Focus 2004 April - June English :: PFI Publication :: KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT CENTRE PORTAL, POPULATION FOUNDATION OF INDIA

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Focus 2004 April - June English

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Focus 2004 April - June English

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POPULATION

FOUNDATION

OF INDIA

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The National-level Consultation,

held on May 21-23 2004, at

India Habitat Centre, New

Delhi, was among the first

diverse view points and

experiences to create a

common vision and goal for

the youth alliance. It

national gatherings of youth and youth synthesized the situation

serving organizations in India, Thanks to and needsof young people,

the efforts of various organizations, reviewed

various

namely CASP,CEDPA, CHETNA, CINI, programmes and policiesfor

Global Health Council, MAMTA, NFl, youth and suggested

Pathfinder International,

Population Council, Plan India

and Population Foundation of

India etc, working towards the

development of youth. These

organizations have been

working in close association

with the Ministry of Youth

\\1,I;

Affairs and Sports and the

Ministry of Health & Family

Welfare to focus on issues

related to adolescent/youth

health and development.

Mr J V R Prasada Rao,

Secretary to Government of

India, Ministry of Health and

Family Welfare was the Chief

(From left) Mr A R Nanda, Executive Director, PFI,

Mr J V R Prasada Rao, Secretary to Gal, Deptt. of

Health, MOHFW and Ms Nandita Das, Social Activist.

Guest and Ms Nandita Das,Actress and modifications, shared evidence-based

Social Activist was present as a Special effectivepracticesand models,established

Guest.

a joint monitoring mechanism in

Over 500 participants, mostly youth, consultation with various Ministries and

from allover India, belonging to varied networks, and most importantly created

background, attended the Consultation a spacefor open discussionon health and

and brought together their unique and development issuesof youth,

The three-day event included

various presentations highlighting

major challengesthat adolescentsface

including health risks; limitations in

communicating

with youth;

education, life skills and livelihood

opportunities

and policies,

programmes and participation of

youth in their design and

implementation.

State-wide networks of adolescents

and youth from various states, with

the support of leading non-

government organizations in the State,

havecome together to voice their needs,

suggestions and participation. Earlier,

State-level consultations

have

been organised. So far, Maharashtra,

Goa, Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttaranchal,

Uttar Pradesh,Tamil Nadu, Pondicherry,

• National-level Consultation on "Young

People: Towards a Healthy Future"

• Meeting Reproductive and Sexual Health

Needs of Young Adults...

• National-level Campaign on Sex Selection

and Pre-Birth Elimination of Females 4

• Advocacy Programmes on "ICPD at Ten":

Programme interventions

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Editorial

Adolescenceis the process of transformation of childhood into

adulthood- a transitional phase during which rapid physical,

physiological and psychological changes take place. In addition,

thejourney of lift begins in terms of education, livelihood career

aspirations etc. Youngpeople of the age group 10-24 years constitute

approximately one-third of India's population and are recognized as ''the

most vital section of the community. "Being a heterogenous group, the

requirements of theyoungpeople from 10 to 14years are different from

the 14 - 18 age group and from 19 - 24 years age group. In addition,

the situational and circumstantial needs differ by age, gender, class,

region, religion, marital status and in cultural context. The situation

gets exacerbated byfactors such as gender disparity, malnutrition, early

marriage and child bearing, inadequate accessto health care

information and lack of specialized reproductive health services. The

multiplicity of concerns are to be recognized and addressed to help them

pass the threshold towards a healthy and happy lift of adulthood with

clarity and confidence on all these issues.

In 1994, ICPD had recognized the special needs ofyouth, which

gave an impetus to the formulation of many policies and the

introduction of specific provisions in various policy and programme

documents. The National Population Policy 2000 recognised the special

reproductive health needs of adolescents and youngpeople that have

remained unmet. The policy also advocated specialprogrammatic

interventions to delay age at marriage, provide free and compulsory

education up to age of 14and provide nutritional services. It also

recommended accessto information and counseling services including

reproductive health services, which are affirdable and accessible.

The Tenth Five- Year Plan of India has recognized adolescents as a

priority and the Planning Commission established a working group to

formulate plans that address issues related to them. The Government has

incorporated a component of adolescent health in the reproductive and

child health package implemented by the Department of Family Welfare.

The National AIDS Policy 2000 implemented by National Aids

Control Organisation (NACO) focuses on youth. The Ministry ofYouth

Affairs and Sports, being the nodal Ministry for youth and adolescents,

has taken the lead in coordinating youth activities and programmes

implemented by various Departments/Ministries. A National Youth

Policy has beenformulated in 2003. Several states have introduced

specificprogrammes for youth. NGO networking has been strengthened

to understand and address the needs of the youngpeople.

