Selected Papers
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1.4 Mbytes, 370pp)

Report and Plan of Action on Population and Poverty
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444 Kbytes, 56pp)

Theme of the Conference

The theme selected for the Fifth Asian and Pacific Population Conference is "Population and Poverty in Asia and the Pacific". While many countries have been able to reduce fertility and improve the overall quality of life of the population, poverty still persists in many countries. It has even increased in some countries, particularly since the 1997/98 Asian financial crisis. On the other hand, even in countries where fertility has declined, there are still areas and population sub-groups which are in general poorer, for whom access to health services, including reproductive health and family planning services, remains inadequate. As a result, there has been a serious rethinking of the population-development links within several agencies of the United Nations during the decade that had elapsed since the convening of the Fourth Asian and Pacific Population Conference in Bali in 1992.

The Millennium Declaration, which includes several population/demographic goals along with other goals related to non-income poverty, has helped to crystallize and revitalize thinking on the links between population and development. Within UNFPA itself, attention has increasingly focused on the consequences of population change on the well-being and poverty status of national populations. The focus of the UNFPA "State of the World Population" report for 2002 will also be on population, poverty and development. The theme selected for the Conference reflects the changing environment of the countries and the operational goals of the United Nations. The main objective of the Conference is to review the population and development situation, with particular focus on the interlinkages among population, environment, resources and poverty. Furthermore, as mandated by ESCAP resolution 54/4, the Conference will appraise the performance of members in the field of population and sustainable development, and impacts on poverty.

Based on its review and deliberations, the Conference is expected to adopt a set of recommendations to further strengthen population programmes and thereby contribute to the reduction of poverty in the Asia-Pacific region.