MS. PURNIMA MANE, Deputy Executive Director of the United Nations Population Fund, will be in Manila to speak on HIV prevention during the 2nd Regional Consultative Meeting on Universal Access to Prevention, Treatment, Care and Support in Low Prevalence Countries to be held on 26-28 August 2008.

Ms. Mane will be one of the session speakers during the high-level meeting which will be participated by delegates from 10 countries, namely, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Fiji, Laos, Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia, Sri Lanka, Timor Leste, and the Philippines, which will host the event. Ms. Mane will make a presentation on “Prevention Strategies in Low Prevalence Settings – Lessons Learnt and Ways Forward” on Day 1 of the meeting. read more

The theme for World Population Day is “Family Planning: It's a Right, Let's Make It Real."”

In 1968, the International Year for Human Rights, United Nations Member States recognized the right of individuals and couples to decide their family size. In 2008, four decades later, how is the right promoted in our country?

The right of individuals and couples to decide their family size is still a right that has to be won in the Philippines. In other countries, champions of this hard-won right will always remember that World Population Day is about ensuring that future generations never forget. read more

Results of the 2007 Census of Population show that there were already 88.57 million Filipinos in 2007, and that about 2 million Filipinos are added each year. To avert a rice crisis, the government should not only address the dwindling hectarage of rice lands, but also arrest the expanding population. "No amount of bountiful harvests can adequately feed the growing multitude of Filipinos,'' says, Albay Representative Edcel Lagman. "The country’s inordinately huge population growth rate (PGR) threatens food security and aggravates the looming rice shortage. The politics of rice is a numbers' game -- the number of mouths to feed and the number on the price tag. read more

In mid-April 2008, after a review, Malacañang Palace finally released the findings of the 2007 Census. According to the latest Census of Population (POPCEN 2007) conducted by the National Statistics Office (NSO), there were 88,574,614 Filipinos as of August 2007. The results of the latest census were officially released following the signing on April 16, 2008 of Proclamation No. 1489 by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

Among the 17 regions, Calabarzon (Region IV-A) had the largest population with 11.74 million, followed by the National Capital Region (NCR with 11.55 million and Central Luzon (Region III) with 9.72 million. The combined population of these three regions comprised more than one-third (37.3 percent) of the Philippine population. The Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) where four of its six component provinces are pilot areas of UNFPA’s 6th Country Programme, recorded a population of 4,120,795 Filipinos.

The latest census figures translated into an average annual population growth rate (PGR) of 2.04 percent, based on the base figure of 76.50 million in 2000. Although lower than the previous 2.36 percent average annual PGR during the period 1995 to 2000, the latest PGR still failed to reach the targeted 1.95 percent. read more

MUSLIM RELIGIOUS LEADERS or MRLs are among the most respected persons in all Muslim communities. Called Imam, Ustadz or Ustadza, they are the living models of true Muslims. They provide guidance to the people, they lead them in prayers and in other religious activities, and they are the gatekeepers in their communities.

If we are to reduce maternal and new born deaths, accelerate gender equality and reduce cases of violence against women, reduce teenage pregnancies and early marriages, reduce STI incidence, and effectively address other reproductive health concerns in Muslim communities, partnering with MRLs is a good approach. But how good do we know our MRLs? What is their stand on family planning, on adolescent reproductive health, on gender, and on violence against women? This gap on needed in-depth information about MRLs prompted the UNFPA-SPO to support a Masterlisting of all MRLs in our pilot municipalities. With evidence-based data, it hopes to enable local partners in ARMM to make informed decisions, identify appropriate interventions, and strengthen partnerships with MRLs. UNFPA supported this intervention with assistance from AGFund. read more

It had taken over 150 years for the world’s population to grow from 1 to 3 billion, but it took only 38 years for the global population to double from 3 billion in 1961 to 6 billion in 1999. In 1975, the Philippines and Thailand were similar in terms of both population and per capita GDP but, by 2000, there were 13 million more Filipinos than Thais. Total fertility rate (TFR) in Thailand had dropped to 1.9. while it remained at 3.5 in the Philippines. Meanwhile, Thailand’s per capita GDP in 2000 was 8 times its 1975 rate while that of the Philippines was only 2.6 times higher. read more

Globally, UNFPA takes a central role in reproductive health commodity security, coordinating the process, forecasting needs, mobilizing support and building logistical management capacity at the national and sub-national levels. Reproductive Health Commodity Security (RHCS) is defined as having a secure supply and choice of quality contraceptives and other reproductive health commodities to meet every person’s needs at the right time and in the right place. RHCS is achieved when all individuals can choose, obtain and use affordable and quality reproductive health commodities whenever they need them. The mandate of UNFPA in this area is to build and sustain national capacity  to enable the various key stakeholders to provide the right quantities of the right products in the right condition in the right place at the right time for the right price. read more

Among the eight Millennium Development Goals set by the United Nations, it is the fifth goal that is the main focus of the UNFPA. The goal specifically targets the improvement of maternal health and to provide access to reproductive health care services. As the 2015 deadline for this goal nears, the UNFPA has leveraged the advantages of Information Technology in reaching this goal through several means. read more