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Focus 1991 October - December |
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Study Brings out Attitudes and Practices of Union Leaders
How to Involve Trade Unions in Family Planning?
In view of the enormous potential of Trade Unions towards furthering
the cause of family planning among industrial workers, Family Planning
Foundation has sponsored comprehensive studies of family planning attitudes
an i practices of trade union leaders in Kerala, Maharashtra, Gujarat and
West Bengal. In fact, these studies are an offshoot of an earlier study of
Sahibabad-Meerut Road industrial area of Ghaziaba'd district of U.r. which
though of exploratory nature, underlined the need for more and bigger studies
of this kind in order to secure meaningful involvement of trade union leaders
who hold the key to tap this vast potential of workers in so far as family
welfare activity is concerned.
These studies are being con-
down to the plant level leaders
level leaders was the indifference
ducted by Shri Ram Centre for
does not seem to have taken
of the workers themselves.
Industrial Relations & Human Re-
place in a very systematic manner "- Much depends upon the .acce;l?-
sources, New Delhi. Prof. J. S.
due mainly to the fact that the
tance of the utility of famIly
Sodhi of the Shri Ram Centre who
philosophy has neither been al-
planning and its adoption by the
has completed the Ernakulam study
ways formally communicated nor
plant-level union leaders them-
in Kerala, in bis report compares
vocalised by the top leadership.
selves. The results of the two
and contrasts, where possible, the
In Ghaziabad, for example, half
studies show that the leaders'
results of this study with those of
of the Union leaders interviewed,
knowledge is high and their
the Ghaziabad study. On comple- . felt that their Unions have no
opinions positive but in terms of
tion of other three studies, an inte-
role in the promotion of family
acceptance of family planning,
grated report covering all the four
planning among workers, which
the level is high in· Ernakulam
centre~ is to be prepared. In the
was not the case in Ernakulam.
but low in Ghaziabad.
meantIme we present here some of
the important conclusions of the
Ernakulam study.
- Trade Unions as voluntary bo-
Much depends upon the acceptance of the utility of family
dies, in whom the workers re- planninl and its adoption by the plant-level union leaders.
pose their faith, are in a very
advantageous position to help
workers in taking up the family
planning activities.
The concern about family plann-
ing and actions of the Unions in
promoting it would, to a great
extent, depend upon the philoso-
phy and attitude the union leaders
have on this point.
The Union leaders had a clear-
cut positive philosophy on family
planning as per their senior-level
leaders. However, its percolation
Generally, the Unions, on their
own, have furthered in the
interests of the workers vis-a-vis
their service matters and em-
ployer-employee relations. But
many a time, they have also res-
ponded to the iss~es on which the
workers have~trOnglY pressed
the unions. T at is why in the
Ghaziabad st dy, one of the
reasons for not taking up family
planning activitie~ by the plant.
Family Planning matters were
not, by and large, included in the
charters of demands, in both the
study areas. The main reason
for not doing so was (a) lack of
clarity of the philosophy of
family planning on the part of
the plant level union leaders in-
sofar as Ghaziabad was concern-
ed, and (b) workers' awareness
of the same in the case of
ErnakuIam.
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FamHy Planning is not an important issue ~fhBe presenting
Charter of Demands: In Erna-
WVorkers' demand to lVlanagements.
kulam, 31 per cent of the Union
leaders compared to 5 per cent in
Ghaziabad had put forward family
planning in their charter of demands..
The unions and the Government the fast-growing population. How- The data signincantly highlight the
are not working together for ever, as to whether family planning fact that family planning is not an
achieving the objectives of family is the pivot of all social and economic important issue while submitting
planning. The plant level leaders planning, about one-fifths disagreed. such charter of demands to the
suggested that the government
Family Concerns: Most of the res- management.
should seek participation of the pondents in' Ernakulam were in
Unions Workingfor Family Plann-
unions in the formulation as well agreement over the fact that birth ing: Family planning e·fforts can
as implementation of programmes control methods should be used by be taken up either by the Unions
related to family planning.
married couples.
alone or in collaboratkn with the
Training of workers is an im-
Attitudes Towards Number of management and even the Govern-
portant activity which can be Children: Four-fifth of the Union ment. In such a situation, the·
delegated to the unions who leaders in Ernakulam opined that Government will have to encourage
would do well to undertake two children are ideal for a happy participation of Union leaders in the
special educational programmes family.
formulation of family planning pro-
for their workers.