Time has come to translate policies into specific programme

interventions and to explore strategies whereby youngpeople's experiences

and concerns can be shared There is a need to address their diverse needs

through a holistic approach. Youth has the potential toplaya positive

role in the development of the country. The emerging alliances ofyoung

people at district and state levels in a number of states are a very welcome

trend, and need to be nurtured and supported proactively by all

stakeholders in civil society.

Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Delhi, Karnataka

and Orissa have completed their consultations.

One of the most important aims of these

Consultations was to create an enabling environment

for young people to openly discuss issues related to

health, particularly, reproductive and sexual health and

rights and development from diverse viewpoints. The

national consultation

has taken note of the

recommendations made from various states to enable

the development of cohesive and goal oriented policies

and programmes.

Some highlights of the National

Consultation:

The need for addressing the Youth:

As on March 2001, adolescents accounted for

22.8% of the population in India. There are

approximately 230 million adolescents in India in the

age group of 10-19 years. Young people between the

10 and 24 years of age constitute almost one third of

the total population in India. Their situation and needs

differ by age, gender, marital status, class, region,

religion, state and by culture. Youth require an array of

services and their needs cannot be compartmentalized.

Concerns raised by the Youth in SlCs and

NlC:

• Lack of education, life skills and livelihood

opportunities

• Substance abuse

• Early marriage and risky childbearing

• Early unsafe sex

• Growth and malnutrition

• Unintended pregnancy, abortion

and infections

• Sexual violence

• Lack of communication

with parents and other

trusted adults

• Lack of appropriate services, poor

quality of services and delayed

health care seeking behaviour

Educate youth

• Access to education in

general with more emphasis

on out-of-school youth;

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Young People's Alliance

• Efforts towards reducing the

dropouts, especially girls;

• Education imparted should be

meaningful and practical with

emphasis on development of

vocational skills and employment

options;

• Introduce mobile libraries at the

village level and train young people

to manage these libraries;

• Young adolescents should raise

awareness among parents, family

and community elders about their

responsibility to ensure the

education for their children.

Build life and livelihood skills

and opportunities

• Access to programmes that develop

vocational and livelihood skills

• Youth should be trained to take up

agriculture-related employment

opportunities and infrastructure

should be provided by developing

marketing facilities for the products

manufactured.

• Natural resources should be protected

and employment opportunities

related to such conservations should

be promoted.

• Information related to employment

opportunities should be made available

to young people at the village level.

"The Alliance of Young People:

Towards a Healthy Future" Secretariat

has been set up at Population

Foundation of India, for a period of

two years. It is a joint initiative of many

national

and international

organizations, such as CASP, Plan

India, CEDPA, CINI, Population

Council, NFl, MAMTA, Pathfinder

International, Global Health Council,

CHETNA, UNFPA, UNICEF, Ministry of

Youth Affairs and Ministry of Health

& Family Welfare. The objectives

Address gender

imbalances and

male involvement

• Provide equal

opportunities to

young males and

females.

• Programmes for

young females

must expand their

awareness,

negotiation skills and

life choices.

• Young males should

Young paticipants with Ms. Nandita Das at NLC

be sensitized to

become caring life partners and

programmes should involve young

men in adopting responsible

behaviours and reversing traditional

notions of masculinity.

Provide youth-friendly services

the local level to address various

issues including career guidance,

sexual and mental health, substance

abuse and violence.

Provide training to teachers

and health care providers

• Health services should be youth

friendly maintaining privacy,

confidentiality and dignity oftheyouth;

• One-stop facility for addressing the

needs of the youth including sexual

and reproductive health,

counseling, supply of contraceptives

and information. The advantages of

such a facility is not to compartmentalize

and stigmatize the health needs.

• Counseling services are needed at

behind the formation of the Secretariat

are to listen to the voices of young

people (age group 10-24) in diverse

situations and address these realities;

compile, document

and share

experiences from allover the country;

influence policy development and

implementation through experience

gained at the grassroots level; advocate

that this group is a growing population

with distinct needs that can be met and

add res sed effectively, and faci Iitate

alliance building amongst them.

• Training and orientation of teachers

was highlighted as a critical need.

• Counseling facilities may either be

provided by school teachers or

trai ned visiti ng .cou nselors.

• Health care providers must be

oriented to the special needs of

young people and the ways in

which the health services should be

provided to young people.

