Abstract

PIP: Dr. Charlotte Gardiner, technical officer of the Reproductive Health Branch, Technical and Evaluation Division, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), was interviewed on June 6 concerning the focus of UNFPA on reproductive health following the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) and the role foreseen for JOICFP in implementing the Program of Action. Her remarks include the following information. UNFPA has high regard for the JOICFP program in family planning (FP) because of its community-based approach. The perceptions of the community dictate the way the project is fashioned; local needs are met; services are acceptable; and the quality of care is ensured. JOICFP's approach has always been integrated (controlling intestinal parasites; nutrition; family planning). It has operated one of the earliest reproductive health (RH) programs, an approach to FP that would better fit Africa's local needs and that has been successful in Asia and Latin America. Over the years UNFPA has increasingly supported the RH approach, one that integrates the vertical type of FP program in a maternal and child health (MCH) framework. The ICPD has moved further into a RH approach where FP becomes a changing concern over the lifespan of a woman and more attention is paid to the relationship between contraception and health. The ICPD has focused on the needs of adolescents for FP information and services. UNFPA will support programs that incorporate information and services for prevention, early detection, and management of sexually transmitted diseases, especially human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infections. Another goal of the ICPD is to reduce the high maternal mortality rates that exist in most of the developing world, so UNFPA will continue to advocate the integration of FP in maternity care programs and to support integration of obstetric care interventions in the public health care system. UNFPA sees FP programs as an important means of preventing abortion and reducing the impact that abortion has on maternal health.