Global Monitor

U.S. Aid Population Control

Since the 1960s population control has been “incorporated as a central component of development assistance” by the U.S. Agency for International Development (AID). AID staff and outside experts promoted “large scale,” internationally funded population projects.1

AID contributed a total of $3.9 billion to population control policies in Third World countries (10). Population control activities were initially promoted by physicians, public health practitioners and social scientists who had been trained by the West (15).

In Third World countries, programs run by groups such as USAID, IPPF, the Population Council and the World Bank reduced opposition by allowing program managers access to funds from outside sources which did not draw on national funds, thereby diminishing political risks for administrators (15-16).”

Resistance from Third World countries and pressures from within the U.S. resulted in the “Mexico City Policy” and the Kemp-Kasten amendment constraining U.S. funding of abortion and coerced abortion/sterilization programs. The budgets of population control groups were then supplemented with funds from Japan, the Scandinavian countries and Western Europe (14).”

Under the Mexico City Policy, abortions are performed for rape, incest and the “life of the mother.” “Passive referrals” for abortion are allowed where abortion is legal, upon the request of the woman. Oversight processes have been conducted by persons formerly associated with UNFPA and the Population Council.2

Meanwhile, the U.S.-based National Right to Life Committee (NRLC) registered a seeming indifference to USAID’s high- pressure population control policies. The NRLC Legislative Director wrote in a letter to The Washington Post, “The National Right to Life Committee informed Congress of our neutrality regarding such increases [U.S. AID fund increase from $270 million to $330 million] … so long as the funds are governed by the Mexico City Policy and by the Kemp-Kasten law, which bars funding of coercive abortion programs.” He closed with a quote from President Bush, “I strongly support population assistance, so long as U.S. funds are directed to those organizations that promote contraception rather than those that condone or encourage [abortion] or coercive measures.”3

USAID Contract in Kenya

USAID awarded a three year, $2.7 million contraceptive marketing contract in Kenya. The contract recipient, Population Services International (PSI) has, in turn, a sub-agreement with a Kenyan company, Continental Industries Ltd.(CIL).

An expanded distribution of oral contraceptives and condoms will reach pharmacies, supermarkets, mini-markets, tobacco stores, hotels, pawn shops and disco/night clubs. Wholesalers will be selected for aggressive promotion. Rebates and other trade incentives will be offered.4

PSI’s total annual budget for 1987 was approximately $5.5 million, excluding contraceptives, with funding provided by the Ford Foundation, The Population Council, Population Crisis, USAID, American Telephone and Telegraph Co., John Deere Co., Syntex Corp., William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, etc.5

Contraceptive Social Marketing (CSM)

CSM propaganda techniques are used for the distribution of abortifacients and contraceptives in Third World countries by international groups. Using CSM tactics, condoms and oral contraceptives were distributed by the World Health Organization, Japan and IPPF. VVHO also funded condom posters and print advertising for IPPF CSM projects. The condoms distributed by IPPF were part of a USAID donation which IPPF distributed in its role as a clearinghouse of supplies.

Duff Gillepsie of USAID is reported as saying that: “… there are very few economic and social settings in which [contraceptive] social marketing can’t work.” Gillespie estimates that 30% of his office’s budget is consumed by the volume of contraceptives needed as a result of the success of social marketing. Prior to 1984, USAID represented about 23% of IPPF funding. An annual report from IPPF London shows that Japan and Sweden alone combined for 43% of 1989 IPPF funding.6

USAID Funds Mexican IPPF

An IPPF affiliate, the Mexican Foundation for Family Planning (MEXFAM), initiated a Community Doctor’s Project for the delivery of integrated contraceptive/medical services among the Mexican poor. MEXFAM assists the doctors in equipping offices and provides family planning supplies, equipment, training and information.

