Centre
for
Population
Analysis
and
Policy
at
the
University
of
Minnesota. Professor
Ahlburg
would
be assisted
by senior advisers including Allen Kelley,
Professor
James
B Duke
and
'a
number
of
prominent
female academics':
The
inquiry
has
been given a broad
brief
to examine
the
most
up
to
date
evidence
on the
nature
and
significance
of
the
links between population
growth
and
development
..
This, combined with
the
quality
of
the
lead inquirers,
will
ensure
that
the
study
will
make
an important
contribution
to
the
population
debate
in
Australia
and
internationally,
in
the
lead
up to [the]
Cairo
Conference
on Population
and
Development.
Mr
Bilney
stated
that
'should
the
inquiry
establish
that
high
rates
of
growth
are
detrimental
to
the
development process'
then
he intended
to proceed
with
the
$130m four-year population
program
'on schedule
and
in
full'
31
.
However,
Senator
Harradine,
who
had
claimed
that
the
increase
in
the
population
program
funding was
at
the
expense
of
poverty alleviation
programs, criticised
the
choice
of
Professor
Ahlburg
and
the
nominated
advisers as
having
expressed supportive views
on
population
and
family
planning
programs:
Professor Dennis Ahlburg
of
the
University
of
Minnesota [is] a long-time
consultant
with
the
World
Bank
who
has
expressed views
in
support
of
population programs
of
a
type
proposed for
the
Pacific by AIDAB.
Professor Ahlburg
has
contracted
eight
people to assist with
the
review,
most
of
whom
have
publicly
stated
positions
in
support
of
population programs.
Although
the
Government
stated
the
consultant
to
be involved
in
the
review was
to have "no
axe
to grind"
the
positions
of
most
of
the
appointees
are
ones which
require defence.
32
Australia's
National
Report for
the
ICPD
did
not
mention
the
aid
freeze
nor
the
commissioned
Ahlburg
Report.
The
Committee's chair,
Mr
Richard Woolcott, was
reported
as saying
the
Committee was
sensitive
about
possible
embarrassment
to
the
Government.
33
The
Ahlburg
report
was presented
on 13 April 1994.
It
found
that:
31
Australia. Minister for Development Cooperation
and
Minister for Pacific Island
Affairs (Mr Gordon Bilney).
Media
release,
8 December
1993.
32
Austraiia. Senate.
Hansard,
22
Feb.
1994:
887ff
and
Canberra
Times,
9
December
1993.
33
Kingston, Margo. 'Report to
UN
skips over aid freeze',
Ca11berra
Times,
16
March
1994.
14
Population policies: Family planning
and
reproductive
rights
and
slowing population growth from high
current
levels, especially
in
poor,
agrarian
societies facing pressure
on land
and
resources,
is
advantageous
to
economic
development, health, food availability, housing, poverty,
the
environment,
and
possibly education
family planning programmes help women control
the
spacing
and
number
of
their
births.
Using
a
number
of
different approaches, research
has
estimated
·that
family planning programmes account for between
20 and
50 percent
of
the
decline
in
fertility observed
in
developing countries.
However
the
Inquiry
concluded
that:
population programmes need to pay
attention
to
human
rights concerns
and
should have built
into
them
adequate protection
against
the
violation
of
human
rights.
One
important
way to achieve
this
end
is
to
involve
the
individuals
affected by
the
~pulation
programme (women
in
particular)
in
its
design
and
implementation.
34
.
Conclusion The Australian
Government's
beliefthat
progress
in
promoting
the
role
of
women
in
contemporary society is central
to
meeting
population
and
development challenges is reflected
in
the
targeting
of
many
of
its·
overseas aid activities. (through
such
programs as
the
Women
in
Development program).
It
is now widely recognised
that
issues
of
population
growth
and
development
cannot
be isolated from issues
of
women's education
and
empowerment.
Population
programs for
the
future
should acknowledge
the
close interrelationships
that
exist
between improved reproductive
health
and
choice
and
women's
status,
and
recogniRe
changing
patterns
of
sexual
and
family relationships.
