Homeless people cook their food on the roadside in the eastern Indian city of Calcutta, in this picture taken on Monday. India is the second most populous country in the world with a population of 1.03 billion. Acceleration in economic growth has made India among the 10 fastest growing developing countries. Yet, the country's per capita income remains low and 26 per cent of the population lives below the income poverty line. - REUTERS ARGUMENTS THAT a country's economic and social development could not be measured outside the context of its population size, growth and distribution were placed squarely on the table of nations in September 1994, when about 179 countries (including Jamaica) gathered in Cairo, Egypt, for the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD).
The countries must have accepted these arguments because at the end of that nine-day meeting in 1994, they signed a Programme of Action, a blueprint articulating the actions to be taken in population and reproductive health to achieve a global goal of sustainable development. In accepting the document, the countries promised to improve the quality of life for women and families through improving access to health care, education, a clean environment and reproductive rights.
Some of the essential actions outlined in the Programme of Action include 'ending extreme poverty and hunger, empowering women, reducing maternal mortality, preserving the environment and stemming the HIV/AIDS pandemic'.
Ten years later the UNFPA State of World Population 2004 is reporting that "many developing countries have made great strides in putting the ICPD's recommendations into action, with significant impact".
"Countries are working to integrate population factors with development plans, improve the quality and reach of reproductive health programmes, promote women's rights, meet the needs of young people and those in emergency situations, and strengthen HIV prevention efforts," the report indicates.
Midway in the 20-year Programme of Action, the UNFPA indicates that Jamaica has gone a far way in the implementation of the Cairo Programme of Action. The country has enacted laws, policies and established partnerships to further the Programme of Action. For example, some laws listed by UNFPA include:
Domestic Violence Act (1995) (amendment to the Bill is now before Parliament).
Incest Punishment Act (Bill presently before Parliament).
Family Property Act
Sexual Harassment Act (now being drafted)
Property Rights of Spouses Act (2004)
Child Care and Protection Act (2004).
Some of Jamaica's policies and programmes include the National Population Policy, the National Strategic Plan for Reproductive Health, National Plan of Action on Children and National Youth Policy (revised). Some of the partnerships established include interagency campaign against Violence Against Women and Girls, programme on domestic violence intervention for police, sensitisation workshops on domestic violence by the Bureau of Women's Affairs and prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV/AIDS.
Other developing countries, the UNFPA states, have made solid gains, treating population not so much as a macro-economic variable in planning but more as a right to be integrated in strategies to alleviate poverty, promote human rights and redress inequality.
However, the report states that progress is being impeded, especially in the poorest countries, because of 'inadequate resources and persistent gaps'. These countries face challenges such as unmet need for family planning, high fertility and maternal mortality and the continued spread of HIV/AIDS.
The UNFPA said that donors should come and fill the gap, to "meet the commitments made in Cairo and give due priority to reproductive health in anti-poverty development assistance plans".
