Gender, Reproductive Health and Reproductive Rights    [35 kb / PDF]

Author(s):

Marilyn Lauglo

Date of Publication: September 07, 1999
A gender perspective is an integral part of the reproductive health approach to population activities. This becomes more and more true in the context of health sector reform aimed at improving equity, equality, efficiency and sustainability. Fundamental to the Cairo Programme of Action (POA) is the underlying principle which places women’s needs at the centre of population and development concerns. This includes the right of women to make autonomous reproductive choices and the right to high quality services which are designed around women’s experiences and needs. This requires an understanding of women’s roles, responsibilities, and positions in their homes, communities, and other public arenas.

Genre, Croissance, et Pauvreté   

Author(s):

C. Mark Blackden

Le présent rapport 1998 du PSA sur la lutte contre la pauvreté en Afrique subsaharienne (ASS) soutient la thèse selon laquelle, si cette région veut connaître une croissance équitable et un développement durable, il est indispensable de réduire l’inégalité entre les sexes du point de vue de l’accès à divers moyens de production et ressources humaines et sociales, ainsi que du point de vue de leur contrôle. Axé essentiellement sur l’agriculture et le secteur rural, le présent rapport examine les liens existant entre l’inégalité des sexes, la croissance et la pauvreté en ASS. La réduction de l’inégalité entre les sexes — qui constitue en elle-même un objectif de développement — favorise la croissance et les gains d’efficacité et elle améliore les conditions de vie.

Go to UNFPA Web Site to view The State of World Population 1999    [Web Site]
Date of Publication: December 06, 1999
Documents available on UNFPA Web site.

Government, Population, and Poverty: A Win-Win Tale, Chapter 9    [69 kb / PDF]

Author(s):

Nancy Birdsall

Date of Publication: December 07, 1994
Robert Cassen and contributors “Population and Development: Old Debates, New Conclusions”, Transaction Publishers, New Brunswick (USA) and Oxford (UK), 1994. Chapter 9. Traditional concern that rapid population growth slows development in poor countries has been reinforced in recent years by growing awareness of the fragility of the natural environment and its apparent vulnerability to the stresses associated with increasing population size. But reinforced concern has not led to a consensus about whether governments should intervene actively to reduce population growth rates. This chapter first summarizes the three principal concerns raised by rapid population growth in developing countries: slower economic development, greater environmental damage, and greater poverty and income inequality. It then links these concerns to specify rationales for government intervention to reduce rates of fertility, demonstrating he basis for these rationales in simple welfare theory. Finally, the chapter discusses the kinds of public policy interventions that these rationales justify.