In Ghaziabad much lesser pro- grammes as well as their involve-
Although at present the Unions'
involvement in the family plann-
ing issue is rather low, there is
urgent need for managements,
trade unions and the government
to join hands so that this latent
source of strength (the unions)
could be fully tapped for the
family planning endeavours.
portion of Union leaders stated two
children (50 per cent in Ghaziabad
as compared to 80 per cent in
Ernakulam) as being ideal for a
married couple.
Interval Between Two Children:
About four-fifth of the Union leaders
in both the study areas opined that
the interval between the birth of two
children should be more than two
ment in its implementation. The
management and the Government
would then be required to provide
finances and logistical support for
the programme.
The Union Minister of State fot
years.
Forests and Environment, Mr.
Every Union leader in Erna- Kamal Nath, has annour.ced two
kulam as well as in Ghaziabad was major schemes - 'Environment Bri-
understandably aware of at least one- gade' and 'Eco Development
method of family planning.
Scheme' - for protection ofecoMgy.
The study in Ernakulam followed
a multi-stage random sampling
method. The data was collected
with the help of a specially-designed
questionnaire which had modules
on such aspects as philosophy, atti-
tudies, knowledge, availability, adop-
tion and other related activities of
the unions. The findings in the
study report are based on interviews
with 104 union leaders.
The Ghaziabad study too follow-
ed a methodology similar to that of
Kerala interviewing in all 100 union
leaders but the Issues studied were
fewer.
The proportion of Union leaders
presently adopting family planning
methods in Ernakulam was much
higher than their counterparts in
Ghaziabad (69 and 42 per cent,
respectively). In Ghaziabad there-
fore, the higher knowledge about
family planning methods was not
put to use in-so-far as adoption in
their own life was concerned. 80
per ~ent of the Union leaders in
GhazIabad ccmpared to 19 per cent
in Ernakulam perceived abortion as
bad.
In Ernakulam, most of the Union
leaders felt that their Union has a
positive role in promoting family
The 'Environment brigade' would
act as the eyes aI:d ears of ~nviron-
ment protection agencies (and the
'eco development scheme' wt'uld
ensure deve.lopment of villages in
the proximity of national parks, to
ensure that people there did not
resort to plundering of forests for
their livelihood.
The environment brigades weuld
consist of unemployed or semi-
employed youths who would be
given a format for reporting on
ecological matters in the areas
assigned to Ihem.
There would be an average of 20
people per district working under
Religious Beliefs: The union planning among the workers. In the scheme.
leaders in Ernakulam were very Ghaziabad, however, only 55 per
A special complaints cells would
clear that limiting the number of cent of the Union leaders have stated be set up in the state and central
children or resorting to birth con- that their Union has a positive role forest ministries to deal with their
trol is clearly neither against nature in promoting family planning among reports.
nor a sin. About three-fourth of the workers.
Mr. Kamal Nath said two more
the leaders dId not feel that abortion
Education of Workers: As about schemes were on the anvil, a tree
itself was a sin.
education of workers in respect of growers' cooperative scheme, meant
General Concerns: Almost all the family planning, only 11 per cent of for employment generation, and a
Union leaders in Ernakulam were the re&pondents in Ernakulam and proposal for environmental courts,.
in agreement that family planning is 15 per cent in Ghaziabad gave a which would be placed before the
the most effective way of checking positive reply.
cabinet soon.
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UNICEF1s 10 Propositions for a New World Order
"The State of the World's Children 1992" report of the United Nations
Children's Fund (UNICEF) makes an impassionedplea for a renewed inter-
national commitment to the task of ending the age-old evils of absolute
poverty, malnutrition, illiteracy, an4 preventable disease and to build a new
world order which will reflect mankind's brightest hopes rather than its
darkest fears.
Specifically, the report submits
10propositions f01 the consideration
of all those- be they heads of State
or members ofthe public- who are
concerned to become involved in
the discussion of the new world
order. Taken together, they add
up to a proposal that ending the
absolute poverty of one quarter of
mankind - the more than one
billion people who still live and die
with preventable hunger, disease and
illiteracy - should rank alongside
the issues of preserving the peace
and protecting the environment as
priority items on the agenda of the
emerging new world order.
This year's report makes refe-
rences to India at quite a few places.