It
is recognised now
that,
perhaps
more
than
with
any
other
public
policy, population policies cannot be successful
without
the
guidance
and
influence
of
women. All population strategies should therefore aim
to
promote equality
of
opportunity, increase
the
status
and
participation
of
women
and
broaden
the
choices available
to
them
-in
education, employment,
and
democratic
representation
as
well
as
in
family planning. In every
preparatory
and
expert group meeting, every AIDAB
and
Women
in
Development document in recent
years
and
in
numerous
government reports,
the
need for women
to
play a
prominent
role
and
to influence
the
discussion
making
in these
areas
is stressed. AIDAB
and
Women in Development workers
report
difficulties in being able
34
Independent Inquiry Report into Population
and
Development:
Summary;
13 April 1994.
.
Population policies: Family
planning
snd
reproductive
rights
15
to
deal directly
with
women
in
developing countries. Melanesian
women
in
Australia recently as
part
of
a program sponsored
by the
Overseas Service Bureau confirmed
the
difficulty
of
making
their
needs
understood
as
they
are
represented
at
most levels, from
Parliaments
down,
by men.
The
women stressed
the
need for availability
of
family
planning
services especially
in
rural
areas, to help
them
plan
and
space
their
children,
as
traditional ways
and
methods have broken down.
35
Australia's national
report
for
the
ICPD
makes
the
point
that:
Australia
is
concerned
that
the
absolute
number
of
people worldwide who have
no access
to
family planning services
is
greater
now
than
it
was
in
the
1950s.
United
Nations' estimates show some
300
million women who would like
to
delay, limit
or
space
their
childbearing,
but
are
currently unable
to
do so. Clearly
if
their
unmet
needs for contraception were satisfied
the
resulting fertility
decline could
make
a
significant
contribution
to
eventual population stabilisation.
A woman who
has
no control over
her
fertility
has
little chance
of
completing
her
education,
maintaining
employment,
or
having a child when
and
if
one
is
wanted.
36
Admitting
that
'domestic ambiguities
in
addressing population
activities
other
than
migration' have inhibited
the
development
of
active population assistance
37
,
the
draft
report
offers no strategies for
the
delivery
of
more effective services either domestically
or
internationally. Despite recognition
of
women's reproductive
rights
an!'!
the
need for women to be
the
decision makers
in
areas
of
family
pl'ifn.ning
policy, action
in
the
Australian aid program appears often
to
laJt
behind
the
rhetoric
and
accepted wisdom.
In
the
choice
of
policy
milkers,
representatives
and
committee members, Australia like
most
other
countries
and
especially developing countries
has
in
the
past
chosen very few women
and
has
not
given
them
major roles even
in
areas
of
primary
and
immediate concern to them.
35
Seminar
with
Overseas Service
Bureau and Melanesian Women's
Tour
group, 28
February 1994.
36
Australis, Nstio;Jal
Report
on Population, op
cit,
Chapter
8.1.
37
Australis, National
Report
on Population, op
cit,
Chapter
4.6.
I)
APPENDIX I
Selected
statistics
on religious
and
ethnic
groups
According to
the
1993 Britannica Book
ofthe
Year,
18.7
per
cent
of
the
world's population
are
Roman Catholics (over 1 billion people
in
mid-
1992)
and
17.7
per
cent
are
Muslims (over 971 million
in
mid-1992)
38 â¢
In
Australia,
the
1991 census indicated
that
27.3
per
cent
of
the
population (4.6 miljion
at
the
time
of
the
census)
are
Roman Catholics
and
0.9
per
cent (14
7,507
at
the
time
of
the
census)
are
Muslims.
38
1993 Britannica
Book
of
the
Year.
Chicago: Encyclopaedia Britannica Inc., 1993:
270.
.
Millions
Population
of
The
World
and
of
Major
Areas,
1700-1985
and
Projected
Population
in 2020
APPENDIX
II
8000
'~------------------_-_-
___
-_-___
-_-----
__
- __ -_-___ - __ -_--_-_-____
-_-__
- __ - ___ - ___ - __ ,1-------l
7000
6000
5000
World
Total
----
4000
Latin
America
,
----+---------
-------
---· ------------
...
