Project Fact Sheet

The Context:
In recent years there has been a growing awareness among policy makers of population, reproductive health (RH) and gender issues. Following the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) in Cairo, the Government formulated the National Population and Development Policy (NPDP) in 1999, reflecting the principles of the ICPD Programme of Action. Inspite of policy development, however, limited access to RH, gender equality and a sustainable balance between population, resources and socio-economic development remain critical issues. Implementation of the NPDP and integration of population variables in development planning at provincial and district levels have been slow, due to the limited awareness and understanding of concepts and issues among government officials and influencial people. Strong advocacy is needed for key stakeholders. The capacity of the Government to integrate population variables into development planning and to coordinate population and RH-related programmes need to be enhanced.

The Project:
Through the Committee for Planning and Investment (CPI) the project aims to achieve the following outputs:
· Increased awareness of policy-makers, parliamentarians, planners, administrators and community leaders on the need to promote RH, reproductive rights, gender equality and population and development issues.
· Improved coordination and monitoring of population and RH programmes through the establishment of the National Coordination Committee for Population and Development (NCCPD) and integration of the NPDP action plan into national, sectoral and provincial planning and programmes.
· Strengthened advocacy capacity of CPI, the Ministry of Information and Culture, the media and other partners to promote NPDP and related issues.
Active participation of women is promoted in all project activities as well as the issue of gender equality, empowerment of women and male responsibility.

Update On Achievements:
. NPDP was amended to incorporate issues such as adolescent reproductive health, reproductive rights, gender equality, migration and ageing.
. Five workshops on NPDP, population, RH, gender issues and the use of population variables in planning were organised for provincial and district officials in 2004
. The advocacy and communication strategy 2005-2006 was drafted
. Two advocacy events (World Population Day and State of the World Population report launch) and four seminars targeting local journalists and parliamentarians on population, RH and gender issues were organised in 2004. The knowledge of participants increased as a result.
. The number of newspaper articles increased and their quality improved
. A training manual on population and development has been developed for students of the National Organization for Studies of Policy Administration (NOSPA) and the National University of Laos. Teaching tools have also been provided.
. NCCPD was established and is conducting regular coordination meetings for UNFPA partners. Most recommendations were followed up.