India has been praised as far as the
declining rate of child mortality is
concerned. The report described
India as having reached a stage
where it was now very close to
achieving the goal of fewer deaths
and fewer births.
But India is criticized for dis-
crimination against the girl child. In
India and other countries of South
Asia, a million girls die every year
because they are born female. The
report goes on to say that if a new
world order is to put right the most
glaring failings of the old, then this
issue of discrimination against
women cannot be omitted from the
agenda.
India's policy of subsidizing
higher education at the cost of pri-
mary education draws considerable
criticism in the report. "In India,
where 60 to 70 children could be
given primary education at the cost
of training one university student,
approximately half of the nation's
children fail to finish primary school,
while the country produces more
graduates than it could productively
employ," the report points out.
"Inevitably, one of the results is
brain drain of unemployed but
highly qualified people to the indus-
tiralised nations".
growing minds and bodies of young
"In this way", warns the report, children should get priority.
"a significant share of Government.
The lives of 3.2 million children a
spending on education is used to year are now being saved by the
subsidise rich nations rather than immunization efforts of the 1980s,
achieve baic education for all, which, the report states. But immunization
as experience suggests, is one of the remains the greatest public health
cornerstones of development".
challenge of the 1990s. By build-
Governments of developing ing on what has been achieved, it is
countries are criticised for spending possible to prevent a further two
on· an average only about 12% of million child deaths each year and
their budgets on basic health educa- reduce the impact of vaccine prevent-
tion services for the poor, while able disease on child malnutrition
rich countries draw flak for allocat- and disability.
ing only 10% of international aid
Evidence from the World Ferti-
for these programmes.
lity Survey suggests that if all women
In the last decade, more than in the developing world who do-
one-and-a-half million children have not wish to become pregnant were
been killed in wars. More than four empowered to exercise their choice
million have been physically dis- then the rate of population growth
abled. Five million children are in ",would fall approximately by 30%.
refugee camps and a further 12 Therefore, a renewed effort neetls
million have lost their homes because to be made to put family planning at
of war. Therefore, protecting the at the disposal of all by the year 2000.
Immunization efforts are currently saving the lives 0/3.2 million
children a year
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Ind,onesia Achieves Remarkable Decline in
The findings of the study publIsh-
ed in "Progress in Human Repro-
Population Growth Rate
duction Research", a journal of the
World Health Organisation. reveai-
Family planning is not just the
use of contraceptives it is dependent
on the ability of the community to
organise itself and develop an effec-
tive distribution system.
This is evident from the Indo-
nesian experience. That country has
developed a network of committed
rural volunteers in every village which
helps in the dissemination of modern
family planning programmes.
As a result, Indonesia has stabi-
lised at a population of 183 million
dom. InCIdentally, the last is not
much liked in Indonesia.
However, there is a blot on this
success story of Indonesia. The
participation -of men in such pro-
grammes is low and their use of
contraceptives is almost negligible.
In fact, there was a movement for
making men realise their responsi-
bility as early as in the late seventies,
but it could not make much dent in
changing their attitudes.
One of the factors responsible for
ed that desire for LlOre children was
the main reason while discomfort,
side-effects and fears about safety
of the method were other reasons
for stopping the use of a method.
A woman's age and family income
were also associated with the choic~
of sterilisation. It was found that
compared to women who are less
than 25, those aged between 30 and
34 had two times higher chances of
having used another method prior
to accepting sterilisation.
while the projected figure was around the success of the family planning
Similarly, women from higher
200 million in the nineties. The programmes in Indonesia is the high income families had a greater chance
growth rate has fallen from 2.34 rate of literacy (85 per cent) - one of prior use of other methods.
to 1.8.
of the highest in the region and
The study also analysed the
Family planning is not only the perhaps in the entire world.
pattern of switching a method It
business of the Government, but of
found that 29 per cent had chosen
everybody, says Mr. Santo so Rami-
joyo, Senior adviser to the Govern-
Factors Influencing Women's
sterilisation after trying other me-
thods. Majority of these women,
ment of Indonesia, National Family Choice of a F.P. Method
around 82 per cent, had tried only
Planning Board.
one method before seterilisation.
He says the ability of every Com-
Poor and less educated women The rest 18 per cent tried other two
munity to take care of the family with four or more children prefer methods (IUD and the pill).
planning progranu:nes i~ ?f para;- sterilisation to other family planning
mount importance In achIeVIngstabl- methods, according to a study on the
lisation of population growth.
use of contraceptives, conducted b} '\\Project to Control AIDS
,- The rural volunteer scheme in the Population Research Centre, In India
Indonesia known as Integrated Baroda.