--------.
----
-.
r-1
3000 2000
/1 /
I
Northern
America
2PI
USSR_
/
Europe
Rest
of
Asia
1000
Afric
0
I
1700
1750
1800
1850
1900
1950
2020
Note:
The
total
world
population
is
represented
here
as
the
sum
of
regional
layers
whose
widths
are
proportional
to
the
size
of
the
population
in
each
region.
Source:
Demeny, Paul,
World Population Growth and Prospects,
Population Council, Research
Division, Working Papers No.4 1989.
:'
'·.
:~-:~~;~;~
.::. :
f.''
Th~s~pa~~~'~ank
all
co$tdes
by their
av~r~e
~umber
of
birth~
p,m;~v~_tp.an
_ ·
.
.
.<{.:-·
·--~-<1'!'"
, ..
·r·.-~.
.ቢ
·. "".,"~
( total(e_rtnHy
rate
(;lr
:~~~~§'t'~ pro~~·in~
~!lfll.lence
·
on the
well~b;;ing
of
mothers
and
childrim.
Too
many
births
too
close
together, or
at
too
young
or
too
~Jld
an .
.
.
.
.
.···
age, is a
major, cause;
of
illness,
disabilit;;
·
poornutritioi.,
and
..
premature
death
among
both
women
and
children.
Fe":ei.·
births
can
bt:l~g
drastic
improvements
to the
lives
ofwomen.h
can
also
improve
child
survival,
nutrition,
health,
and
education-
and
allow
parents
to
invest theh· energy. time,
and
money
in
a
smallet· nwnbet·
of
children. :l2
F A
lVI
I L
Y
P L
A N N I N
·-i-!.t!."~....-=n;r.'l!';oV.u.:.t.~~
~~"J;·I:..,'..'Il~.lr.IC3I.'
,_...
IL E A G
u
E
TABLE
0
SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA II
Mauritius
2.0
fl
South
Africa 4.:!
IJI Lesotho
4.8
IJ
Botswana
5.2
II
Zimbabwe
5.S
liJ Cameroon
5.8
f.l Ghana
6.1
II
Ct·n(ral
African Hep. 6.2
II
Senegal
6.2
ID]
Congo
6.:!
ID Kenya
6.4
16 Mauritania
6.5
Oil Mozambiqu<â¢
6.5
~Regional
average 6.5
II]
Madagascar
6.6
m:J
Togo 6.6
Oil Zaire
6.7
16 Hurundi
6.8
16 Li
hcria
6.8
16 Tanzania
6.8
PJ!]
Ethiopia
7.0
BI!]
Somalia
7.0
fiJ Btâ¢nin
7.1
e!!l.\lali
7.1
8IJ An_!!ola 7
.:l
P:m
L'_!!anda
7.:J
Pii)
Ci)hâ¢
d'IYoin·
7.4
fij
'lalawi
7.h
1m]
Hwanda
B.;)
â¢
lhu·kina
Fa~o
'\O
11\1"\
â¢
Chad
'"
rnn
â¢
Cahon
'\O
IJ.\T\
â¢
Cuinea
'\O
D.\T\
⢠Cuim·a-Bi:.::.:au
'\O
IJ\T\
â¢
\';,unihia
'\O
ll\T\
â¢
'i).!t.'l'
'\0
11\T\
⢠\'hrer-ia
'\O
IJ\'1'
â¢
Sii'I'I'CI
I.I'C)IH'
'\0
11\T\
â¢
Zamhia
'\on
\1
\
â¢
MIDDLE
EAST
and
NORTH
AFRICA
II
Lebanon
:!.2
fl
Tunisia
3.6
fl
Turkey
3.6
IJ
Kuwait
:3.8
Ill
Egypt 4.2
liJ Morocco
-1.5
fi
United
Arab
Emirates
4.6
II
Algeria
5.0
~
Regional
arerage
5.0
liJ Iraq
·
5.8
liJ .Jordan
5.8
m Iran
6.1
Oil Sudan
6.2
li]
Syria
6.3
m:J
Libya
6.;;
II)
Saudi
Arabia
6.5
1m Oman
6.8
IJj
Vcmcn
7.:3
⢠Total
fertility
rates
The
total fertility rate
(TFR)
is
the average
number
of births
per
woman.