Community/Parents'

involvement in addressing

young people's health needs

• Elders should be educated on issues

related to early marriage, sexual

violence, dowry and substance abuse.

• Parents and families should be

sensitized on the needs of

adolescents, gender discrimination

and creating enabling environment

for healthy development of youth.

Role of media

• Media can play an important role

not only in sensitizing the community

andpar~nt~onadol~~c~nt~~ but

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Advocacr

••

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Population Foundation of India and Plan India have launched national-level Campaign on Sex Selection and

Pre-Birth Elimination of Females in eleven states, namely, Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat,

Maharashtra, Uttaranchal, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Chattisgarh.

The campaign includes workshops with Corporate/Industry leaders, Members of the State Legislative

Assembly, media, non-government organizations and other stakeholders, such as, teachers, film and radio

producers, and members of the medical associations. It also includes student participation in rallies, street

plays, debates and other related activities.

Under this campaign, workshops were orgariized with corporate/industry leaders and the Members of State

Legislative Assemblies in the states of Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh.

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The advocacy workshop was

organized in associationwith PHD

Chamber of Commerce & Industry

and local industry associations on April

8,2004, at Chandigarh. Mr. A RNanda,

Executive Director, Population

Foundation of India and Dr. Nalini

Abraham, Country Health Advisor, Plan

India represented both the organizations

at the Workshop.

Mr SC Aggarwal, Principal Secretary,

Industry

and

Commerce,

Government

Punjab, chaired the

Workshop.

Mr.

Ashok Khanna, Past

President, PHDCCI,

Chandigarh, while

addressing

the

participants, assured

full support to the

From left: Dr. G L Goel, Director, Health and Family Welfare, Punjab; Mr. P K Verma,

PHDCCI, Chandigarh; Mr. A R Nanda, Executive Director, PFI; Mr. S C Aggarwal,

Principal Secretary, Industry & Commerce, Punjab; Mr. Ashok Khanna, CEO, Khanna

Watches Ltd.; Mr. Inderjit Singh, Director of Census Operation, Punjab.

Mr. Ashok Khanna, CEO, Khanna

Watches Ltd. and Past President PHDCCI,

Chandigarh addressing the Workshop.

campaign and said "India traditionally

being a religious country, people's

mindset can be immensely influenced

through spiritual involvement."

Presidents of a few local Industry

Associations were present apart

from representatives of a few Industries

from Punjab.

There were presentations by experts

on demographic scenario on Child Sex

Ratio of the State; socio-cultural and

economic factors ~esponsible for the

declining Child Sex Ratio; lack of

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Advocacy.•

awareness on the PNDT Act and the

initiatives taken by the Government of

Punjab to arrest the practice of sex

selection and pre-birth elimination of

female child in Punjab.

There were around 85 participants.

Experts from medical, legal and other

related fields, media etc. were present

during the workshop apart from

representativesof some non-government

organizations from Punjab. Mr

Manmohan Sharma, Executive Director

of Voluntary Health Association of

Punjab helped in the organization of the

workshop.

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The workshop was organized in

association with PHDCCI,

Shimla and local Industry

associations, on May 15, 2004, at

Parwanoo. SNSFoundation, Parwanoo

and the NGO, SUTRA, Solan extended

their cooperation in organizing this

workshop. Ind ustry representatives,

government officials, non-

government organizations,

social scientists and medical

doctors were present.

Mr A R Nanda, Executive

Director, PFI, said that the

issue of missing girls is the

greatest challenge of the 21 51

century and this can be

tackled with a collective

approach.

Dr. Nalini

Abraham, Country Health

Advisor,

Plan India

acknowledged the social

responsibility of the corporate sector

and urged them to step up their efforts

as time and situation are running out

of our hands.

Presentations were made on' the

demographic scenario and the factors

responsible for the decline in the Child

Sex Ratio in the State and on the

Corporate Social Responsibility of the

Industry.

Ms Renu Sahani Dhar, Additional

Chief Secretary,

Industries,

Government of Himachal Pradesh and

Mr. PC Kapoor, Secretary, Department

of Health and Family Welfare,

Government of Himachal Prade5h

apart from other government officials

were present. Presidents of Parwanoo

tafHtfei Amocacy Worlcshopwith Commerce and Industry

of Himachal Pradesh

r_1t fo@Iicide(Pre-birth Elimination of females)

~15._

r.-., Tr~ Iesort. P•• ~noo

Industry leaders and other

participants at the Advocacy

Workshop in Parwanoo

(From left) Mr P C Kapoor,

Secretary, Oept. of H&FW,

Mr J C Anand, Chairman,

Anand Group of Companies,

Ms Renu Sahni Ohar, Add/.