Services Posts has a network of more
The study revealed that users of
than one million volunteers who act intra-uterine devices (IUD) and pills
.
The World Bank is aiding a
on their own initiative, and are were younger, had fewer children and comprehensive Rs. 217.5 crore pro-
financed and managed by the local were relatively better off economi. ject for prevention and control of
community itself. The volunteers cally.
AIDS in India. The World Health
are not given any incentive, for as
The study found that 71 per cent Organisation (WHO) is to provide
Mr. Hamijoyo says, incentives are a of those who had accepted sterilisa- technical and financial assistance of
potential graveyard.
tion had never used any other method $3.5 million for studies, innovative
Clinical methods quite popular in
some countries and considered to be
an integral part of the family.plann-
ing approach are not emphasIsed at
all in Indonesia. These are useful
only at a later stage, says Mr.
Hamijoyo and only as a means of
providing the structure of services.
The achievement of Indonesia is
exceptional considering that. the re~-
gious leaders also have theIr say In
such matters. For example, sterilisa-
tion is not yet a policy as there is
no 'fatwa' on it. : So in areas like
Bali where sterilisation is 30 per cent,
it is maintained at the same rate.
of contraception.
Women who had primary educa-
tion had about three times higher
chance of having tried another
method before accepting sterilisa-
tion compared to illiterate women.
Women with secondary-level
education or higher were seven times
likely to have used another method
before sterilisation.
The objective of the study, con-
ducted in Gujarat, was to investi-
gate factors that influence the choice
of a method and the decision to
continue or discontinue its use.
Three methods of CQntraception
- female sterilisation, IUD and the
programmes and training.
The World Bank project pro-
vides for building surveillance and
clinical management capacity, im-
proving blood' safety, promoting
rational use of blood and blood
products, improving facilities for
diagnosis and treatment of sexually-
transmitted diseases.
According to official data on
AIDS as on October 31, 1991, as
many as 6,106 people were confirm-
ed to have been infected with HIV
virus that causes AIDS.
Though the infection has spread
Other methods are used to oral pill were considered for the to almost all states and Union Terri-
achieve effective family planning. In study and over one thousand users tories, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu
decreasing order of priority, they are of the first two methods and 600 of and Manipur have been identified
pills, IUD, contraceptives and con- the pill were interviewed.
as "danger zones".
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Caring for the Eanh
A Strategy for Sustainable Living
Dr. M. S. Swami nathan, Presi-
dent. World Wide Fund for Nature
(WWF), India has called for a
balanced policy of development aim-
ed at improving the quality of human
life while conserving our natural
heritage.
While presenting the document
titled "Caring for the Earth - A
Strategy for Sustainable Living",
which was launched simultaneously
over 60 countries, he observed, "If
we do not care for the earth, the
earth will not care for us."
The document intended to be a
guide to policy makers is both an
analysis and a plan of action. It
lists more than 130 things cC'mmu-
nities can do to safeguard or improve
their environments for sustainable within earth's carrying capacity;
development.
"Caring for the Earth" empba-
slses that unless there al e major
changes in attitudes and lifestyles,
our ecosystem, alNady being pressed
to its limits, will collapse. The very
rich individuals and rich countries
have-to follow the principle of equity
and help reduce the debt of lower
income countries to create condi-
tions for sustainable living, says the
document.
changing personal attitudes and prac-
tices enabling communities to care
for their own environment; provi-
ding a national framework for integ-
rating development and conserva-
tion; and creating a global alliance.
Part one also mentions 60 activities
to implement the nine principles.
Part two descrIbes 62 more ways
to apply the principles in the follow-
ing sectors .- energy, business,
industry, human settlements, farm
According to the docll.ment, in and range lands, forest lands, fresh
the last 200 years, the planet has lost water, oceans and costal lands. It
six million square kilometers of also suggests ways to finance new
forests. Soil erosion pours three investment in environmental care.
times as much silt into the world's
great rivers today as it did a century
ago. Human activity is responsible Deforestation Endangers
for increasing the concentration of Global Ecosystem
carbon dioxide in the air by 27 per
cent since the mid 18th century.