Assuming no child
deaths, a TFR
of
2.0 means that
each
couple is reproducing itself.
Once this
replacement
le\·el
has been
reached,
the
pop
ulation
will
e\·entually
stabilize .
But rapid population
groâ¢\·th
has left
de\·eloping
nations with
disproportionate numbers in their child-bearing
years;
this
means that populations will
continue to
grow
for some
time
even
after
replar"ement le\'el
is
rt'aclwd.
In \ltâ¢xi('o,
for exam
ple, the a\'t'rage numbt'r
of
/
11
r
~·
Jo. ·-
..
~-"
~
.-1!7 '' . ~;y,~
;t ~
....
1'\
~. il
?::e·
!; .
4\
,;;l,j
.....
.!!
SOUTH
ASIA
D Sri
Lanka
fllndia ~
~nal
average
IJ
Bangladesh
ll9 Nepal Ill
illiUtan ISJ Pa:kistan â¢
Afghanistan
:xo
11
â¢
\~"ORLD
AVERAGE
Birth:;
per
woman
births
per
woman has fallen by
50%
in
30 years,
but
the
actual
number
of
births each year has
increased by
50%.
Statistics
on TFR
come main
ly from censuses
and
household
survevs
and
have much
in com
mon
~-ith
the data
on child
â¢
deaths. But because
birth
is
much
rnore
common
than
child
death, a smaller sample size
ca.n
be us~d
and
the
quality
ofTFR
data
is therefore generally
bet·
ter. For
further
information see
United
Nations,
World popu[a.
.
tion prospects,
1992 revision .
T II F
I'
II 0
1; II F S S 0 F
"\ .\
T I 0
"\ .
~
â¢
llH'/SN'WI-F"".nv.-.,.~.--~~~..cv,.·:.~~=
. ..-.cr."JJ'J""'ttr
~-
s
P
.,
BIRTHS
EAST ASIA and PACIFIC II
Hong
Kong""
II
Korea.
Hcp.
fJ
Singaponâ¢
IJ
China
II
Thaiiand
II
Kore~.
Dl'lll.
~
Regional
m:crage
IJ
lndone~ia
IJ
:\lalaysia
I)
Philippines
m \'il'(
:\am
II
Myanmar
16 Cambodia
IIJ 'longoliu
IIJ Papua
Xew Guit1ea
DiJ l.ao
Hep. ·
â¢
1.4 1.7 1.7 2.:1 2.:3 2.4 2.6 3.2 :3.7 4.0 4.0
4.:1 4.5 4.7 .';.0 6.7
Declining birth
rates
CENTRAL AMERICA and
CARIBBEAN
II
Cuba
f::l Jamai<'a
1.9 2- .;,
IJ
Trinidad
and
Tobago
2.8
II
Panama
3.0
II
Costa
Bi<'a
:1.2
IJIMcxico
:l.:l
fJ
Domini(·an
Rep.
3.5
~
Regional
average
3.5
liJ EISalmdor
4.2
m llaili
4.9
II!] Hondura!'l 5.1
m Ni(·aragua
5.2
16 Guat(â¢mala
5.5
⢠FALLING FERTILITY
SOUTH AMERICA II
UrufTua\'
~
.
2.4
II
Chile
2.7
f:l
Colombia
2.7
II
Argentina
2.8
II
Brazil
2.9
~
Regional
m:erage
3.0
IJI
Venezucla
3
â¢)
fJ
Peru
3.7
IJ
E<.·-uador
:1.8
IJI Paraguay
4.4
ID]
Bolivia
4.7
⢠.,; -,...,. "'-"0"'""'""""' ,, ,..,._, .. ,._.., ""'"~"-' câ¢~ ""'J><>â¢:~-, .,. ,.,
,..,._,.
