Good Health and Well-Being
Rethinking population communication
Long overdue, there is a resurgence of interest in population communication and information activities. This is much welcomed because it is time to reconfirm the significant role of communication in the success of national population programmes, and to take stock of the field of population communication. Taking stock does not mean making yet another comprehensive review of past research and programmes; many others have already com- piled excellent assessments (Johnson, Wilder and Bogue, 1973; Echols, 1974; Saunders, 1977; Rogers, Solomon and Adhikarya, 1982; Snyder, Kim and Rogers, 1985; ICOMP, 1986). Instead, what is needed is a focused analysis of the present situation.
A multi-level analysis of the determinants of fertility in the four regions of Thailand
Multiround vital statistics survey in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic
Because reliable estimates of the population and related data are needed to guide national development planning, the first population census of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic in 1985 was very important as a way of providing valuable statistics on the size, distribution and characteristics of the population. However, while the census provided good estimates of the population size and related measures such as fertility and mortality, it was less useful as a means of identifying the speed and manner in which the population was changing. Thus, a project was developed by the ESCAP secretariat with funding from UNFPA (United Nations Population Fund) to assist the Government in improving civil registration and vital statistics. The project had two broad objectives. The first was to provide training and support to selected village chiefs as a way of strengthening their role as civil registrars in the hope that this would lead to eventual improvement in the national registration system. The second broad objective was to set up a system of statistical collection, involving regular visits to selected households, to provide good estimates of vital statistics. This system is referred to as a multiround survey. Although it has many methodological weaknesses, this type of survey can provide some valuable population data in a country where financial resources for conducting censuses and surveys are limited.
Population projections for Mongolia: 1989-2019
This note provides updates of the population projections prepared by the State Statistical Office of Mongolia in 1989. The exercise is justified for two reasons. First, as has been the case with other former socialist countries, Mongolia has recently been experiencing substantial economic, social and political transformations that will certainly have a major impact on its future population dynamics. Second, during the last four years, there have been substantial deviations in fertility and mortality trends from those that were foreseen some time ago. In part, these changes have occurred as a result of the transformations that are going on in the country, but mainly because of major changes in population policies. Past and recent population trends in Mongolia, as well as shifts in population policies, are described and examined in the lead article of this Journal starting on page 3.
Family planning needs and costs: Nepal, 1985-2000
In the early 1980s the Government of Nepal set a demographic target of reducing the current fertility rate of about six children per woman of childbearing age to 2.5 by the end of the century. To achieve this target, increasing attention has been given to implementing family planning programmes both in the public and private sectors. The key questions are: What level of family planning practice will be required to reach this national target? Through what compositions of contraceptive method use can the fertility target be achieved? What might this effort cost?
Determinants of contraceptive method choice in an industrial city of India
Even though India instituted the first national family planning programme in the world, its contraceptive prevalence rate is still relatively low. In 1980, a national survey estimated that 35 per cent of the currently married women aged 15-44 years were currently using contraceptives, of whom 63 per cent were using sterilization (Khan and Prasad, 1983, pp. 112, 120). As late as 1984-1985, close to the time our study was carried out, oflicial government estimates based on service statistics still showed only 36 per cent of the eligible couples as being currently protected (Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, 1986, p. 14); of these, 70 per cent were using sterilization (Ibid., p. 187).
An analysis of the effects of fertility on women’s spatial mobility in the Philippines
Although numerous studies have been conducted on the interaction between fertility and migration in the context of rapid population growth in developing countries, little has been said about the impact of fertility on migration. Instead attention has been focused disproportionately on the effects of migration on fertility (Myers, 1966; Macisco et al., 1970; Zarate and Zarate, 1975; Magnani, 1980; Goldstein and Goldstein, 1981, 1983; Weller and Bouvier, 1981; Findley, 1982; Berry, 1983; Lee and Farber, 1984).
Aging in Kerala: One more population problem?