World population according to UN
Forty-two million acres of for.est
estimates will rise from the present disappears every year globally whlc~
5.3 billion to 10 billion by the year in the tropics freq~ently leads to SoIl
2050. The document suggests how erosion and contrIbutes to the loss
quality of life can be improved with- of 15 million acres of arable land,
in the "carrying" capacity of earth's according to a press release .of ~he
ecosystems.
Food and Agriculture OrgaDlsatIon
Part one of the document defines (FAO).
.,
nine principles of a sustainable
If forest destructIon centmues
society. The principles are respect in the next ten years the amount of
and care for community life; improv- arable land lost will increase by ten
ing the quality of human life; per cent exacerbating world hunger
conserving earth's vitality and and endangering the global eco-
diversity; minimising depletion of· system. A half billion people, most
non-renewable resources, keeping of them children, struggle through
everyday without enough food and
go. to bed with gnawing hunaer
whIle some 15 to 20 million of th~m
die yearly from the effects of starva-
tion and the wasting diseases it
brings.
The situation could deteriorate
even further in coming years as the
world population surges from its
present five billion to an expected 8.5
billion.in 2025 with 90 per cent of
the increase in developing nations.
In India, F AO notes, water ero-
sion affects 224 million acres. De-
forestation in the Himalayas contri-
butes to the annual flooding of more
than 12 million acres in India and
to the washing of 2.4 billion tonncs
of silt into the rivers of Bangladesh.
each year.
The key to preventing soil ero-
sion is to stop cutting down trees
and instead expend far greater efforts
at planting and nurturing
,according to FAO.
them,
Development of Girl Child
UNICEF's Priority
The United Nations Inter-
national Children's Emergency
Fund's (UNICEF) priority areas
will be development of the girl
child, better care for children and
improving the position of women
which in turn would improve the
conditions for chilciren.
This was st~e·d by UNICEF
executive board chairperson Ms.
Mira Seth, who is also Secretary,
Department of Women and Child
Welfare, Ministry of Welfare,
Government of India, in connection
with the observance on December
11 1991, of 45th UNICEF Day.
, Ms. Seth while talking in refe-
rence to India said during 1985 to
1990 UNICEF aid had been $227.3
million and the aid for 1991-1995
will be $465 million.
The major goals spelt out by the
UNICEF for the year 2000, include
reduction of maternal mortality rates
by one half of 1990 levels, universal
(Continued on page 7)
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PaH of Pollution Hangs over 400 Million People according to NIL Nay Htlln, adviser
to VNCED.
. The Suraj ~und workShop de-
"Without effective measures to
curb air pollution, as many as 400
million city dwellers in developing
countries will be exposed to un-
healthy and dangerous levels of ail
pollution by the end of the century",
warns a World Bank Report.
About 600 million motorised
vehicles are on the world's roads
today. In a little more than two
decades the number is expected to
double with most of thegrowt'h
taking place in the developing coun-
tries, the report said.
According to the estimates, India's
urban popUlation has crossed the 225
milliC?~ ma.rk, having risen from about
160 million In 1981 and 109 million 1971.
Urtlan poPIlI!ltlon Rill. in number of CiliM
~QljJJ.
"" 1.''',
D'000•.•0•0•0••_•_••1ft........
•••. __
D Mlthon plua•••
~lded to apply blotechnolgy for rais-
Ing food production, promoting
h~man health, protecting the en-
Ylronment, and ?eveloping mechan-
Ism .for. the envI,ronmentally sound
applIcatIon of thIS science, said Dr.
MIchael Monaghan, chairman of
the worksh:)p. It was the fourth
such workshop. The third was held
in London.
Call to Finance Family
Planning
Pollutants associated with motor
vehicles - carbon monoxide, nitro-
gen oxides, ozone, sulphur dioxide
and lead usually exceed WHO's
recommended limits in many large
<:ities.
In Mexico city up to 70 per cent
of newborn children had excessive
levels of lead in their bloodstream
at birth mainly because of pollution
from motorised vehicles.
"Consciousness of the environ-
ment just does not exist in some
countries. People simply do not
have any knowledge of the health
or environmental costs of air pollu-
tion," the report says while under-
lining that each country's air pollu-
tion problems depended on its
dties' geographical features, layout,
climate and type of vehicles used.
By the year 2000, almost three-
fourths of the world's cities with
populations of at least 10 million
people will be in developing coun-
tries. An additional 18 cities with
populations of between five million
areas. Industry was another major
source.
