Secretary General of the NPC highlights recent conference Yemen’s development slowed by population explosion [Archives:2002/52/Health]
December 23 2002
It also brings attention to national programs, resources and foreign assistance to deal with the issue.
The conference also shares information with other countries with similar conditions.
To help understand recommendations of the recent 3rd National Population Conference, Israel al-Ghaberi interviewed Mr. Ameen Maroof al-Janad, the Secretary General of the National Population Council. Following is an edited transcript of their conversation.
Q: How do you evaluate the recent 3rd National Population Conference held in Sana’a?
A: We can say that participants in the 3rd National Population Conference in Sana’a received information on the cultural, social, and economical level.
As you may know, at 3.7% growth, Yemen’s annual population rise is among the highest in the world. This increase is hindering Yemen’s efforts to cope with the rest of the developing world. Reduction of population growth rate is essential for Yemen’s development.
In this respect, observers have noticed unprecedented reactions over the conference’ s axis. That can be clearly seen through exchanges of opinions and interjections made by participants, which seem to have taken into account.
These axes have positively reflected the keen interests of participants in order to engage starting-points in the process of the population plan, which in turn could serve other social classes.
The results of the three conference’s axis discussed and reviewed by participants during the conference have showed the successes, failures and future visions for the population policy.
This has also deepened the notion of scientific methods to implement and find a comprehensive understanding of the national commitment for the material and technical requirements.
Q: Do you think that the conference has achieved tangible success?
A: Holding recent conference in Sana’a is of great importance to review the long-term population issues in Yemen. Orientation towards the population challenges is one of the successes achieved by the conference. The main factor of success can be attributed to the president’s patron and the constant efforts made by the prime minister and the minister of the public health and population in order to make a success of such conferences.
Q: What are the main recommendations of this recent conference?
A: The conference has come up with a number of recommendations revolving around the legislative and institutional arrangements with emphasis on supporting the secretariat- general for the national population council, along with widening its administrative and technical body.
A great stress has been also placed to review some of laws and legislation in accordance with the population policy within the framework of the platform of the political parties.
In addition to this, participants also focused on enhancing the necessity to make collective efforts together with governmental and non-governmental bodies in the context of raising awareness of the population issues and preparing a network supervised by the secretariat- general to reactivate interjections mentioned in the population work plan.
During the conference, participants have recommended to qualify the technical and scientific competency for the Yemeni researchers in the related field along with enhancing the statistical bodies and the population information systems in this regard.
Q: What is role of the cabinet’s new law to include population studies as a school subject.
A: The cabinet’s decision to include the subject of population studies in the education curricula and the Yemeni universities is a major concern entrusted to the education ministry and the ministry of higher education, and a host of eminent professors in accordance with the population policy.
What has been achieved so far cannot be measured by other productive institutions.
Q: How do you evaluate the work of National Population Council during the last 10 years?
A: The secretariat-general has achieved plans and programs where the national strategy is the first strategy to be implemented, in order to cover the 10-year period starting from 1990 to 2000.
In addition to this, the secretariat-general has prepared also a new population policy for the term 2001-2005, issued in four official documents under the following headings:
1)Problems and challenges.
2)Principles and objectives.
3)The population Work Plan, (2001-2005).
Pursuance mechanism document in collaboration with the executive bodies where the secretariat-general has been entrusted with providing them with the necessary information plans and programs.
It has also taken a keen interest in raising the population awareness through direct contact with the people through the media. This direct contact has helped a lot to raise public awareness of the great significance of the reproductive health and birth planning which has been marginalized in the rural areas and some neighborhoods in the main cities particularly those who have low-paid incomes.
In the same context, the National Population Conference has taken into account recent regional national and international developments as well as the challenges of the third millennium. It is also in full compliance with all national efforts towards comprehensive development within the context of the National Strategic Vision for sustainable developments until the year 2005.
The National Population Conference lends itself as an appropriate means for integrating population concerns into Five-Year Development Plan, (2001-2005).
Accordingly, use has been made of previous socio-economic and population studies including the final results of the 1994 population census, heal and demographic surveys and population projections which have all dealt analytically with population issues and their relationship with development and the environment.
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