30.07.2015 Views

Family Planning in Asia and the Pacific - International Council on ...

Family Planning in Asia and the Pacific - International Council on ...

Family Planning in Asia and the Pacific - International Council on ...

SHOW MORE
SHOW LESS

Create successful ePaper yourself

Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.

<str<strong>on</strong>g>Internati<strong>on</strong>al</str<strong>on</strong>g> supportMaldives has received generous support from <str<strong>on</strong>g>in</str<strong>on</strong>g>ternati<strong>on</strong>aldevelopment partners <str<strong>on</strong>g>and</str<strong>on</strong>g> agencies, such as WHO,UNICEF <str<strong>on</strong>g>and</str<strong>on</strong>g> UNFPA, <str<strong>on</strong>g>in</str<strong>on</strong>g> promot<str<strong>on</strong>g>in</str<strong>on</strong>g>g health-care services<str<strong>on</strong>g>in</str<strong>on</strong>g> <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> country. While WHO has been actively engageds<str<strong>on</strong>g>in</str<strong>on</strong>g>ce <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> early 1960s, UNFPA came relatively late to <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g>scene, although it c<strong>on</strong>tributed significantly <str<strong>on</strong>g>in</str<strong>on</strong>g> promot<str<strong>on</strong>g>in</str<strong>on</strong>g>gFP <str<strong>on</strong>g>and</str<strong>on</strong>g> RH services. UNFPA has been <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> <strong>on</strong>ly agencysupport<str<strong>on</strong>g>in</str<strong>on</strong>g>g Maldives <str<strong>on</strong>g>in</str<strong>on</strong>g> RH commodities, <str<strong>on</strong>g>in</str<strong>on</strong>g>clud<str<strong>on</strong>g>in</str<strong>on</strong>g>g FPservices, <str<strong>on</strong>g>and</str<strong>on</strong>g> with its logistics management system. Underan exit strategy agreed with <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> government, UNFPAhas gradually reduced its share <str<strong>on</strong>g>in</str<strong>on</strong>g> <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> procurement ofRH commodities, while <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> government’s share has been<str<strong>on</strong>g>in</str<strong>on</strong>g>creas<str<strong>on</strong>g>in</str<strong>on</strong>g>g. As a result, by 2010 <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> Government of Maldiveshad taken ownership of c<strong>on</strong>traceptive procurement throughits own <str<strong>on</strong>g>in</str<strong>on</strong>g>ternal resources. UNFPA no l<strong>on</strong>ger <str<strong>on</strong>g>in</str<strong>on</strong>g>vests <str<strong>on</strong>g>in</str<strong>on</strong>g>FP procurement, although it still assists <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> government <str<strong>on</strong>g>in</str<strong>on</strong>g><str<strong>on</strong>g>in</str<strong>on</strong>g>ternati<strong>on</strong>al procurement <str<strong>on</strong>g>and</str<strong>on</strong>g> quality c<strong>on</strong>trol.Maldives drafted <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> first Nati<strong>on</strong>al HIV/AIDS Policy<str<strong>on</strong>g>in</str<strong>on</strong>g> 1996 with WHO support. This policy was fur<str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g>rrevised <str<strong>on</strong>g>and</str<strong>on</strong>g> updated <str<strong>on</strong>g>in</str<strong>on</strong>g> 2004 to address emerg<str<strong>on</strong>g>in</str<strong>on</strong>g>g issues,<str<strong>on</strong>g>in</str<strong>on</strong>g>clud<str<strong>on</strong>g>in</str<strong>on</strong>g>g f<str<strong>on</strong>g>in</str<strong>on</strong>g>d<str<strong>on</strong>g>in</str<strong>on</strong>g>gs from youth <str<strong>on</strong>g>and</str<strong>on</strong>g> drug surveys (M<str<strong>on</strong>g>in</str<strong>on</strong>g>istryof Health, 2006a). The HIV/AIDS policy is aimed atc<strong>on</strong>troll<str<strong>on</strong>g>in</str<strong>on</strong>g>g <str<strong>on</strong>g>and</str<strong>on</strong>g> limit<str<strong>on</strong>g>in</str<strong>on</strong>g>g <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> transmissi<strong>on</strong> of