'""'
;.;J
'"'"'"~
-,-.,.,-l'"
"''-""
-"":'.'
,., "·"·~,,..
...
,
,__,.,__,,
, ......
.,,,,,_,._,
''"'"··-~--
__
._,
"'
;
â¢â¢
'"
.,
·-"''
â¢.·.
,.
~.CF
â¢
The
average
number
of
births
per
woman in
the
de\"eloping
world
has
fallen
steeply
iO the
last.
dec.ade.
In
South
America
the
avP.rage
number
of
children
ha~
fallen from 4
to 3
in ll'n
yt.â¢ar:O.
In
South
Asia,
fertili1
~
ha,;.
fa!lm
from
ju:::t
over
5
hirth'5
per
wuman
in 1980
to just
over~-
in 1991.
East
Asia,
dominatt:-d
in
popula
tion
size
by China,
i~
ncaring
tho?
rerla<:!Cnlcn\
Jenâ¢J
of
ju,::t
0\"Cf
2
births
per
woman.
Suh-Saharan
Africa
ha::.
5cen little
;â¢!Jange
in
f(:rtility over
th('
Ia,.\
h'll
year:-=
hut
the
mo,;t
rect·nt
,.nrn·~-.,.
HIJ!·
gest
a
dl"il.nitc
downturn.
.
Regional toto! fertility rates,
1980
and
1991
Deveiop;ng
~,·.~·
"J"
Svi:;
· ~dc·::.1·
:..:-c:::
MEG~:
or
. .; '··l
-~:â¢.v.::
X-L·h
A~
c
.
.
-
:
,-.9::
.-::nc
~:;.:
⢠-
Sc.l:r
:.~·,·:G
~
..
·:-:-⢠.-::::
~-'J
.::.;â¢
::t..__~r
"·~.
<:·
:: ..:·:-::
""
.-
0
-1980 . !lilil
I 991
â¢
''
'~:
-.-:·-~'
,\..,
:o.:r·~·
.....
·-~:~·
.,
~-;_
·» ,,_.
..
INDUSTRIALIZED COUNTRIES D
Italy
1.
II
Spain
1.
IJ
Austria
1.
II
Germany
1.
II
Greece
1.
IJ
Porlugal
1 ..
fJ
Belgium
1.
El Swi(zcrland
1.'
II
Denmark
1.
m Japan
1.
II
Netherlands
1.'
1m Canada
1.,
1m Finland
L
16 France
t.;
IE Hungary
1.:
~
Group average 1
..
lliJ Australia
1.~
lliJ Bulgaria
1. c
lliJ Norway
1.1
lliJ L:nited
Kingdom
1.'
Iii]
Cztâ¢<'ho!o~lonlkia
(rc)rnwr)
:2.1
Bl!]
Swl'd(·n
:> .t
l1l!]
L:S.\
2.1
fi]
:'\c·w
Zealand
:2.
(i'] Poland
2.
fi)
ln·land
2.:
fi)
Homania
2.:
m .-\lhania
2
..
P:EJ
Israel
:2.-
â¢
TARGf;r
F:uuil~
planning:
t·dueation
an
far nih-plarmin~
"l'ITir.:es
to
be qutcl
,1\.tila]d,·tâ¢J
all couples.
FOI{
TilE
YEAR20:Xl
~
..
at
a
lower··
'i~-i·et.
,.
"'" .:·
;·.
,. .~
~
. , ..
'⢠. â¢.
'
.
i,
·r,
F\\III.Y
PLA'\'\1'\
.
.
.
'
.
.
.......
·f·A
C H I E V E M
. E N
.,.,T,
,.,,,.,,:A''""N
·
Steep
fall
in
family
size
Average
family
size
is falling steeply
in almost all regions
of
the develop
ing world. Previously.
sub-Saharan
Africa
has
stood
out
against
the
trend~
But
evidence from
recent
surveys,
not
yet
incorporated
into official UN
estimates,
suggests
that
in
Mrica,
too,
fertility may now
be making a
downward
turp.