Chief Secretary, H.P.; Mr Alok

Sharma, President, Parwanoo

Industry Association; Mr R S

Guleria, President, BNN

Industry Association

Industry Association and A street play staged at the workshop in Parwanoo

other local Industries like

Gabriel India Ltd, Dabur, Himalayan

Representatives from industries

Fruit Processing Industry, Vardhman assured their full support towards the

etc. were representing the Industry of campaign and pledged to create a

Himachal Pradesh. Mr. J C Anand, gender sensitive environment for their

Chairman, Anand Group of Industries, workers. The Workshop was attended

chaired the Workshop.

by 150 participants.

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Advocacy'

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The workshop was organized in

association with Confederation

of Indian Industry (CII),on May 28,

2004, at New Delhi.

Ms. Panabaka Lakshmi, Hon'ble

Union Minister of State for Health and

Family Welfare, was the Guest of

Honour. She acknowledged the issueof

female foeticide as

an area of urgent

concern for her

Ministry and said

that this issue can

be tackled with a

holistic approach.

Mr. Rakesh

Bharti Mittal,

Chairman,

CII

Northern Region,

Vice Chairman &

child policy which

has adversely

affected their child

sex ratio.

Ms. Suman

Parashar, Joint

Director, Office of

Registrar General

Managing Director, Participants at the Delhi Corporate Workshop

Bharti Teletech Ltd.

was present along with other Industry and CensusCommissionerof India, made

members of CII. Mr. A R Nanda, a presentation on the present scenario

Executive Director, PFI, addressed the of child sex ratio in Delhi. Mahindra &

participants and said that policies like Mahindra Co. and EscortsLtd. presented

one/two-child norm have added to the the case studies and highlighted the

declining child sex ratio. India should importance of the girl child.

learn from the mistake of China's one- Ms. Bijayalaxmi Nanda, Campaign

Mr. Rakesh Bharati Mittal, Chairman 01,

Northern Region,addrerssing the

workshop, Mr. M Raghuran, Mahindra &

Mahindra Co., Mr. A. R. Nanda, ED, PFI,

Ms. Panabaka Lakshmi,Minister of State

for H&FW, Dr. Ramnik Ahuja, 01 and

Ms. Suman Parashar, Joint Director, RGI.

Coordinator & Founder Member, CAFF

said that the declining child sex ratio

should be looked upon as violence

against women and the teaching-

learning society can playa vital role in

sensitizing the society on the issue.

Participants from Medical profession,

non-government organizations, Industry

and media participated in the open-

discussion, after the presentations.

• Rope in celebrities to endorse the cause of female foeticide.

• Industry should not be targeted for solution to the cause, rather it can be approached for assistance in fighting the cause.

• Pre-marital counseling programmes in working areas of the Industry should be started either through their social

organizations or in association with local non-government organizations.

• Industry should maintain the dignity and respect of the women while projecting them through their advertisements for

promotion of their products.

• Religious leaders can be involved to change the mindsets of the people in relation to the issue of importance of girl child

and curbing the practice of female foeticide.

• Industry should take personal interest of their employee's health and education along with finance.

• Everyindustry should start gender sensitiveprogrammesin their township and adopt nearbyvillagesforthe same.

• The declining child sex ratio should betreated asviolenceagainstwomen.

• Use of civil registration data for monitoring sex ratio at birth on monthly basis.

• Medical doctors should come forward to join the campaign.

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Advocacy

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The workshop with

Mem bers of the

State Leg islative

Assembly of Haryana was

organized on June 22,

2004, at Chandigarh. The

Hon'ble Speaker of the

Haryana Vidhan Sabha,

Mr Satbir Singh Kadian

was present as the Chief

Guest and Dr Shri Muni

Lal Ranga, Hon'ble ,

Minister of Health &

Ayurvedic Education

presided over the occasion. Others

who were present on the occasion

were the Hon'ble Deputy Speaker of

Haryana Vidhan Sabha, Mr Gopi

Chand Gehlot; Hon'ble Finance

Minister, Prof Sampat Singh; Hon'ble

Minister of State for Education,

Mr Bahadur Singh; Hon'ble Minister

of State for Urban Development,

Mr Subhash Goyal; Hon'ble Minister

of State for Animal Husbandry, Mohd

Ilyas; MLAs from different

constituencies, government officials,

medical professionals, media and

other experts.

