Good Health and Well-Being
Population and development
Over the past decade, population issues have been increasingly recognized as a fundamental element of development planning and that, to be realistic, development activities must reflect the inextricable links between population and development.
Repositioning population research and policy in Asia: New issues and new opportunities
Youth statement at the sixth Asian and Pacific Population Conference, Bangkok, 16-20 September 2013
The aging of China’s population: Perspectives and implications
Since the late 1970s, China has been making strong efforts to accelerate the pace of modernization. Because the Chinese Government considers poor economic development and rapid population growth to be the main obstacles to modernization, it has emphasised both of those aspects.
Access of older persons to health insurance and health-care services in viet nam: current state and policy options
Population and status of women
Women are not accorded equal status with men in practically all countries of the world. Compared with men, women have very limited opportunities in most spheres of economic and social activities (Sadik, 1986; Curtin, 1982). However, there is a close association between various aspects of women’s status or position in society and demographic patterns of fertility, mortality and migration. This association is shown to be more pronounced with regard to fertility and the social processes associated with it (United Nations, 1975).
The fertility of Korean minority women in China: 1950-1985
Between the time of the second and third population censuses of China (1964-1982), the annual growth rate of the Chinese population averaged 2.1 per cent. The annual growth rate of the Han majority was 2.0 per cent; the growth rates for all other ethinc groups were higher than the national average except for the Korean minority, whose average annual growth rate was 1.5 per cent.
The strategies, experiences and future challenges of the information component in the Indonesian family planning programme
A detailed description of Indonesia’s efforts in the development of information for family planning requires a review of the history of the family planning programme and its information, education and communication (IEC) component, especially since the introduction of new activities such as “social marketing”
Population in the 1990s
Developments in the field of population in the Asian and Pacific region have passed through three distinct evolutionary stages over the last three decades. The 1960s was a period of awareness of population problems and development of experimental family planning programmes to counteract the rapid population growth apparent in many countries. The 1970s witnessed further development in national family planning programmes as a result of the adoption of population policies to curb population growth and to solve other related problems.
Women’s work and family size in rural thailand
One of the potential benefits of family planning programmes in developing countries is that limiting family size can increase women’s ability to participate in productive activities, which in turn can contribute to the economic wellbeing of the family. This argument is based on the assumption that reproductive and productive activities compete for a woman’s limited time and hence women with a small number of children to rear are able to engage more in economic activities than those with larger numbers of children. Thus, the prevalence of small families should be desirable to both the families and the Government. Despite this, however, little is known about the impact of reduced family size on women’s participation in the labour force.
Changing family sizes, structures and functions in Asia
Breast-feeding and weaning practices in India
Recently, considerable importance is being given to the study of breastfeeding practices in different settings in developing and developed countries. Breast-feeding is important, particularly in developing countries, because of its relationship with child health and birth spacing. It is well documented that mother’s milk is the best food for the newborn child and it has a significant impact on reducing mortality in infants. Apart from these benefits, breast-feeding also plays an equally important role in controlling fertility in developing countries.
On the industrialization of small towns in Pakistan
Various types of disturbances in Pakistan’s large cities c luring last three years or so have raised many questions about the future. Although administrators are currently taking steps to forestall similar mishaps in the future, industrialists and businessmen are worried about the colossal loss of manhours and production. In addition, demographers and social planners are questioning the wisdom of allowing large cities to grow to uncontrollable dimensions.
Population and environment in the hills of Nepal
The ecological zones in Nepal known as hills and mountains, which comprise three fourths of the country’s territory and contain 56 per cent of its population, are suffering from increasing environmental hazards, notably deforestation, soil erosion, landslides, flash-floods and desertification (NPC, 1985, p. 200).
The population dilemma
Because humankind is on the threshold of the twenty-first century, there is considerable speculation about what the future will look like. It is evident that not only will the population continue to grow rapidly in the future, but technological innovations and inventions will also multiply rapidly. Indeed, it appears as if population and technology rely on one another for their sustenance and growth.
Abstracts
Sustainable development
The link between population and sustainable development was the focus of an address by Mr. Tatsuro Kunugi, Deputy Executive Director of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), to the Academy of Social Sciences and Management at Sofia, Bulgaria on 17 March 1989.
Muslim fertility transition: The case of the Singapore Malays
It is generally believed that the higher level of fertility prevailing in some populations has been sustained by certain religious tenets favouring large family norms. There are numerous studies which have demonstrated that Roman Catholicism has played an important role in upholding fertility at a relatively higher level on account of its consistent condemnation of artificial methods of birth control (Day, 1968; Murphy and Erhart, 1975). There are still other studies which have linked the relatively higher fertility prevailing in most Muslim populations to certain Islamic teachings concerning population control (Kirk, 1968; Nagi and Stockwell, 1982). There is, however, no general concensus among Muslim religious authorities about the different forms of birth control: the majority endorsing family planning, some sanctioning induced abortion, and most opposing sterilization.
Determinants of contraceptive method choice in Sri Lanka: An update of a 1987 survey
Recent studies have emphasized the policy and programmatic importance of understanding the choice of contraceptive method use and the factors affecting contraceptive choice (Bulatao, Palmore and Ward, 1989; Tsuiand Herbertson, 1989). The purpose of this article is to analyze the sociocultural and demographic determinants of contraceptive method choice in Sri Lanka. The study is an update of a previous study on this topic by Kahn, Thapa and Gaminiratne (1989). The previous study analyzed the determinants of contraceptive choice at two time periods, 1975 and 1982. It considered four current contraceptive choices: no use, use of a traditional method, use of a modern temporary method and use of sterilization. The analysis showed that, both in 1975 and 1982, socio-demographic factors had a strong influence on whether any method was used. However, in both the time periods, the type of method chosen was primarily a function of demographic factors related to the couple’s family-building stages rather than socio-economic factors, implying that in Sri Lanka there are few socioeconomic barriers to accessibility and choice of contraceptive methods.
Women’s status and child survival in West Java, Indonesia
Women have more limited opportunities than men in most economic and social activities. It has been asserted that aspects of women’s status or position in society are closely related to the demographic events of fertility, mortality and migration. For instance, evidence from a variety of studies demonstrates a positive relationship between women’s education and occupation on one hand, and child survival on the other. This phenomenon, therefore, leads to the conclusion that women’s limited opportunities in terms of education and occupation can result in lower child survival.