Throughout
moat
of
Asia
and
Latin
America, family
size
is falling
at
a
far
faster
rate
than
was
Family size
halved
Where
births
per
woman
have
been
halved
in one generation
Aver~e
no.
of
births
1960
1991
%loll
Korea,
Rep
57
17
70
Singop::>re
55
17
69
lv'ourihus
59
20
66
Thcnlond
64
2.3
64
Chmo
57
â¢2 3
!:IJ
Korea. Dem
58
24
59
Cobo
4
2
19
55
Costa
R·co
70
32
54
jomoico
54
25
54
Alban
to
59
2.6
53
Bro.z:1l
62
29
53.
Canada
3 8
18
53
Dorrun.con
Rej:
74
3 5
53
~XICQ
68
3 3
52
Portugoâ¢
3
I
15
52
Venezu-ela
65
3 2
51
S:x:,,...
2 8
14
50
achieved
by today's
industrializt..>d
countries.
Seventeen
nations,
including
the
mol'â¢
populous Latin
American
countries,
Brazil
and
Mexico,·have
~~ced
the
avc!t·~gc_
number
of
births
per
woman
'hy
half
or
more
in
one
generation
(see
table).
In
the
last
decadt:
alone,
births
per
woman
have
f~llcn
by
.
one
child
or
more
in
21 nations.
Th.,
steepn~s
of
these
Calis
in
Ctâ¢.r:
tility
is
unprecedented
in dtâ¢mo·
graphic
history.
One
child
less:
Where births
per woman
hove
fallen
by
one
child
or
more
in the
lost
decode
Average no. of
births
'
-
1960
1991
Diff.
Algeria
68
50
-1.8
Tums10
53
36
-i
7
Bon!11odesh
64
48
-I 6
Botswana
6.8 5.2
-I
6
Kuwoâ¢t
5.4
3 8
-I 6
K~nyo
78
64
-1 4
Mexico
47
3 3
-I 4
Jomorco
3
e
25
-!
3
Tho.bnd
36
2 3
-I
3
Honduras
64
) i
-.
J
EcuodOf
51 3 6
-I 3
Peru
50
3
7
-I 3
Jordon
71
58
-'
3
Jl.l.orocco
57
4
5
-I 2
El Salvador
5A
j
2
-;
2
lndonesâ¢o
44
3
2
-I
2
Bol,,,o
58
j?
Sraz,:
40
2'1
-'
;
Vâ¢et
Nom
5
I
40
S'rtâ¢o
74
63
Colornbâ¢o
3 8
27
-I
Sixteen
of
the
20 countrit:s
wit
the
highest
fertility
rates
in
th
World
are
in
soh-Saharan
Afric~ct
where
tht:
average
woman
g"iw
. birth
to over
six
children.
Even
i
--·Africa
a
turn.ing-point
may
nu1
have
hccn
reached.
None
of
the
20 nations with th
"worldâ¢s hil;hett
Certili_ty
ratr.s,
wit I
the_ex"cetâ¢tlori
of
Saudi
Arabia,
fm
· -~Atiy.~ilicaOtchangcinavt:r age
'ralnil)-
size
over
the
la~t
It'
I
yean
(sec
table).
Feftility
mil
high
Where
fertility
roles
are
the
highest
in the
wood
Average
no.
of birth~
1980
1991
D·f·
--- ~
8.5 8.5
0·
Molcrw·
7.6
76
')
COte
d"lvo,re
7.4
.74
0
Ugoodo
70
7
3
·0
Yemeo
77
7 3
-0
Angola
69
72
,r
8eflin
7.1
71
0
I'V'(llo
71 71
Ethâ¢opio
68
70
.o
Somol<>
7.0
70
Burundi
68
68
I)
bberâ¢o
6.8
68
0
Omoo
72
68
-'J
Ton.z:Onâ¢a
6.8 6.8
0
loa
Rep
67
67
r
Zoâ¢re
66
67
.o
lo:>go
66 66
fv\odogmcor
6.6
66
0
1'1/Quntonâ¢o
6.5
65
Saudi
Arabia
73 65
"'
"l:l.OCltr.edNoioQn>
Worl:f~-on~~
''YJ]-.;.
