Europe lags in population control funding
An international forum of parliamentarians has complained about the European Union’s (EU) lag in population control funding. The European Parliamentary Forum for Action reported that spending on population programmes was “less than one seventh of the $390 million planned for the year 2000.” The “Forum,” was formed to “define and promote Europe’s role” in implementing the program of the International Conference on Population and Development. In an attempt to extract increased funds from the EU, the Forum issued a public statement urging the EU and its 15 member states to increase funding for “sexual health” for adolescents and family planning services (“EU lags on population control,” Reuter, 23 May 1995).
Chugging along to Beijing
Women from Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union are about to get the ride of their lives. They are also about to be propagandized; and what better environ for high pressure propaganda than a 5,000 mile train ride to Beijing? UN officials have planned a “Beijing Express” across Siberia to China for the Fourth World Women’s Conference. The trip is to be paid for by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), which hopes to raise $800 million for that purpose.
During their time “on board,” training sessions and seminars will be presented to the participants. Topics taught during the journey will include how to lobby governments, mobilize public opinion, generate media coverage, negotiate positions and computer basics. The train is scheduled to arrive in Beijing on 28 August, two days prior to the opening date of the Non-governmental (NGO) Forum on 30 August (“Beijing express organized for women’s conference,” Reuters, 31 May 1995).
A critical interview with Fred Sai of IPPF
Fred Sai, of the International Planned Parenthood Federation, described the overlap between the International Conference on Population and Development and IPPF’s agenda: “There is a whole lot of overlap,” said Sai. “’The major concerns are exactly the same: the concern with women’s status and empowerment, the concern with youth and adolescents sexuality and reproductive health, the concern with abortion and STDs: these are all the same.”
In regard to the “full integration” of reproductive health services as a part of development programs, Sai noted the “full acceptance” of the concept identifying “reproductive health” as “a phrase which begins to identify areas of health, and I mean health, not medical treatment, which should be considered as part of overall development. Children [need] to form good sexual habits which relate to their own health. So reproductive health is really a part of development.”
In responding to the question of how he intended to advise an upcoming meeting of European Parliamentarians, Sai responded: “First, make their governments feel obliged to continue putting money into this field, this is number one. Second, identify institutions and groups that have got some expertise that they can share with developing countries. Third, [promote] legislation which helps in the field of this work. The majority of countries in Europe have got free abortion. And yet they keep quiet about it when we participate in meetings. Developing countries have laws about abortion which are completely archaic, and they (Euro-parliamentarians) can influence politicians and parliamentarians of other countries to look at these laws.
“On the issue of ‘gender’ which has emerged as a major issue at the Beijing PrepCom” Sai stated, “I think that it is a deliberate exercise of the Catholics and the fundamentalists who are afraid of women having equal access to power. That’s all!
“In Cairo, [W]e were pushing way out for the safe abortion thing. Now we are happy that IPPF has got this endorsement. Then also the acceptance of the NGO sector as a major partner has made our association very much happier with itself. [At] the international level, IPPF is the main NGO the UN is relying on” (Interview by Belgian journalist Marguerite Peeters).
Scientific evidence refutes forecast of “green-house effect”
According to an article in the London Times, the vision of greenhouse warming in which rising global temperatures melt polar ice caps and cause sea levels to rise dramatically and inundate coastal areas is being challenged once again (See Climate Watch, December/January 1994 and March 1994).
New findings dismiss the possibility of severe warming-related flooding. David Sugden, a geography professor at Edinburgh University, and George Denton, a geology professor at the University of Maine, report that volcanic ash found on rock surfaces near the edge of the Antarctic ice sheet shows little change in the “polar desert” conditions during the past 15 million years. The ice sheet has, in fact, been thickened during the past 38 million years, the researchers discovered. More surprising, the researchers found that a warming of up to 5 degrees Celsius might accelerate this trend by bringing moister air and increasing snowfall (“Scientists dismiss global warming leading to floods,” The London Times, 27 March 1994).
Dr. John Emsley of Imperial College believes that atmospheric carbon dioxide may be at its saturation point for absorbing heat radiated from Earth’s surface. This means that the existing concentration of CO2 “mops up” most of the radiated heat, and higher CO2 levels would have no additional heating effect (“Let’s not get too steamed about the greenhouse effect,” The London Daily Telegraph, 28 March 1994; extracted from the Foreign News Digest, Global Climate Coalition, May 1994),
Ortho Pharmaceuticals hit with $5 million dollar fine
Ortho Pharmaceutical Corp., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson and a major producer of hormonal contraceptive drugs, was fined $5 million in restitution after pleading guilty to charges of corruptly persuading employees to destroy documents relating to a federal investigation of the drug company’s Retin-A public relations campaign.