India currently ranks fourth among the world’s countries in terms of the absolute size of its elderly population; by the year 2000 it will be second only to China. The proportion of the elderly population in India is much higher than in South Asia as a whole. The proportion of those aged 60 years and above in South Asia is 3.9 whereas in India it is 4.8.
Do fertility intentions and behaviour influence sterilization in Sri Lanka?
Promotion of temporary methods should not be neglected for spacing or limiting programmes
Beyond and below the nation state: Challenges for population data collection and analysis
While the science of demography addresses the whole of the human population, substantive demographic research is most often focused on populations with common characteristics. For the last six decades the nation state has been the social unit that has dominated demographic research.
Population ageing in east and south-east Asia, 1950-2050: Implications for elderly care
Following rapid fertility declines and sustained improvements in life expectancy during the second half of the twentieth century, most countries in East and South-East Asia entered the twenty-first century faced with the problem of population ageing. Population ageing, defined as the increasing proportion of older persons in the total population, is projected to progress in East and South-East Asia at rates higher than the average for the world and the less developed regions (LDRs). Among the various challenges arising as a result of the increasing proportion and absolute numbers of the elderly population, ensuring that older persons are provided adequate care is of paramount concern. A rising proportion of the older population relative to that of the active adult and working age population means that each worker will have to contribute towards supporting an increasing number of older persons. Also, given the declining family size, the number of caregivers available per older person will continuously decline. The implications of the growing imbalance in the demographic equation are further aggravated by increasing globalization, migration, the increasing preference for the nuclear family and, in some countries, the HIV/AIDS epidemic.
Potential for reducing child and maternal mortality through reproductive and child health intervention programmes: An illustrative case study from India
In September 2000, at the United Nations Millennium Summit in New York, leaders of the world’s Governments signed the Millennium Declaration and committed themselves to a series of goals and targets that came to be known as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The Goals include reducing under-five mortality by two thirds (Goal 4) and reducing maternal mortality ratio by three quarters (Goal 5) between 1990 and 2015 (IMF, OECD, United Nations and World Bank Group, 2000). According to the assessment made in 2003 by ESCAP, UNDP and ADB, among 47 countries in the ESCAP region for which data are available, one half (24 countries) have already achieved Goal 4 and four additional countries are expected to achieve the Goal, leaving 19 countries (40 per cent) making slow progress or regressing. As for Goal 5 (improve maternal health), of the 42 countries for which data are available, seven have already achieved the Goal and another seven are expected to achieve it, leaving 28 countries (two thirds) either making slow progress or regressing. Goal 5 (reduction by three quarters) is more ambitious than Goal 4 (reduction by two thirds) and it is not surprising that fewer countries are progressing well towards the first than towards the latter. India is classified as progressing slowly towards Goal 4 and regressing in achieving Goal 5 as of 2003 (ESCAP, UNDP and ADB, 2005).
Magic and myth of migration: A case study of a special economic zone in China
Rapid economic and demographic growth propelled the tiny coastal town of Shenzhen (close to Hong Kong) into one of the most dynamic and modern-looking cities in China. Because population movement in China has long been heavily regulated, one may be puzzled by the question of how migration could play any major role in fostering Shenzhen’s boom.
The Fifth APPC Plan of Action, the ICPD Programme of Action and the Millennium Development Goals: Linkages, progress and challenges
The Fifth Asian and Pacific Population Conference (APPC) convened in December 2002 by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission (ESCAP) reviewed the progress accomplished by countries in the implementation of the recommendations contained in the Bali Declaration on Population and Sustainable Development adopted at the Fourth APPC, held at Bali, Indonesia in 1992 as well as the objectives and goals of the Programme of Action adopted at the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD), held at Cairo in 1994.