After the welcome by Mr A R

From left: Mr Muni Lal

Ranga, Hon'ble Minister of

Health & Ayurvedic

Education, Haryana;

Mr Satbir Singh Kadian,

Hon'ble Speaker, Haryana

Vidhan Sabha and Mr A R

Nanda, Executive Director, PFI,

at the Haryana MLA Advocacy

Workshop.

Nanda,

the

Honourable

Speaker, Minister of

Health and other

Ministers and MLAs

shared their views

on the issue of

female foeticide.

The discussions

reflected

the

commitment

they had, and

Mr A R Nanda, Executive Director, PFIand Dr. B S Dahiya,

Director General, Health Services, Haryana addressing a Pre-

workshop Press Conference.

highlighted the need for planned Population Foundation said that it is

action towards this endeavour. important to maintain a balanced sex

Mr A R Nanda, Executive Director, PFI, ratio for a sustained population

said that in the next couple of stabilization.

decades various

The workshop was interactive. The

problems

response was overwhelming with 47

associated with MLAs attending the workshop.

the population Mr Manmohan Sharma, Executive

issue, especially Director, Voluntary Health Association

the issue of of Punjab helped in organizing this

declining child workshop. Dr B S Dahiya, Director

sex ratio, will be General of Health Services, and his

grave if not colleagues extended the support in

addressed at this this endeavour. A pre-workshop

time. Mr Satbir Press Conference was organized on

Singh Kadian, June 22, 2004 at Chandigarh to

appreciating the share with media the purpose of

initiatives of Plan organizing the Workshop with MLAs

India

and in Haryana.

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Advocacy•.

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The Workshop with MLAs of

Himachal Pradeshwas organized

on June 24, 2004, at Shimla.

Country Health Advisor, Plan India

requested the participants to observe

30 seconds silenceto pay homage to

Hon'ble Speaker of Himachal Pradesh thousands of girls who went missing.

Vidhan Sabha Mr Gangu Ram Musafir

Presentations were made on the

was the Chief Guest and the

Workshop was presided over by the

Hon'ble Minister for Health and

Family Welfare, Ms Chandresh

Kumari. The Workshop was attended

by MLAs, senior government officials,

media and social scientists.

Mr A R Nanda, ExecutiveDirector,

Participants observing thirty

seconds of silence to

remember the 'Missing

Girls'

PFI, said that female foeticide is

and pre-birth elimination of

spreading like a cancer and it is

females. Mr J R Gazta,

unfortunate that Himachal Pradeshis

also one of the worst hit States. The

Hon'ble Speaker said that in spite of

a sound over all Human

Development Index, Himachal is one

From Left: Mr. A R Nanda, Executive Director, PFI;

Mr. Gangu Ram Musafir, Hon'ble Speaker, HP Vidhan

Sabha; Ms. Chandresh Kumari, Hon'ble Minister of

Health & Family Welfare; Dr. Nalini Abraham, Plan India

at the MLA Workshop at Shimla.

Secretary, Vidhan Sabha,

Himachal Pradesh and Mr

Subhash Mendhapurkar,

Executive Director, SUTRA,

Solan,extended the support

of the top four states with the worst adverse child sex ratio in the State and in organizing the Workshop. A pre-

child sex ratio. The Hon'ble Health & the socio-cultural and economic factors workshop Press Conference was

Family Welfare Minister showing her responsible.

organized on June 23, 2004 at Shimla

concern said "I am afraid people in the

The Workshop was interactive. MLAs to share with media the purpose of

State may not be killing girls in the garb and experts expressedtheir concern and organizing the Workshop with MLAs in

of family planning." Dr Nalini Abraham, viewsto arrestthe practiceof sexselection Himachal Pradesh.

What thBY said...

MIAs of Haryana :

"Just making laws will not solve the problem, rather

proper implementation of laws will bear fruits"

Deputy Speaker, Haryana Vidhan Sabha

"Killing a girl child in the womb is a shameful act of a

civilized society"

Prof. Ram Bhagat, MLA, Narnaund, Haryana

"Policies concerning with population and development

must be reviewed."

Mr. Bhagwan Sahai Rawat, MLA, Hathin, Haryana

"Haryana being a traditional State, it will be

difficult to change the mindset of people. However, a

proper education system can help in bringing a

social reform."

Prof. Sampat Singh, Hon'ble Finance Minister, Haryana

MIAs of Himachal Pradesh:

"Having two girls in a family is a taboo in the society.

