Asia Pacific Population Policies And Programmes

A seminar on population policies for top-level policy makers and program managers was organized to keep member governments of ESCAP (Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific) abreast of current issues and methodological developments. An in depth review of past, present and future population policies of the member countries precedes several papers summarizing the determinants of fertility: socioeconomic determinants, female autonomy, family structure and size, infant and child mortality and incentives and disincentives. It became apparent during the workshop that all ESCAP countries shared common population issues, such as poverty and large growing populations. Several contributors gave detailed presentations on these issues in their countries: sterilization in Sri Lanka, maternal/child health/family planning in Bangladesh, family planning needs in urban slums and remote poor areas in the Republic of Korea. Papers on impact and efficiency of family planning programs were contributed by Thailand, Malaysia and Bangladesh. It was concluded that future emphasis must be placed on status of women, adolescent childbearing, grass-roots management, spacing methods, communication, evaluation and international cooperation.