"Motor vehicle emissions can
aggravate the already elevated levels
of particles and sulphur dioxide
generated by domestic heating and
cooking with coal, lignite, firewood
charcoal and animal dung."
,
The situation though not hope-
less calls for urgent action on the
part of developing countries to pre-
vent the problem from getting out
of control, the report emphasises.
Earth Summit to Focus on
Biotech
Recognising the role of bio-
technology in checking environ-
mental degradation, experts will dis-
cuss five areas at the 1992 "earth
summit" under UN auspices.
Over 40 experts discussed these
areas at a three-day workshop on
"the environmentally sound applica-
Former President of the World
Bank Robert McNamara has called
for a "massive global effort" to
finance family planning programmes
to help preserve environment and
economic and social gains of past
decades.
In a prepared text for the United
Nations Population Fund sponsored
address, he estimated the cost of the
~rogramme at $ 8 billion annually by
the end of the century with $ 3.5
billion coming from the developing
countries and $ 4.5 billion from
developed nations.
"Clearly. it is within the. capa-
bilities of the industriaIised coun-
tries and the multilateral financial
institutions.to assist the developing
countries to finance expanding family
planning programmes," he said.
McNamara proposed that each
developing country should set a
target for its population and the
World Bank organise the pro-
gramme's external financing and
serve as lender of last resort.
and 10 million will also be in de- tion of biotechnology" held at Suraj
The Population Fund would
veloping luildings.
The report said in many develop-
ing countries, motor vehicles have
no emission-control equipment, such
as catalytic converters. Street space
is limited, so polluted air got trapped
between countries.
The report warned that airborne
pollutants, such as sulphur and
nitrogen oxides, contributed to "acid
rain," which can destroy forests and
eat slowly through buildings and
infrastructure. Some of these pollu-
tants, notably carbon dioxide, con-
tributed to the "greenhouse effect."
Motorised vehicles were not the
sole source of air pollution in urban
Kund near Delhi.
The workshop was preparatory
to the United Nations Conference
on the Environment and Develop-
ment (UNCED) or "earth summit".
The Conference, to be held in
Rio de Janeiro, from June 1 to 12,
1992 is likely to be attended bv
heads of governm~nt from over 160
countries. It will be first such global
effort to link the issues of the en-
vironment and development.
The conference will discuss
natural resources, ozone depletion.
climate changes, land resources,
drinking water supply, oceans, toxic
chemicals and hazardous wastes,
monitor the programm~, reporting to
the United Nations Economic and
Social Cou1}cil which would deter-
mine what other actions were needed
to carry out the programme and to
reduce "disgraceful levels of poverty
so evident across the globe:'
McNamara also called for dis-
cussions on how the developed coun-
tries, which consume seven times as
much per capita as the developing
nations, could change their con-
sumption patterns and help "assure
a sustainable path of development
for all inhabitants of our planet"·
-Economic Times,
Dec. 11, 1991
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Educating Giris is Good Economics
Children's Vaccine InWalhe
Launched by W.H.O.
Educating girls is not charity. It
1:S a good economics and if develop-
ing nations are to abolish poverty,
they have to educate their girls,
according to a World Bank Study.
"The economic and social re-
turns on investments in education
for girls are substantial and on the
whole probably greater than those
for boys," says the study, "Letting
Girls Learn: Promising Approaches
in Primary and Secondary Edl'.ca-
tion."
Education creates opportunities
for girls to enter the labour force
and be more productive when they
beceme adults. When women have
jobs, they have hIgher incemes, they
often choose to have smaller families,
and they can afford to make sure
their children are well fed and have
access to health care and schooling.
Research has 8hown that <du.cating
girls can help developing countries
tackle poverty, population growth
and poor health conditions.
Despite the need to educate girls,
girls in many developing countries
have less access to education than
boys. If Governments are interested
GIRL CHILD
(Con tinued from page 5)
access to safe drinking water, and to
sanitary means of excreta disposal,
reduction of 1990 under five mortality
rates by one-third or to a level of
70 per 1,000 live births, whichever
is the greater reduction and univelsal
access to basic education and com-
pletion of primary education by at
least 80 per cent of primary school
age children.
Other goals include reduction of
adult illiteracy rate to at least half
its 1990 level with emphasis on
female illitercy and protection for
children in specially difficult circum-
stances, particularly in situations of
armed conflict.
