While celebrating the International Population Day, we ask: What is Yemens policy in overcoming population growth challenge? [Archives:2002/29/Health]

REVIEWED FOR PUBLISHING BY ISMAIL AL-GHABERI
YEMEN TIMES STAFF
There is no doubt that population growth is one of the vital factors behind the progress and prosperity of nations. With its 3.7% annual population growth rate, Yemen is one countries in dire need of a sustainable and long-term effective program to lower this growth rate to achieve better living standards for all Yemenis.
On the tenth of July of every year, the world celebrates the Population Day, signaling the importance of dealing with a factor that could potentially be an obstacle hindering the progress of many nations. We take this occasion to focus on the National Population Policy in Yemen published by the National Population Council to have an insight to the set strategies that Yemen has approved to strategically overcome this challenge.
National Population Policy in Yemen
The main purpose of setting up the National Population Policy (2001-2005) is to determine that population targets are consistent with the fundamental principles and inherent values of our people and in harmony with the socio-economic and cultural environment of the Republic of Yemen. At the same time, the NPP 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 development until the year 2025. The NPP lends itself as an appropriate means for integrating population concerns into the second 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, health and demographic surveys and population projections which have all dealt analytically with population issues and their relationship with development and the environment.
It is therefore clear that the components of the NPP have been derived from needs assessment, anticipated goals and systematic implementation modalities which are consistent with both present trends and well established forecasts covering the next two decades.
In this respect, the NPC/TS is committed to issuing the NPP in a set of policy documents for use as need to be, and for empirical and objective reasons to facilitate updating in case of need or newly obtained information.
Concepts and principles of the National Population Policy
The National Population Policy of the Republic of Yemen 2001-2025 is a continuation and extension of government commitments following the unification of Yemen in May 1990. It is a proper approach to confronting the challenges of the twenty first century and a course pursued by the government and elements of civil institutions to achieve a comprehensive, sustainable development and set up population targets in full conformity with the true values of our people and in harmony with socio-economic environment.
Population Policy means an aggregate of direct and indirect measures towards influencing, quantitatively, and qualitatively, demographic behaviors and social and economic conditions among the population, as well as finding a balance between the needs of the population and the achievement of sustainable development.
By this definition, then, population policy is considered as an aggregate of programs and activities which, directly or indirectly, have an impact on demographic behaviors as well as on the health, social, cultural and environmental characteristics of the population.
The National Population Policy is derived from specialized studies, working papers and expert discussions on current and future population trends. Thus, this policy document indicates the connection between these trends and the available limited social, economic and environmental resources, indicating problem factors (some old, others new) and areas of difficulty and future challenges. These are to be found in the quantitative and qualitative dimensions, which are continued in, Document I Problems and Challenges and which are consistent with the Strategic Vision for 2025.
The bases for the National Population Policy preparation also stem from accumulated experience gained from formulation, upgrading and implementation of previous population programs and activities which include: Preparation of the national Population Strategy for the period 1990-2000, formulation and implementation of the Population Action Plan for the National Population Strategy, the National program for maternal and Child Health Care and Family Planning as well as other programs and project activities related to population that were included in the First Five Year Development Plan 1996-2000.
The Population Policy approach has contributed not only to allocating and managing the resources required for attaining Policy Objectives, but also in raising official and public awareness of population-related problems. It has also helped towards the integration of population concerns with different national and sectoral strategies during the nineties. In addition, several surveys, censuses and analytic studies with implications for population policy have been conducted within the past decade.
The National Population Policy follows the guidelines of the international treaties and recommendations approved by the Republic of Yemen, especially those that came out of world conferences held during the nineties, including The International Conference on Population and Development held in Cairo in 1994, The World Summit on Social Development held in Copenhagen in 1995, the United Nations Conference on Human Habitat held in Istanbul in 1996, the World Child Conference held in new York and the Fourth World Conference on Women held in Beijing in 1995.
The policy foundations cal for an extended and broadened partnership base between government, the private sector and civic institutions for the full utilization of voluntary capabilities in the implementation, monitoring and evaluation of population policies as an essential step for the unification and reinforcement of national, regional and international efforts to achieve fairness and equality in the area of population and development needs.
The starting-point includes concentrating national efforts on the development of a data base and expanding the scope of its use, as well as the development of quantitative and qualitative indicators required for the monitoring and evaluation of macro and sectoral population-related policies and programs
General Principles of the national Population Policy
The principles on which the National Population Policy rests are derived from the spirit of Islamic jurisprudence and the values and customs of the society that are stipulated in the constitution, as well as on international recommendations, and treaties, which the Republic of Yemen has endorsed. Those principles may be presented as follows:
Man is the most important and valuable resource, for God has honored him in His Holy Book and the constitution has guaranteed him political, economic, social and cultural opportunities without discrimination.

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