DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: High Adolescent Pregnancy
Dominican Today reported on 26 September that, "United Nations Population Fund (UNFP) revealed Monday that Dominican Republic is the country with the most pregnant adolescents of all of Latin America and the Caribbean." Read in English: Dominican Today
CONGO (BRAZZAVILLE): UNFPA Rep. Defends Gender Parity Law
Le Pari Africain published on 26 September an exclusive interview with UNFPA Representative David Lawson on gender parity in Africa and how the Republic of Congo scores on the continent. Mr. Lawson stresses that the decision by President Denis Sassou Nguesso to have a gender parity law adopted was one of the most important political decisions in the country’s history. The UNFPA representative said, "Slavery and colonization have been defeated, it is intolerable that women remain second class citizens. Thanks to this law, gender discrimination will also be defeated."
BRAZIL: UN Promotes Health Workshops in the Island of Maré
Itapoan On Line and Bahia reported on 26 September that 50 community leaders of the island of Maré, located near the capital city of Salvador, State of Bahia, will have the opportunity to participate in two workshops, on sexual and reproductive rights and on promotion of maternal health. The workshops are an initiative of the Racial Equality Promotion Office (Aspers) of the Municipal Health Service (SMS) of Salvador, in conjunction with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). Both activities aim to raise awareness on these issues and guide participants to become local multipliers of such an agenda. According to Silvia Augustus, social worker and coordinator of the Aspers, the island was chosen because of the local black population and its health issues. The workshops offer the possibility of strengthening the dialogue between health officials, midwives and the traditional local knowledge. Read in Portuguese: Itapoan On Line
SENEGAL: “Small revolution” in Family Planning
IRIN reported on 26 September that attitudes on family planning are beginning to change. "One reason for contraceptive take-up is the high cost of living, particularly in the capital," said Soda Diagne, 32, a Dakar businesswoman who is married without children. “People are realizing they can’t feed and educate five children at today’s prices.” The price of imported rice - a staple in Senegal - rose sharply in 2007 and 2008 and then again in 2010. While the average fertility rate across the country is five children per woman, in Dakar it is 3.9, according to NGO Marie Stopes International (MSI). But the behaviour shift is also due to a push by the government to encourage family planning in state-run hospitals and clinics as part of its maternal mortality reduction strategy, said the UN Population Fund’s (UNFPA) Senegal joint director, Edwige Adekambi." Read in English: IRIN
UNITED STATES: Safe Birth Kits Distributed to Developing Countries
The New York Times on 27 September published a piece on the safe birth kits, usually containing soap, a plastic sheet, a razor blade to cut the umbilical cord, tape, gloves, a towel to wrap the baby in and a pictorial instruction sheet, distributed by the UNFPA and numbers aid organizations. “Since 2006, the Population Fund has distributed more than 800,000 birth kits in countries like Mozambique, India, Yemen, Liberia and Sierra Leone.” Read in English: The New York Times