Maternal mortality in rural Bangladesh: Lessons learned from gonoshasthaya Kendra programme villages
Bangladesh has made significant strides towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs); however, the scorecard on maternal health falls short of expectations. According to the MDG target, Bangladesh is expected to reduce the maternal mortality ratio (MMR) from around 574 maternal deaths due to pregnancy and childbirth-related complications per 100,000 live births in 1990 to 143 by 2015. Despite some progress, only 44 per cent of this target was achieved by 2000. An additional 56 per cent reduction has to be achieved to meet the MDG target in less than a decade. MMR was estimated to be around 320 per 100,000 live births during 1998-2000 (NIPORT and Johns Hopkins University, 2003). An estimated 14,000 Bangladeshi women die from pregnancy and childbirth-related complications per year (UNFPA, 2006).
Population and poverty: The situation in Asia and the Pacific
The main objective of this paper is to analyse the linkages between demographic dynamics and various dimensions of poverty and to suggest population-related policy options to minimize the adverse impacts, and strengthen the positive impacts, of demographic dynamics on socio-economic development including poverty reduction. The paper will begin by considering the dimensions of poverty and different ways of viewing poverty. It will then examine trends in poverty in the ESCAP region. Then the linkages between demographic dynamics and various dimensions of poverty will be discussed, and some resultant policy challenges highlighted.
Sociocultural and geographical disparities in child immunization in Nepal
Universal child immunization against vaccine-preventable diseases is recognized as one of the most cost-effective ways of reducing infant/child mortality in developing countries (Westly, 2003; Du Lou and Pison, 1996; Ministry of Health [Nepal], New Era, & ORC Macro, 2002; Department of Health Services/Nepal, 2000/2001). However, a considerable proportion of children living in many developing countries are deprived of receiving a complete course of immunization (Westly, 2003). In an effort to understand the key determinants of low prevalence of childhood immunization, previous studies have primarily focused on household structures (Gage, Sommerfelt and Piani, 1997; Bronte-Tinkew and Dejong, 2005); household economic resources (Bronte-Tinkew and Dejong, 2005); parental (particularly maternal) education (Desai and Alva, 1998; Streatfield, Singarimbun and Diamond, 1990); community contexts such as access to health services, community social structure and rural-urban residence (Pebley, Goldman and Rodriguez, 1996); access to health infrastructures and insurance (Gore and others, 1999), and political, institutional and organizational factors (Gauri and Khaleghian, 2002) as potential determinants. These studies have focused on Africa (e.g., Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago), Central America (e.g., Guatemala) and North America and do not reflect the relevance of sociocultural backgrounds and geographical disparities existing in Nepal.
Poverty and pro-poor policies for Pacific island countries
The Governments and people of the Pacific are faced with what many perceive to be difficult choices between traditions and modernity, affecting customs and culture, lifestyles and the many facets of daily life. Inevitably development and progress mean change. Information, education and travel all introduce new concepts into society, and change threatens traditional values.
Living arrangements of older persons in east java, Indonesia
As in many other Asian countries, norms regarding family life in East Java have changed and will continue to change with the forces of globalization. Family structures used to be the pillars for the support of children and older persons. However, the declining fertility, rising mobility and rising female labour force are changing as are norms regarding the family. Therefore, the question arises as to who and how will the society finance the care of its elderly?
Impacts of bio-social factors on morbidity among children aged under-5 in Bangladesh
Stretching over 147,570 square kilometres of land and with a population exceeding 131 million, Bangladesh is the world’s ninth most populous country. It is also one of the most densely populated (834 persons per sq. km.) (BBS, 2001). Over-population and poverty are pervasive in Bangladesh and causing hazards such as morbidity. Children aged under five years, whom are naturally innocent, vulnerable and dependent on their parents often suffer from viral and infectious diseases. The future of a nation is linked to the well-being of its children, which depends to a large extent on children’s health status. The aim of this study is to examine the prevalence of morbidity among children aged under-5 (0-59 months) in Bangladesh and to determine the factors causing such morbidity.