VIET NAM: Sharing information on Population and Reproductive Health Issues
Van Hoa (Culture) reported on 15 November on a workshop to share information on Population and Reproductive Health, organized in Ho Chi Minh city by the Party Central Committee for Education and Communication in collaboration with UNFPA. At the event, Le Thi Phuong Mai, Head of the Population and Development Unit of UNFPA, analyzed emerging population issues such as the sex ratio at birth imbalance and population ageing, and said that ageing will create pressure on the society in the future, specifically in terms of accessing health care services. Read in Vietnamese: Van Hoa
TURKEY: Women’s Organizations Demand Action Against “Femicide”
Today’s Zaman reported on 15 November that women's organizations are demanding, from the government, an “urgent plan of action” against what they refer to as “femicide” in Turkey, where three women are killed each day. Experts like Meltem Ağduk from UNFPA, the coordinator of training programmes on violence against women for policemen, public prosecutors, judges and recently for imams, told Today’s Zaman that the laws and regulations to fight violence against women are adequate but they are not fully implemented. “This is related with the mentality. Many officials are not aware of the responsibilities that the new laws gave them in this regard. This is a matter of awareness,” she said. Read: Today’s Zaman
INDIA: A Deepening Human Resource Crisis
The Deccan Herald published an opinion piece by Sudhansu R. Das on 15 November on India’s social and political challenges, noting that according to UNFPA State Project Co-ordinator Anuja Gupta, nearly 1,600 girls a day and six lakh girls per year are missing at birth in India owing to prenatal sex determination. Read: Deccan Herald
ARMENIA: Media Analyses Findings of UNFPA-Supported Survey on Fertility Preferences
Golos Armenii reported on 15 November on a recent UNFPA-supported survey on the fertility preferences of Armenians. According to survey results, 45 per cent of pregnancies are aborted at early stages. Out of around 14,000 abortions that happen annually, 13,000 abortions are choices of women. 37 per cent of surveyed women confirmed that they have had at least one abortion in their life; 64 per cent of those women reported having had two or more abortions in their life. Read in Russian: Golos Armenii