At the sentencing heating, US District Court Judge William Bassler said, “When Ortho learned that PDA‘s interest in the Retin-A promotion activity had reached a new intensity — when Ortho heard of a possible criminal referral — Ortho reacted by destroying documents and hiding video tapes relevant to its involvement in orchestrating publicity. In doing so, it obstructed justice…Rather than permit federal investigators and a grand jury to evaluate Ortho’s conduct in light of a full factual record. Ortho destroyed its records, hoping that the full truth would never be known” (“Ortho hit with $5 million dollar fine,” HAI News, June 1995).
Migraine headaches, ischemic strokes, and oral contraceptives linked
A case-control study concludes that young women with migraine headaches who use low-dose oral contraceptives have an increased risk of ischemic stroke.
Tzourio and colleagues from France performed a case-control study on 72 young women with ischemic stroke. Tzourio, et al, report finding an increased risk of ischemic stroke with low-dose oral contraceptives based on a total of 41 stroke patients who were current users of oral contraceptives. Eight of those 41 patients were using 50 mcg estrogen pills and the remainder low-dose formulations. The absolute incidence is very rare. The authors calculate that the absolute risk of ischemic stroke in women with migraine is approximately 19 per 100,000 per year.
Although the evidence linking stroke, migraine headache, and oral contraception is limited, because of the seriousness of this potential complication, women suffering from migraine were advised to “seriously consider other contraceptive options” (“Migraine headaches, Ischematic Strokes, and Oral Contraceptives Linked,” OB/GYN Clinical Alert, June 1995; Source: Tzourio C, et al: BMJ 1995;310:830-833).
UNFPA heightens advocacy for population control:
The United Nations’ principal agency focusing on population, reproductive health and family planning, the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), has decided to sharpen its focus as it expands its spending, The agency’s budget, according to Executive Director Dr. Nails Sadik, rose almost 21 percent last year and will rise another 17.6 percent this year to a total of $312 million.
The agency’s executive board has agreed to sharpen its focus on what Dr. Sadik called its “three core areas: reproductive health family planning and sexual well-being, population policy, and advocacy.” Previously, the agency’s goals were listed under eight categories and advocacy was not one of them.
UNFPA is committed to supporting “quality family planning information and services at all levels of the health care system,” Dr. Sadik said. The board also endorsed supporting advocacy to “promote awareness of population issues in developed and developing countries,” particularly as “gender equality, equity and empowerment of women, education of women, and protection of the girl child.”
Successful implementation and follow-up, Dr. Nafis Sadik said, would significantly depend on an enlarged role for nongovernmental organizations. The agency has established an NGO Advisory Committee, which has already held its first meeting (Daniel J. Shepard, “New directions in a new age,” The Earth Times, 15–29 June 1995).
Ford Foundation submits report on future of the UN
Franklin A. Thomas, former president of the Ford Foundation said UN Secretary General Boutros Boutros-Ghali asked him to assist in convening a group of experts who would assess the UN’s future role and make recommendations. The “assistance” amounted to about $1 million. Yale University provided the group’s secretariat, co-directed by Paul M. Kennedy, a professor of international relations.
The group’s four high level meetings were held at Pocantico Hills, the mansion of the Rockefeller Brothers’ Fund. Underpinning the group’s recommendations was its opinion that “new institutional mechanisms are needed to prevent or resolve intrastate as well as interstate conflicts, and to promote sustainable economic and social progress.” Recommendations included the creation of a new Economic Council and a new Social Council to stand beside the existing Security Council. Each Council would have 23 members serving on a rotating basis.
“The Economic Council would…integrate the work of all UN agencies and international institutions, programs, and offices engaged in economic issues,” the report says. Equally, “the Social Council should integrate UN activities relating to issues of social development, such as protection of the environment, education, health, population and migration; the promotion of human rights and freedom of cultural expression; and…efforts to rebuild weakened societies under stress.”
The report also suggests that Security Council membership be expanded from the current 15 member states to 23. The report said the UN will need funding sources “not dependent on the political and budgetary constraints under which most governments operate.” As one possibility, the group suggested the International Monetary Fund create a special account for the purpose of supporting the UN.
Working members are: Alice Barcena of the Earth Council, Muchkund Dubey of India, Stephane Hellel of France, Koji Kakizawa of Japan, Wangari Maathai of Kenya, Xue Mouhong of China, Anthony Parsons of the United Kingdom, Felix Rohatyn of the US. and Hanna Suchocka of Poland (C. Gerald Fraser, “Ford Foundations high-level panel…” The Earth Times, 15–29 June 1995).