This mindset has to change."

Ms. Anita Verma, MLA, Hamirpur, HP

"Misuse of ultrasound machines is the main culprit in

the spread of female foeticide."

Mr. Jagjivan Paul, MLA, Sulah, HP

"It is a shame that Himachal features among the states

with worst child sex ratio. The two-child norm should

be abolished."

Dr. Beeru Ram Kishore, MLA, Geharwin, HP

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Advocacy

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Advocacy initiatives in Ranchi and Hazaribagh districts of )harkhand

To orient various government

constituencies,

comprising

politicians, bureaucrats, public-

private health care providers and

Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRls)

towards meeting young adult's

reproductive and sexual health (YARSH)

needs, Population Foundation of India

adopted the "bottom-up approach" of

sensitizing sub-district/block

level

stakeholders.

After the launch of the project in

January 2004, the Ranchi district has

been covered by organizing workshops

with various stakeholders at the block

level with governmenVnon-government

organizations. Media has been taking

keen interest in supporting the project.

Workshops have been organized in

twelve blocks of Ranchi, namely, Rahu,

Silli, Mandar, Ranchi, Budmu,

Oramanhi, Namkom, Kunti, Karra,

Murhu, Arki, Torpa ..

The issues discussed during the block

level workshops are Sexual and

Reproductive Health, migration, school

drop outs and HIV/AIDS.

Now efforts will be taken to cover

nine blocks of Hazaribagh district,

namely, Hazaribagh Sadar, Katkam,

Sandi, Barhi, Ichak, Bishnugarh,

Churchu, Ramgarh, Choparan and

Barkhata.

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Population Foundation of India is

addressing three major issues

under the advocacy programmes

on ICPD at ten:

• The issue of "Missing Girls"

• Laws, Policies and Rights in the

context of Reproductive Health

• Building supportive environment for

improved quality of care through

advocacy initiatives

Women's group like mahila mandals,

SHGs etc, school and college students,

Anga nwadi workers/AN Ms/teachers,

media, medical associations and

professionals will be involved directly or

indirectly with these advocacy initiatives,

Some of the broad activities comprise

organizing workshops and seminars,

nukkad nataks, essay/debatelposter/slogan

competitions, rallies etc. for six months,

Missing Girls: Advocacy

programmes in seven states

Seven non-government organizations

have been made responsible to carry

advocacy activities in their states on the

issue of "Missing Girls", The main objective

of these programme for a six-month

duration is to create awareness about the

value of girl child, positive contribution of

girls in society, awareness about declining

sexratio, causesand consequences,PNDT

Act and legal abortions.

The following non-government

organizations have been made

responsible for these activities:

• Social Uplift Through Rural Action

(SUTRA) in Kangra, Una and Sloan

districts of Himachal Pradesh

• Centre for Enquiry into Health and

Allied Themes (CEHAT) in selected

rural and urban areas of the

Maharashtra State including Mumbai

• Centre for Women's Development

Studies (CWDS) in Delhi

• Voluntary Health Association of

Punjab (VHAP) in the districts of

Fatehpur Sahib, Ludhiana and Patiala

in Punjab

• Family Planning Association of India,

Mumbai in the districts of

Yamunanagar and Panch kula in

Haryana

• PRAYAS in the five districts of Barmer,

Rajsamand, Dholpur, Baran and

Chittaurgarh in Rajasthan

• Centre for Health, Education, Training

and Nutrition Awareness (CHETNA)

in selected areas of Gujarat

Laws, Policies and Rights in

the context of Reproductive

Health

Population Foundation of India, in

association with SAHAYOG, Human

Rights Law Network and Lawyer's

Collective, is organizing a National

Consultation on Laws, Policies and Rights

1.10 Page 10

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Advocacy

••

in the context of Reproductive Health on

September 25-26,2004, at India Habitat

Centre, New Delhi. The programme of

the two-day Consultation will cover

following five major themes:

• Population policies and two-child

norm

• Contraception and family planning

• Pre-birth Sexselection and accessto

safe abortion

• Child and adolescent rights

• Unsafe Motherhood

There will be various presentations on

the sub-themes under the above

mentioned five major themes. The

participants in the National Consultation

will be drawn from different fields,

representing government, non-

government organizations,academicians:

health and legal professionals,media and

other groups.