HIV <str<strong>on</strong>g>in</str<strong>on</strong>g>fecti<strong>on</strong>through IEC activities, while tak<str<strong>on</strong>g>in</str<strong>on</strong>g>g measures to ma<str<strong>on</strong>g>in</str<strong>on</strong>g>ta<str<strong>on</strong>g>in</str<strong>on</strong>g>c<strong>on</strong>fidentiality <str<strong>on</strong>g>and</str<strong>on</strong>g> elim<str<strong>on</strong>g>in</str<strong>on</strong>g>ate discrim<str<strong>on</strong>g>in</str<strong>on</strong>g>ati<strong>on</strong>. Maldivesalso started receiv<str<strong>on</strong>g>in</str<strong>on</strong>g>g support from <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> Global Fund. The2008 Biological <str<strong>on</strong>g>and</str<strong>on</strong>g> Behavioral Survey c<strong>on</strong>ducted under<str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> Global Fund helped to establish a scientific database<strong>on</strong> some of <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> most at-risk groups, such as FSWs, MSM,youth, <str<strong>on</strong>g>in</str<strong>on</strong>g>ject<str<strong>on</strong>g>in</str<strong>on</strong>g>g drug users <str<strong>on</strong>g>and</str<strong>on</strong>g> seafarers.Underst<str<strong>on</strong>g>and</str<strong>on</strong>g><str<strong>on</strong>g>in</str<strong>on</strong>g>g <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> currentsituati<strong>on</strong>Maldives’ demographics are unique <str<strong>on</strong>g>in</str<strong>on</strong>g> many ways. With<str<strong>on</strong>g>in</str<strong>on</strong>g> ashort period of time, Maldives experienced a rapid decl<str<strong>on</strong>g>in</str<strong>on</strong>g>e<str<strong>on</strong>g>in</str<strong>on</strong>g> birth <str<strong>on</strong>g>and</str<strong>on</strong>g> death rates <str<strong>on</strong>g>and</str<strong>on</strong>g> an <str<strong>on</strong>g>in</str<strong>on</strong>g>creased expectati<strong>on</strong> of lifeat birth. These improvements were felt across all regi<strong>on</strong>s<str<strong>on</strong>g>and</str<strong>on</strong>g> adm<str<strong>on</strong>g>in</str<strong>on</strong>g>istrative units <str<strong>on</strong>g>and</str<strong>on</strong>g> had important implicati<strong>on</strong>sfor reduc<str<strong>on</strong>g>in</str<strong>on</strong>g>g TFR, IMR <str<strong>on</strong>g>and</str<strong>on</strong>g> child mortality, <str<strong>on</strong>g>and</str<strong>on</strong>g> MMR.As a result, Maldives has already achieved some of <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g>ICPD goals <str<strong>on</strong>g>and</str<strong>on</strong>g> most of <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> MDGs. However, Maldivesfaces challenges <str<strong>on</strong>g>in</str<strong>on</strong>g> susta<str<strong>on</strong>g>in</str<strong>on</strong>g><str<strong>on</strong>g>in</str<strong>on</strong>g>g <str<strong>on</strong>g>and</str<strong>on</strong>g> c<strong>on</strong>solidat<str<strong>on</strong>g>in</str<strong>on</strong>g>g <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> ga<str<strong>on</strong>g>in</str<strong>on</strong>g>sit has made.Am<strong>on</strong>g <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> implicati<strong>on</strong>s of <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> demographic transiti<strong>on</strong> arechanges <str<strong>on</strong>g>in</str<strong>on</strong>g> <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> age <str<strong>on</strong>g>and</str<strong>on</strong>g> sex structures of <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> populati<strong>on</strong>.Maldives’ populati<strong>on</strong> is youthful <str<strong>on</strong>g>and</str<strong>on</strong>g> <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> country is alreadypositi<strong>on</strong>ed to take advantage of <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> previously menti<strong>on</strong>ed“Demographic Dividend” – a w<str<strong>on</strong>g>in</str<strong>on</strong>g>dow of opportunitywhere <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> work<str<strong>on</strong>g>in</str<strong>on</strong>g>g-age populati<strong>on</strong> exceeds <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> number<str<strong>on</strong>g>in</str<strong>on</strong>g> dependent age groups, mak<str<strong>on</strong>g>in</str<strong>on</strong>g>g it potentially <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> mostproductive period <str<strong>on</strong>g>in</str<strong>on</strong>g> <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> country’s history. However, thishas also meant that <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g>re is a high level of unemploymentam<strong>on</strong>g educated youth. Because of early sexual activity<str<strong>on</strong>g>and</str<strong>on</strong>g> lack of safe sexual behaviour, coupled with <str<strong>on</strong>g>in</str<strong>on</strong>g>creas<str<strong>on</strong>g>in</str<strong>on</strong>g>gdrug <str<strong>on</strong>g>and</str<strong>on</strong>g> substance abuse, Maldives is vulnerable torapid transmissi<strong>on</strong> of HIV <str<strong>on</strong>g>in</str<strong>on</strong>g>fecti<strong>on</strong> if fur<str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g>r preventivemeasures are not <str<strong>on</strong>g>in</str<strong>on</strong>g>troduced. For example, a situati<strong>on</strong>analysis <str<strong>on</strong>g>in</str<strong>on</strong>g> an HIV/AIDS study estimated that, by 2015,without <str<strong>on</strong>g>in</str<strong>on</strong>g>terventi<strong>on</strong>, Maldives would have as many 5,780HIV cases. However with <str<strong>on</strong>g>in</str<strong>on</strong>g>terventi<strong>on</strong>, <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> number ofsuch cases could be reduced to 292 cases (NAC et al.,2006).There are some disturb<str<strong>on</strong>g>in</str<strong>on</strong>g>g signs as well. After a steepdecl<str<strong>on</strong>g>in</str<strong>on</strong>g>e <str<strong>on</strong>g>in</str<strong>on</strong>g> TFR <str<strong>on</strong>g>in</str<strong>on</strong>g> 2006, <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> latest DHS c<strong>on</strong>ducted <str<strong>on</strong>g>in</str<strong>on</strong>g> 2009showed that fertility had actually <str<strong>on</strong>g>in</str<strong>on</strong>g>creased dur<str<strong>on</strong>g>in</str<strong>on</strong>g>g <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g>period 2006-2009 from 2.1 children per woman <str<strong>on</strong>g>in</str<strong>on</strong>g> 2006to 2.5 <str<strong>on</strong>g>in</str<strong>on</strong>g> 2009. This <str<strong>on</strong>g>in</str<strong>on</strong>g>crease <str<strong>on</strong>g>in</str<strong>on</strong>g> TFR was accompaniedby a decrease <str<strong>on</strong>g>in</str<strong>on</strong>g> CPR, especially for modern methods.Factors which are c<strong>on</strong>tribut<str<strong>on</strong>g>in</str<strong>on</strong>g>g to such reversed trends <str<strong>on</strong>g>in</str<strong>on</strong>g><str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> country are a matter of serious c<strong>on</strong>cern <str<strong>on</strong>g>and</str<strong>on</strong>g> need to bewatched <str<strong>on</strong>g>and</str<strong>on</strong>g> addressed carefully.One of <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> ma<str<strong>on</strong>g>in</str<strong>on</strong>g> reas<strong>on</strong>s for this reversal has been a shift <str<strong>on</strong>g>in</str<strong>on</strong>g>government priorities <str<strong>on</strong>g>in</str<strong>on</strong>g> terms of policies <str<strong>on</strong>g>and</str<strong>on</strong>g> programmes.Maldives is <strong>on</strong>e of <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> few countries that c<strong>on</strong>duct a censusevery five years, which enables <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> government to review itspolicies <str<strong>on</strong>g>and</str<strong>on</strong>g> programmes based <strong>on</strong> new socio-demographic<str<strong>on</strong>g>in</str<strong>on</strong>g>dicators. Once <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> government realized that <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g>populati<strong>on</strong> was undergo<str<strong>on</strong>g>in</str<strong>on</strong>g>g rapid demographic change,especially after <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> 2000 census, it shifted <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> focus of itsdevelopment programmes to areas o<str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g>r than FP, <str<strong>on</strong>g>and</str<strong>on</strong>g> at alllevels. Public health workers <str<strong>on</strong>g>in</str<strong>on</strong>g> government departmentsacknowledged this shift <str<strong>on</strong>g>and</str<strong>on</strong>g> agreed that <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> governmentwas not aggressively pursu<str<strong>on</strong>g>in</str<strong>on</strong>g>g <str<strong>on</strong>g>and</str<strong>on</strong>g> implement<str<strong>on</strong>g>in</str<strong>on</strong>g>g <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> FPagenda as it had <str<strong>on</strong>g>in</str<strong>on</strong>g> <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> past. Government allocati<strong>on</strong> ofresources is based <strong>on</strong> populati<strong>on</strong> figures. With <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> decl<str<strong>on</strong>g>in</str<strong>on</strong>g>e<str<strong>on</strong>g>in</str<strong>on</strong>g> <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> number of school-go<str<strong>on</strong>g>in</str<strong>on</strong>g>g children, isl<str<strong>on</strong>g>and</str<strong>on</strong>g> communitiesbelieve that <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> government might close schools or mergeexist<str<strong>on</strong>g>in</str<strong>on</strong>g>g <strong>on</strong>es with those <strong>on</strong> neighbour<str<strong>on</strong>g>in</str<strong>on</strong>g>g isl<str<strong>on</strong>g>and</str<strong>on</strong>g>s. Theythought similar acti<strong>on</strong> was also likely to happen to healthfacilities. Hence, isl<str<strong>on</strong>g>and</str<strong>on</strong>g> communities were <str<strong>on</strong>g>in</str<strong>on</strong>g>cl<str<strong>on</strong>g>in</str<strong>on</strong>g>ed towardspr<strong>on</strong>atalism <str<strong>on</strong>g>and</str<strong>on</strong>g> shunned <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> use of FP services.In view of <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> c<strong>on</strong>stra<str<strong>on</strong>g>in</str<strong>on</strong>g>ts <strong>on</strong> nati<strong>on</strong>al development posedby <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> country’s geography, <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> government <str<strong>on</strong>g>in</str<strong>on</strong>g>troduceda populati<strong>on</strong> c<strong>on</strong>solidati<strong>on</strong> policy aimed at reduc<str<strong>on</strong>g>in</str<strong>on</strong>g>g <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g>sparsely populated isl<str<strong>on</strong>g>and</str<strong>on</strong>g>s by merg<str<strong>on</strong>g>in</str<strong>on</strong>g>g <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g>m with nearbyisl<str<strong>on</strong>g>and</str<strong>on</strong>g>s <str<strong>on</strong>g>and</str<strong>on</strong>g> establish<str<strong>on</strong>g>in</str<strong>on</strong>g>g regi<strong>on</strong>al centres. However, <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> lackof clarity <strong>on</strong> what c<strong>on</strong>solidati<strong>on</strong> entails <str<strong>on</strong>g>and</str<strong>on</strong>g> <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> way it hasbeen h<str<strong>on</strong>g>and</str<strong>on</strong>g>led created a negative impact <strong>on</strong> FP programmes.Isl<str<strong>on</strong>g>and</str<strong>on</strong>g> communities, especially <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> elite <str<strong>on</strong>g>and</str<strong>on</strong>g> leaders,viewed <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> government as target<str<strong>on</strong>g>in</str<strong>on</strong>g>g <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g>ir community forc<strong>on</strong>solidati<strong>on</strong>. They surmised that if FP c<strong>on</strong>t<str<strong>on</strong>g>in</str<strong>on</strong>g>ues to be164

Hooray! Your file is uploaded and ready to be published.

Saved successfully!

Ooh no, something went wrong!