MEXFAM is funded by USAID for US$1.7 million in 1989. Total USAID funds for IPPF Latin American population control programs in 1989 is over US$26 million.7

Chinese Women Underreport Family Size

Chinese women underreport their preferred family size in face-to- face interviews. Data from a survey in Shanghai that was conducted in this manner were compared with a 1983-84 survey in which respondents completed the questionnaire privately and returned it anonymously. Six percent of the respondents to the 1985 survey reported wanting three or more children, compared with 24 percent of the respondents to the 1983-84 survey. In the face-to-face survey, 61 percent reported that they preferred a two child family, but in the 1983-84 survey 61 percent said they preferred three children, and most of the remainder wanted four or more. The investigators observed that: “It is fair to assume that under reporting is general throughout China,” and that the results of research using family-size preference data collected in face-to-face interviews may be misleading.8

World-wide Rise in TB Blamed on AIDS

It is estimated that about 1.7 billion people (a third of the global population) are currently infected with tuberculosis bacilli, most of whom show no outer symptoms. The rise in TB, according to the Associated Press, is being attributed to the continuing rise in AIDS. Dr. Peter Erici of the World Health Organization said that this increase in TB is particularly prevalent in Africa.9

Chinese Whip Men to Force Abortions

The Shanghai Legal Daily reports that the committee in Jihshan village gathered 52 pregnant women and their husbands in a government office and gave them four days to sign abortion contracts.

When ten couples resisted, the committee decided to “employ special measures.” The ten husbands were “marched one by one into an empty room and ordered to strip and lie face down.” According to the Daily, “They were then beaten on the bare buttocks with a cane as many times as the number of days their wives were pregnant.” All of the men subsequently signed the abortion contract.10

Asian Legislators Promote “Population and Development” Issues

Parliamentarians from eight Asian countries met in the Republic of Korea for the seventh Asian Parliamentarians meeting on Population and Development. The legislators came from India, Malaysia, the Philippines, Republic of Korea, Singapore and Sri Lanka to implement “The Bangkok Declaration” which commits signatories to “making a direct attack on both poverty and population growth,” reaffirming their goal of 1 percent population growth by the year 2000.

The themes discussed included “environmental concerns, demographic changes such as population aging, and the need to…[strike] a sustainable balance between populations and country’s development aspirations …”11

Earth Summit in Brazil

The UN General Assembly urged that heads of state or government lead conference delegations at the UN “Fate of the Earth Conference”, to be held June 1-12, in Brazil.

Twenty thousand citizen activists are also expected to attend a parallel People’s Congress, hoping to influence the conference and to develop their own agenda for action.

The main agenda priorities focus on environment and development: improving the living/working environment of the poor through integrated development and environmental measures, and the improvement of “health conditions.”

The Global Committee suggested that legislators immediately incorporate population issues into their government’s national report; hold hearings on links between population policies and sustainable development; involve women in the process since they are the key to successful integration of population policies; involve all non-governmental organizations, scientists, religious leaders, business, industry and youth.

One official stated: “This may be a much fairer way to approach the issue of population — as an integral element in the use of natural resources, in patterns of production and consumption, in life style issues.”12

New Latin American Sex Education Film

“Music For Two” will be distributed throughout Latin America and the Caribbean as an adolescent health education project. The film is co-produced by Sakura Motion Picture Co. in Japan and Kinam SCL International in Mexico.

The film, aimed at girls in their teens, is a story of a young girl who fantasizes about imaginary lovers before “awakening to the affection of a young neighbor.” The film’s producer, Mexican Director and animator, Carlos Carrera, describes the film as “a key opening of the mind for the young.”

Both English and Spanish versions are being prepared. The English version is being underwritten by the Japanese Foreign Ministry. The Spanish version is supported by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), The Japanese Organization for International Co-operation in Family Planning (JOICFP) and the Mexican Family Planning Foundation (MEXFAM).

Special support has been given by regional groups involved in family planning including the Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social (IMSS), Sistema Nacional para el Desarrollo Integral de la Familia (DIF), and Secretaria de Salubridad y Asistencia (SSA) in Mexico and their counterparts in other Latin American countries.13

Greater Risk of HIV with the Pill

An increased risk of HIV infection among women who take birth control pills has been discovered by two groups of researchers, working independently, in Nairobi and Kenya.