Building supportive

environment for improved

quality of care through

advocacy initiatives

Quality of care isone of the important

components of reproductive and child

health programmes. The challenge to

shift the programme focus from merely

increasing coverage to quality is,

however, formidable. Improvement in

quality begins with a processof defining

frame works, setting standards,

measuring deviations, diagnosing causes

of such deviations and taking corrective

measures. Effective advocacy is required

with various stakeholders like policy

makers, planners, programme

functionaries, media, public-private

health care providers, NGOs,PRls,grass-

root level workers and women's groups.

The process includes joint

consultation meeting with key

stakeholders, which will include

presentations of the consolidated

findings of the review of literature and

primary qualitative research;issue-based

discussions focusing region/state

specific interventions and culling out

recommendations based on lessons

learnt and best practices.

Population and development:

ageing & migration

'Ageing and Migration' has been

identified as one of the areas of

interventions under the ICPD at ten

initiatives. Seminar on Ageing and

Migration in the demographic scenewill

be organized under the aegis of Indian

Association for Study on Population.

Some of the issues to be addressed in

the seminars are: Health care system

for the ageing; financial support

system; socia I secu rity; em ployment/

economic security; psychological and

emotional aspects of ageing; old

age homes; gender issues in ageing;

time-management

and use of

the aged etc. Migration in all

steams to be addressed-out

migrating, in-migration, international

migration etc.

National-level Consultation on

RCH-II

Under the ICPD at ten initiatives, a

National Consultation on RCH-IIwill be

organised during the end of August or

earlySeptember.The idea of the National

Consultation is to appraise the civil

society on elements, strategies and the

vision on this issue.

Meetings/Workshops attended by the Executive Director

• Executive Director attended the one-day planning meeting on ICPDat Ten-Civil Society Dialogue' held on

April 14, 2004 at India Habitat Centre, New Delhi.

• Executive Director delivered the Convocation Address at the 48th Convocation of liPS, Mumbai on

May 8,2004.

• National-level Consultation on "Young People-Towardsa Healthy Future" was held on

May 21-23,2004 at India Habitat Centre, New Delh.i

• Executive Director attended the advisory council meeting of Packard Foundation at San Francisco,

USA on June 7-8,2004.

• Lecture by Dr Vinod Mishra, of East-West Centre, Hawaii, on Gender Differentials in Childhood Feeding, Health

Care and Nutritional Status on June 30,2004 at PFI.

2 Pages 11-20

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2.1 Page 11

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Proj_ec_t_s

A model study on birth &

death data from Indian

Civil Registration System

PFI,in collaboration with Office of the

Registrar General of India and UNICEF

has started a model study on the birth

and death data from Indian Civil

Registration System. The five-month

duration study coversfour states namely,

Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Keralaand

Tamil Nadu. The main objectives of the

study are -review of data collection

formats and mechanism in rural and

urban areas; review of software used for

data entry and the data entry mechanism

in different states; to propose critical

comments and recommendations on

Civil Registration System based on the

review of the data analysis.

PFI-PRB publications on HIV/

AIDS

PFI,in collaboration with Population

Reference Bureau, Washington DC had

earlier published chart books on HIV/

AIDs for India and six fact-sheets for the

high prevalence states namely, Tamil

Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka,

Maharashtra, Manipur and Nagaland.

Encouraged by the overwhelming

responseto the publications, PFIand PRB

have again joined hands to do a similar

exercisein the statesof Delhi, TamilNadu

and Karnataka.Inthe secondphase,three

state-levelchart books forthe mentioned

states and a state specific fact-sheet for

Gujarat will be published in 10 months

duration.

The proposed chart books and

fact-sheets will address the needs of

the users in providing user-friendly,

comprehensive and current overview of

key issues related to HIV/AIDS. The

publications will be in bi-lingual i.e.

English and state-specific language.

Three dissemination workshops are

also proposed in Delhi, Chennai

and Bangalore.

Strengthening NGO capacity

to improve maternal and child

health status in Jharkhand

through a life-cycle approach

The Fouundation has joined hands

with Child in Need Institute (CINI) to

strengthen the capacityof selectedNGOs

in the state of Jharkhand for a period of

five years. It also proposes to build the

capacity of an NGO, namely, Nav Bharat

Jagriti Kendrato implement reproductive

and child health care programmes

covering Churchu block in Hazaribagh

district covering around 1,20,000

population.