----·
.
I
II
I
I'
1: 0
I.
II I
~ ~
0
I "\
1
I I
0 "\
~
--- ~ D I S P
A R I
T
Y
-.
--
-~
' '
Populations to double
in
35years On cun'ent
trends,
a
total
of
61
nations
are
setto
double
their
popu
lations
in
one
generation
between
1990
and
2025.
Three
qua~ters
of
them
are in
Mrica
or
the Middle
East.
-growth The 20 foslestiJrowing
nations
in the
world
(populations over
I
million)
COle
d'lvoire
Oman Yemen Rwanda Angola s,.;a Tanzania lil>,o l1beric /Jodagaxor Zaire Saud1
Arabia
Ken)<> Jo
Total
population (miUions)
1990 2025 12.0 37.9 1.5
4.7
11.7 34.2
7.0
20.6
9.2 26.6
12.4
35.3
26.0 74.2
4.5 12.9
2.6
72
12.0 33.7 37 4
1045
149
404
23.6 63.8 4.0 10.8 8.7
23.4.
9.2
24.6:
4.6
12.4'','
3.5
Q_;v
49.8
130.7'
Multiplic
ation lodar
3.2 3.1 2.9 2.9 2.9 2.9 2.9
2.8 2.8 2.8 2.8
27 2.7 2.7 2.7
2.7 2.7 2.7
2.6
176
45 Q:.'.
26
'>OJI':IIk>iod~-Wc:>i:1~~
1W2~
100.
.
â¢
80~'."· .. :r-~
:--;.
:
.
-60·111111
â¢
I
fâ¢â¢
â¢
.
â¢
. : ." .. ,. 1
.
rrl"
,.
â¢
i.co!
⢠⢠⢠â¢
j : .. "
.. :!' _. ..........
, .â¢
:
.
.. .
:
·-20f â¢â¢
Family
planning
and
child
deaths
The
dots
represent
108
counlries
placed
OCCOI"ding
to their
under-f1ve
tn011o/ity
rOles
and
the '% of women
using
conlracepfives.
The
pattern
shows
~bert
countries
do not
achie~e
high
rates
of contraceptive
usll while
child
deollu
remain
high.
One
reason
is that
parenlt
who
ore mort!
confident
that
their
chil
dren
wit!
su.-Jive
are
fi'I04"e
likely
1o adopt
family
planning.
â¢
â¢
I ; ⢠â¢
...
=â¢
â¢
.. :,.oi
â¢
-tâ¢
~--:
...
~-:.
!
....._
0
50
100 150 200 250 300 350
Urodot
11 ..
mortal;oy
rato
(pot'
1000
bl""â¢l
Contraceptive use
at
50%
In
one
generation,
the
proportion
of
married
women
in
the
devel
oping
world
who
are
using
con
traception
has
risen
to
an
estimated
50%.
But
one
preg
nancy
in
every
five
in
the
devel
oping
world
is
unplanned
and
unwanted. The
table
gives
the
current
level
of
contraceptive
use
in
the ten
mo.::t
populous
countries
with
two
thirds
of
the
developing
world's
people.
The
percentage
of married women using
confroception(l987·1991) Ouna
72
Indio
43
Indonesia
48
Broz1l
c6
Pakistan
12
BangWe>h
31
Nigeria
6
Mexico
53
VietNam
53
Philippines
36
.......:;;
.;-,.,._..:
:--..:·~·â¢
"xo.bon
:>."'""'
O<
â¢,
"·'"
'<> ~c>:>..·:e
~
Some
poor
countries
do better
in
reducing
family
size
Some very
poor
countries have achieved lower fertility rates
than
some
countries with twice the level
of
eco
nomic wealth.
The
key to their achievement
is that many
othei-
factors influence
fertility-
including the education
of
women, the availability
of
family
planning services, and
child
survival rates.
