News

UNFPA Launching State of the World Population 2006

  The title of the report is "A Passage to Hope: Women and International Migration" and its major message is the explicit recognition of the human rights of women and the need for gender equality a basic prerequisite of any sound, equitable and effective policy framework that seeks to manage migration in an orderly and human manner.

  This year UNFPA is also introducing its first Youth Supplement, a companion volume to the State of World Population, entitled “Moving Young”, which features the stories of young migrants told in their own words. Its major message is to raise awareness about the need to develop responses that protect the human right of young migrants, regardless of their places of origin, their sex, their age or their ethnic background.

   His Excellency Hassan Ahmed AL-Lawsi, Minister of Information, attended the inauguration and gave a speech in this occasion. He spoke about the importance of the report, which portrayed the world citizens and show the picture of globally changes. "Yemen is willing to benefit from all the indicators that the report carried on the aspect of development, politics and information", Al-Lawsi said.

   Although the report is concentrated on woman migration but it tries to stand in front of the migration issues as a whole", he added. Al-lawsi also noted to the importance of youth supplementary attached with the report. He referred to the youth strategy, which achieved by Yemeni government and considered big achievement during the last seven years. Yemeni media plays an importance role in enhancing population issues. This comes through translating the population strategy in Yemen. Al-Lawsi added.

   Dr.Awra Al-Rabe'e, deputy minister of health, delivered a speech on behalf of Minister of Public Health and Population. She highlighted on the huge suffers that resulted from the migration and indicated the problem reflect negative impacts on individual, society, and entire country. The negative effects come as result of unbalance situation between rural and urban that occurred by internal migration and the external migration as well. Yemen knows migration since early history and it increased since 70th of the last century after discovering oil especially to Gulf region, Al-Rabe'e added.

   Then Ameen Maruf, secretary general of National Population Council, clarified that the report of this year is addressing the women migrant issue for the first time. It speaks about their rights, health right, violence against women and rape issues.

   Mr.Hans Obdeijn, UNFPA representative, gave a speech expressing "the focus of the report, which is on women and international migration. The report is a call for action to improve the situation of 95 million women migrants. The companion report focuses on youth. With so many young people on the move, there is an urgent need to also hear their views and to work with them for human rights", Obdeijn said.

   "Yemen is a country with a long history of internal and external migration. Many Yemenis, or Yemeni descendants, live and work around the globe. In more recent times, we also see an increased migration from rural to urban areas in Yemen. Many young Yemeni people, mostly men, migrate to find employment opportunities or to better achieve their ambitions. Money sent home by them is an important source of income for the families they leave behind. But these same families, and in particular the women and children, also have to face the consequences of social change and the impact on the family functionality. Moreover, returning migrant workers have been identified as a potential source of HIV/AIDS in Yemen", Obdeijn added.

  Obdeijn also highlighted on closely associated population issues with migration that Yemen faces. Like; high population growth rate, Yemen is predicted to rank 6th globally in, high total fertility rate which stands at 6.8 births per woman, among the highest in the world, high maternal mortality rates 365 per 100,000 live births accounting for 42 per cent of all deaths among Yemeni women of childbearing age. Use of contraception could avert 25% of maternal deaths, Obdeijn concluded.

   After the inauguration press conference was held, attended by more than 37 Journalists who raised different issues that related to Yemen population, young people, and the role of UNFPA in helping Yemen in this regard .

The event was widely covered in both print and television media.

 - Yemen News Agency (SABA),

http://www.sabanews.net/view.php?scope=f69b5&dr=&ir=&id=119801 ,

- Al-Tahwra Newspaer,

 http://www.althawranews.net/CMS/pdffile/2006/09/07//05.pdf ,

http://www.althawranews.net/CMS/pdffile/2006/09/13//24.pdf

-14 October,

http://www.14october.com/Default.aspx?NewsID=6ac9a3ec-e426-4c0c-a89c-bfcc9ca2bf3c&IssueID=8c15ba78-fee9-4f79-a1b4-f74df5d0b24d

http://www.14october.com/Default.aspx?NewsID=0feb1bb8-3c8c-4651-a266-94f9c33006dd&IssueID=468be291-c973-4f4e-952f-d0e041374567,

http://www.14october.com/IssuesFiles/b9df0441-b748-49eb-8aa9-5bfa0e9016a5/11.pdf

- Al-Gomhoria,

http://www.algomhuryah.net/index.php?action=showDetails&id=10375

- Yemen Times

http://yementimes.com/article.shtml?i=979&p=local&a=2

Link to Report:

http://www.unfpa.org/wpd/index.htm .