The strategy involves case

management, behaviour change

communication and establishing

appropriate linkages to bring about an

improvement in the RCH status of the

community in Jharkhand. The efforts of

Nav Bharat Jagriti Kendra towards

implementing RCH programmes in

Churchu block, with life-cylce based

community level interventions, will be.

a valuable demonstration site for

replication elsewhere.

we invite from our readers success

stories, researchfindings and

articles along with photographs

on population, environment

we and development.

welcome

feedback from our readers, to

make FOCUS a forum to

exchange information

and knowledge

Continued from page 3

also can be powerful means of

broadcasting/telecasting special

messagesfor adolescents' healthy

development. Local media should be

promoted, such as puppet shows,

street plays, nukkad nataks etc.

• Innovative and effective IEC

materials could be prepared in the

local language for providing correct

information to the youth. Local

newspapersshould be promoted to

write on adolescent issues.Youth

bQdi~$cQuld b~ Lr~at~d to monitor

media contents and to ensure a

Respect YoungPeople's rights

• Young people should be given

adequate support to expressand

demand their rights at the community

level and empowered to actively

participate in policy development and

programme planning & design.

• Laws concerning age at marriage,

dowry, sexual violence, sex

determination and pre-birth

elimination of females, child

l1'1arriag~~tc should be implemented

effectively.

Address the special needs of

neglected sub-populations

• Social sensitization efforts should be

made to remove the stigma

attached to young people those

who are physically challenged,

street children, working

children etc.

• Accessto information should be

ensure regarding their rehabilitation,

including the provision of

employment and accessto loans for

the establishment of small businesses.

• Improve the quality of care of youth

in juvenile homes.

2.2 Page 12

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• Core group meeting on Innovative

Communication Strategy for EAG

states on July 3, 2004.

• Meeting with Health Watch on

RCH-II on July 5- 6, 2004.

• Pre?entation on Elimination of Child

Labour-National Policy, Laws and

Programme of Action by Dr Lakshmidhar

Mishra, Former Secretary, Ministry of

Labour,Government of India on

July 30, 2004 at PFI.

• HIV/AIDS Consortium meeting at PFI

on August 2-3,2004.

• International Youth Day Celebration;

a seminar on dissemination and

documentation on August 11, 2004,

at IIC, New Delhi.

• National Consultation on Laws,

Policies and Rights in the context of

Reproductive Health on September

25-26,2004 at India Habitat Centre,

New Delhi.

• Launching of the Community Radio

Programme in undivided districts of

Koraput and Kalahandi from

AIR-Jeypore, Orissa on September 12,

2004.

• Block-level consultation on Reduction

of Maternal Mortality in Koraput

(Orissa) in September.

New joinings

Dr Suzie Francis, a gynaecologist by profession has

joined PFIas Coordinator in the 'Young People: Towards

Healthy Future' Alliance Secretariat. Prior to this, she

was a free lance health consultant, mostly with Plan

India in RCH safe motherhood and HIV/AIDS.

Mr Rajneesh Saran, a post graduate, has been working

in the development sector for the last eight years. He

has joined PFIas Assistant. Coordinator in the Adolescent

Health Secretariat.

Dr Lakshmi, has left PFI. She was with PFI for one year

looking after the mobile clinic.

In Remembrance

Padma Bhushan, Dr Banoo J Coyaji, passed away

on July 16, 2004. Dr Coyaji was a person wedded

to social work. The 1993 Magsaysay Award winner,

she was born to a prosperous Parsi family in

September 7, 1917 in Bombay. Dr Coyaji

transformed KEM Hospital from a 40-bed nursing

'.-!Pa!,

\\~

home into a 550-bedded hospital through her

dedicated services to the community. Today, KEM Hospital has a

presence in 300 villages making outstanding contribution towards

population and development work.

Dr Banoo Coyaji was a leading medical scientist who did pioneering

work in the bio-medical research in the country. As a pioneer in

social service, Dr Coyaji was deeply associated with many national

and international organizations like WHO, UNFPA, Ford Foundation,

World Bank, Population Foundation of India etc. PFI was fortunate

to have Dr Coyaji was one of the founder members of its Governing

Board. It is an irreparable loss to the Foundation and she will always

be missed and remembered.

Published by Population Foundation ofIndia

B-28, Qutab InstitutionaJ Area,

New Delhi-110016.

Tel.: 26867080, 26867081 Fax: 26852766

e-mail: popfound@si£)r.com / website: www.popfound.org

EditoriaJ Direction & Guidance:

MrARNanda

Editor: Mrs Geera MaJhotra

EditoriaJ Committee:

Dr B P Thiagarajan

Dr KumudhaAruldas

EditoriaJ Assistance:

MsRVanaja

'1/fundelivered please return to:

Population Foundation of India

~1• a B-28, Qutab InstitutionaJArea, Tara Crescent, New Delhi-110016.