March 2011's Edition of
POPULATION ONLINE
Brings you stories on...

• Budget Stalemate Imperils International Family Planning
  House passage of an omnibus appropriation bill for the federal government raised fears in March that the current level of funding for international family planning and reproductive health programs could be slashed. Presently, USAID is operating under a 'continuing resolution' that keeps funding for family planning at the FY2010 level of $648 million, but the House-passed appropriations bill trims that by more $200 million. While the U.S. Senate rejected the House-passed budget measure, House and Senate conferees have yet to reach an agreement. If the impasse is not broken, the government could effectively shut down by April 8 until an agreement is reached. Once agreement is reached for this year's funding, Congress will start working on appropriation bills for the fiscal year (FY2012) that begins on October 1, 2011.
• International Women's Day
  March 8th was the 100th anniversary of International Women's Day, an international observance designed to promote advances in women's rights. On the first International Women's Day, women in most countries around the world, including the United States, could not vote and employers often refused to hire someone just because she was a woman. The cause of women's rights has come a long way since 1911, but recent setbacks threaten some of those gains. Budget hawks, in the name of deficit reduction, have proposed eliminating Title X funding for U.S. family planning assistance and, at the same time, slashing U.S. support for international family planning and reproductive health services. And family planning is not the only budget target. A wide variety of programs aimed at protecting the health of women and children could end up taking over-sized hits. When it comes to deficit reduction, apparently the new mantra is "Women and children, first."
• Water Scarcity and World Water Day
  On March 22, the world observed World Water Day, an international observance that grew out of the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) that was held in Rio de Janeiro. This year's observance sparked a numbered of stories about the links between water scarcity and the growing political instability in North Africa, the Middle East, and other arid regions. Syria, Egypt, and Yemen were singled out for special attention.
• Food Prices Continue to Rise, Worsening the Food Crisis
  The U.N.'s Food and Agriculture Organization reported in early March that food prices reached another record high, as the price of basic food staples continued to soar. The Index indicated that wheat and coffee prices have doubled in the past 12 months, while cocoa jumped 25 percent in just two months. Dairy prices were also up sharply. The FAO warned that food prices could continue to rise unless crop conditions improve. The food crisis, which has contributed to the political unrest in North Africa and the Middle East, has raised renewed concerns about global hunger. John Bongaarts, the former chief demographer for the U.N., warned that, "Although the recent price spikes are partially the result of short-term factors – droughts, floods, speculative investing, low reserves, and hoarding– food prices are likely to remain high as rising demand runs into supply constraints. While higher food prices will have a negative effect everywhere, they will have a particularly devastating impact on the poor, who already spend a large part of their incomes on sustenance and will be forced to spend more."
• New South Dakota Abortion Law
  South Dakota passed a new abortion law in March that would require women to wait 72 hours after their initial doctor’s visit before they can terminate their pregnancy, making the waiting period in South Dakota the longest in the country. The law goes even further by requiring women to get counseling at a crisis pregnancy center before they can have an abortion, even if they are the victims of rape or incest. While many states require counseling before an abortion, the South Dakota law requires women to have it at a crisis pregnancy center, a non-medical facility usually staffed by volunteers. Such centers often have a religious affiliation and actively discourage women from getting an abortion. Women who visit these crisis pregnancy centers are often given incorrect information exaggerating the risks of abortion.