The UNICEF is also working
closely with the World Health
Organisation (WHO) in global pro-
g~amme on Acquired Immuno Defi-
cIency Syndrome (AIDS). In fact
AIDS prevention and education are
~he main focus of UNICEF efforts
In the area.
in combating poverty, improving the
well-being of families and slowing
populatIon growth, they need to
make it easier for parents to send
their daughters to school, the study
says.
Stressing the importance to popu-
larize education among girls, the
study says that Governments can
provide special subsidies for the task.
These subsidies are economically
justifiable because the parents who
The World Health Organization
has launched a new "Children's
Vaccine Initiative" (C.V.!.) to de-
velop improved or new vaccines.
The CVI is being pursued jointly
by WHO, the UNICEF, the United
Nations Development Programme,
the World Bank and the Rockefeller
Foundation.
pay for the costs often have little to
With the launching of CVI the
gain but society benefits greatly from world's top international develop-
the presence of educated women.
ment agencies will combine forces
Scholarships can be provided or
fees waived for girls. Schools can be
built closer to families. Curricula
can be made more practical. School
with industry and national pro-
gramme managers to tackle a daunt-
ing list of diseases which are caused
by viral as well as bacterial infection.
hours can be changed to allow girls
The main infecti0l'.s diseases
to do some of tht.ir household ChGflCG which cau~e mcrtality in childrlCn
before going to school. Transporta-
include the viral diseases, measles,
tion can be provided to girls who rotavirus infection, poliomyelitis,
live in areas where cultures do not hepatitis, A and E, Dengue, Japanese
approve of girls walking to school Encephalitis and acute respiratory
alone. Water supplies can be in- viral diseases, and the bacterial
stalled closer to homes so that girls diseases Tetanus, Pneumococcal
spend less time fetching water and Pneumonia, Tuberculosis. In addi-
have more time available for school- tion, the parasitic infection, Malaria,
ing.
C3.uses about one million deatl·s
annually, mainly in young children in'
Africa.
The World Bank and two other
international organisations - U.N.
Development Programme (UNDP)
and U. N. Environment Programme
(UNEP) - have agreed to cooperate
in the $ 1.3 billion Global Environ-
ment Facility (GEF), which provides
funds to developing countries for
tackling their environmental pro-
blems.
G.E.F. was first established in
November 1990, and with the sign-
ing of the new agreement, the W orId
Bank, UNDP and UNEP - as well
as the rest of the international com-
munity ~ now face a tremendous
challenge in stabilising the earth's
ecosystfm.
Meanwhile, scientists have warned
that average global temperatures
would rise by two to eight degree
centigrade by the year 2050, unless
steps are taken to reduce "green-
The immediate goals of CVI are
to develop a -single-dose Tetanu.s
vaccine, to improve coverage and
eliminate neonatal Tetanus, a ther-
mostable oral poliovirus vaccine that
will free it from the "cold chain" now
required to keep the current fragile
vaccines effective during transport
and an improved Measles vaccine
suitable for administration early in
life.
A number of approaches ar~
being pursued to reduce the need for
vaccines now reetuiring multiple in-
jections. These include micro en-
capsulation and live vaccine carriers.
L", Injectable "microcapsules"
ar~
biodegradable "magic bullets" which
slowly release the entrapped antigen
in a way that mimics repeated injec-
tions. The first animal tests of such
.an approach have already begun.
Eventually, this technology could be
applied to a variety of diseases that
now require a series of painful, often
expensive and time-consuming visits.
house" gas emissions.
to the doctor.
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8 Page 8 |
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stn ving hard to achieve t be i.:-c·.
munisation goal, it has not yet rati-
Nalionalloyalty should not blind
fied the convention adopted at the
Ul' to the validity of the anxiety that
Children's Summit which 104 of the
:is being expressed abroad about
159 attending nations have done.
India's uncontrolled population
The objectives are laudable and
giO ",th. To begin with, International
necessary; ending of mass malnutri-
Family Planning P,erspective, which
tion, preventable diseases and illi-
is published by a Washington Insti-
teracy before the end of the decade.
tute, warned that South Asia's popu-
India too must undertake to fulfil
lation explosion is likely to be far
Why have these large, populous the objectives. One area in which
more catastrophic than the United States lagg~d behind? Effective India has fallen b~hind is education.