6
countries
with
GNP
per
capita
below
$1000,
.._
no.
of
bi""â¢
below
4
GNP
Avero~e
Under-
pe'
000
five
capita
births mortality
$
rote
CiMo
370
23
J3
Sr' lanka
500
25
21
lndone5JO
610
32
II'
Albcmta
7QO
28
31
Dor1tf-:.co'l
Rep
.:;.>SC
3
5
53
Korea
Dem
Q70
24
3J
Female literacy rote % 62 84 ;·s - ~?
6
countries
with
GNP
per
capita
above
$2000,
average
no.
of
birtns
above
4
GNP
Avero~e
Under-
pe'
no_o five
capita
births
mortJiity
$
rote
Alger;o
2020
50
61
Iron
2320
61
62
South
Alt ·co
2530
.: ::
72
Botswana
25QO
52
60
:J""'C"'
565<
:
:
33
Saud,
t..:ab,-::
.,C>5C
"
J]
Female literacy rare % L6 L] .-5 ~5 L3
â¢
â¢:,:
Gl'ol'po
"""""'3ono..
w<)"t1Ba-.
.,.,,
⢠:;<;? lQIQ,.,_,...,
:>oe>
~â¢-.J
,.,.,;..-.
A...,...,..,,.,. "'''''-., â¢
. .,.,,"""'
yt
~·
â¢...-c â¢
â¢â¢
â¢â¢
::·
-~.,
â¢le
.,...
-:c · .:-:·o :.o....:=
:-.â¢
Y . .,..,~o:;,...;Culudo-9""'""'e<>
c~_,o/..,.vaanol-oc,.
lQQO
â¢
1 billion: less
if
women
could
choose The rate
of
population growth in the
developing
world
would
fall
by
approximately
30%
if
women could
choose how
many
children
to
have.
Total developing-world
population
in they~r2025would
be about
1
bil
lion
people fewer
than
currently
pro·
jected ('"!<'chart). .
The
unmet
need
for family
plan·
ning
has
been revealed by su"rveys
in
a:t l
Jrtsofthedeveloping
wor!d
over
recent
years.
In
some
cases,
the
desired. family size
is only
about
half
of
the
actual family size.
The
a
..-erage
woman
in Peru,
for example,
wants
two children
but
has four.
In total, an
estimated
120
million
women in the developing world do
not want
any
more children
hut
anâ¢
not
using
any
effective
means
of
avoiding
another
pregnancy.
Family
planning
can
drasticall~
reduce illness, disability,
and
mater
nal
and
child deaths.
lt
could
also
reduce
the
toll
.~f
unsafe
abortion
which kills
an estimated
IOO,(X)()
young women every
year.
It
is no\'o
almost 20
years since
tht'
first World Population
Conferen1:Jâ¢
agreed
that
''all couples
and
indi\"id
uals ha\"e the basic right to
rlt!cidf"
free!'-"
and
resppnsibly
the
numht:'r
and
spacing
of
their
childr~n
and
111
have the information, education
and
means to do
so".
If
women
could
choose
Bl
j ' .il â¢
~7t t =§ 6' ' ' ~
:
~,; ~ ;
0
4 â¢
7
lbn
~t.~cP-.e
~""'
!\..,.o~
~o\'rf''
'""
1990 2000 20 I 0 2020
.).1-,J;Pâ¢r"'-'<'<'')Jlo.oloo-on~:;,...~:
\Jf>..,.Q-..,â¢-~·,
.....
,.,
.-r..~D'Cio-~
~W2...........,
l't~lp-,,,.,,..U\
â¢â¢.tr.·â¢,,·
~
............,...,
1C:.'O<.A"".
1~66tl
19aQ
._...,
:.â¢voo·
·
N~,ooll
~epoocu.;J<~
p
o
'C>m(Jo>â¢-1'â¢""'
⢠.,,..
~""""'cndlioo:>ll'>s..-.q.,"""""""'...o..
⢠...., l
,.,~
......
b~e~lOQI
3;