A threefold incidence of higher risk of HIV infection among Pill users than non-Pill users was found by one of the research groups. It was also found that the longer a woman has taken the Pill, the higher the rate of infection she may encounter.

While other researchers in Zaire and Gambia have not found the correlation between Pill use and HIV infection, a credible explanation has been offered for increased risk. Theorizing that the pill causes changes in the cervix that may contribute to HIV transmission, it is suggested that the tall columnar cells which usually remain inside the cervical canal begin to “proliferate into the vaginal region.” Since the columnar cells could be more easily damaged during intercourse, breaks in the skin may occur which allow HIV to enter the bloodstream. Or, the possibility exists that: “… the columnar cells may themselves bind to the HIV in some way.”14

Relation of Abortion and Family Planning

In the past, “many physicians” promoted family planning “to reduce the prevalence of unsafe abortion.” Further, “priests, doctors and politicians were willing to encourage the use of modern, so-called artificial contraceptives because they believed that family planning could prevent the more serious problem of unsafe, illegal abortion.”

In fact, the Population Reference Bureau, in a publication titled “The International Family Planning Movement,” states that: “Abortion and contraceptive use, however, are not alternative choices. Abortion is often used by women who become pregnant when using some form of contraceptive.… Even in countries with widespread use of contraceptives, some women resort to abortion because of contraceptive failure.”15

UN Praises Population Oriented NGOs

Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), in cooperation with multilateral and bi-lateral aid, provide the best arrangement for successful population programs, according to U.S. Delegate Bruce Andus. Another US delegate, Nancy Carter, described The Population Commission as relying on the active involvement of the NGOs in preparing for the 1992 UN Conference on Environment and Development in Brazil.

German Bravo Casas of the UN Population Division revealed the extent of NGO financial investment, “… financial data for only half of the S3 organizations polled showed their combined biennial budget was US$-496 million—’not too far behind’ the $659 million budgeted for population activities by the entire UN system.” Adding that this budget figure was “only the tip of the iceberg,” he pointed out there were many grassroots organizations about which the UN lacked information.16

Shift in Nicaraguan Education

President Violeta Chamorro’s government triggered a bitter controversy by replacing Sandinista sex education schoolbooks with new texts which teach the Ten Commandments, promote monogamy and condemn premarital sex.

Among the most controversial school textbooks removed is a ninth grade sex education booklet explaining various birth control methods. The manuals were to be distributed by the Sandinista government in 1991.

Education Minister Humberto Belli said in an interview, “We’re not going to say that anti-conceptive devices are bad, but we’re not going to promote them either.”17

Mass Media Campaign Increases Vasectomies in Brazil

The first vasectomy TV spot in Brazil was produced by Johns Hopkins University Populations Communications Services (JHU/PSC) as part of their Mass Media Vasectomy Promotion Project. JHU/PSC objectives are to “make family planning a community norm, a household word and an informed individual choice.”18

The JHU/PSC Annual Report claimed that it led to “a doubling of vasectomies performed per month as a result of [the] titillating TV spot in Brazil.”19 The script described the scene: “Two animated hearts entwine … and produce a baby. And then two more. The female heart decides that three are enough and runs from her mate when he approaches her again. He returns with a vasectomy — his ‘act of love.’ The hearts unite once again, no longer worried about making more children.”20

When the TV Spot was aired in May and June and two weeks in October 1989, the monthly average number of vasectomies was charted as increasing by 80% at the advertised male health clinics in three Brazilian cities. The number of new clients visiting the clinics increased by 97% and telephone inquiries about vasectomy increased by 174%.21

The project was designed to promote vasectomy services in three regional centers, Sao Paulo, Salvador and Fortaleza. The clinics to which clients were referred were: PRO-PATER in Sao Paulo; PROVAS and SAMEAC in Fortaleza; and CEPAR in Salvador.22

The launching of the campaign featured the airing of a video on prime-time news in which PRO-PATER’s Executive Director, Marcos Paulo P. de Castro, performed a vasectomy with the Chinese “no scalpel” technique.23

Endnotes