Nations or World Bank may have family planning is not by any means While our allocation for education
envisaged. The report says that impossible, as has been demons- is not low by developing countries'
India's population conld rise to trated by Karnataka, whose decen- st.andards, .it is felt that we spend a
1,066 million by the year 2000, and nial growth rate registered a sharp dIsproportIOnate amount on higher
to 1,300 million a decade later: the drop from 26.75 per cent in 1971-81 educatIon at the expense of fulfiling
highest projection so far had placed to 20.69 per cent in 1981-91, and, the objective of universal primary
India's population in 2000 A.D. at more pronouncedly, Kerala, whos.e education. Ironically as there are
around 1,000 million. According to growth declined from 19.24 per cent not enough jo bs for the highly
this publication, the U.N. and World to a remarkable 13.98per cent. Tamil educated, a number of them are
Bank projections are reasonable only Nadu, incidentally, had a low 17.5 migrating, thus we are actually sub-
in respect of States like Kerala, Tamil per cent growth rate in the earlier sidising the rest of the world by
Nadu, Maharashtra and Punjab, the decade and has commendably spending our meagre resources on
implication being that the rest of the brought it down to 14.94 per cent. such persons. There has been much
country is lagging behind woefully With an annual population growth debate in the country on the subject
in family planning.
rate that is thus well below two but without any tangible result so
The UNDP is also worried per cent, it is possible that these far. However, it must be underlined
.as was evident at the recent Aid States will achieve, or at least be that education together with health
India Consortium meeting in Paris - close to achieving, the widely up- care constitutes the foundation for
that enhanced assistance for this held ideal of zero population growth economic prosperity.
country should not be nullified by by the year 2000. The concern that
population growth. It stresses that several .external observers voiced at
The report tries to dispel the
though the decennial population the crucial meeting of the Aid India myth that reducing child deaths by
growth rate has dropped slightly, Consortium will serve a purpose if better health care would "exacerbate
from 24.66 to 23.5 per cent, India it prods the authorities into acti* the problem of population growth".
still adds Some 17 million people corrective measures aimed at uni- In fact there is a direct link between
each year to its population, a mas- form progress in controlling numbers. reduced child deaths and reduced
sive increase which further com-
births. India has reached the take-
pounds the mammoth task of pro-
viding food, shelter, jobs, education
and health ·care to an enormous
-Edit. The Statesman, off stage when a further fall in its
Oct. 17, 1991
child mortality ratio could lead to a
significant fall in child births. Al-
population. It is significant that
ready Kerala, Punjab and a few
the UNDP has singled out four
other States are reaping this harvest
large States - Bihar, Uttar Pradesh,
while UP, Bihar and' Maharashtra
Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan-
are among the States lagging behind.
which together account for 40 per
The report evokes criticism on two
cent of the country's population, as
UNICEF's yearly reports on the counts. First, it does not mention
requiring special attention in the State of the World's Children though the evil of child labour which robs
matter of family planning. These somewhat repetitive are good indices children of the joys of childhood but
opinions deserve attention if only of what has been happening in this prevents them from developing their
because they highlight disturbing field and what more needs to be potential bi' depriving them of edu-
variations in the effectiveness of done. The 1992 report says there cation and a healthy envir _nment.
family planning in different parts of is "more Cause for hope on the Also though the report does em-
the country. The fact is that al- human horizon than perhaps at any phasise that it is children who an:
though the overall 1981-91decennial other in this century". Its optimism more at risk during times of turbu-
population growth rate is 23.5 per is based on the fact that the political lence and transition, it does not zero
cent, some States have a conspi- level of commitment towards chil- in on the plight of Iraqi children.
cuously higher rate: Rajasthan for dren's welfare was never higher than Surely they should not be made to
instance (28.07 per cent), Madhya following the 1990 World Summit pay for the mistakes of adults.
Pradesh (26.75 per cent), Haryana for Children and the fact that
(26.28 per cent), Uttar Pradesh the UNICEF's immunization pro-
(25.16 per cent) and West Bengal gramme has been a resounding
(24.55 per cent).
success. Although India has been
- Edit. The Hindustan Times,
Dec. 21, 1991
Published by the Family Planning Foundation. B-28, Qutab Institutional Area, New Delhi-110016. Tel: 668181,6867080,68670'81
Printed at the Statesman Press. The Statasman Ltd.• Connaught Circus. New Delhi-" 0001.
Editorial Direction & Guidance: Harish Khanna
Editorial Consultant: J. L. Saa:;: