This database contains information on population policies, regulations, laws and documents concerning family planning and related topics. Laws and regulations are a major tool for protecting people’s rights. The database has developed to review the current status of population policies and to promote laws and regulations that guarantee people’s basic rights including their reproductive right in countries of the ESCAP region. We hope that the database will contribute to improvements in family planning services, reproductive health educational progrmmes, behavioural research in reproduction and in the formulation of appropriate policies.

We would like to thank the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) for providing financial support for this project and the participating countries for their input. The organizations which provided input for this project are:

• Cambodia: UNFPA Cambodia
• China: China Population Information and Research Centre (CPIRC)
• Fiji: University of the South Pacific
• Indonesia: National Family Planning Coordinating Board (BKKBN)
• Philippines: Population Commission
• Thailand: College of Population Studies, Chulalongkorn University
• Viet Nam: Centre for Population Studies and Information (CPSI)