tries population growth has caused poverty, unemployment, starvation, delayed education, environmental degradation and other problems. These countries are urgently required to address the problems caused by rapid population growth.

The population problem has two aspects—a quantitative aspect regarding growth or decline in population and a qualitative aspect regarding the improvement of living standards of the poor. Approaches are required from both aspects. In supporting developing countries in this respect, Japan has adopted a comprehensive approach covering family planning and other direct assistance to basic healthcare services, primary education for women and gender mainstreaming. Specifically, Japan contributes to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) that have been implementing family planning projects, reproductive health services (see Part II, Chapter 2, Section 3, 1-2) and providing technical guidance to population policies in developing countries. In fiscal year 2003, Japan contributed 4.9 billion yen to the UNFPA and 1.9 billion yen to the IPPF. These contributions have been used for national censuses and other population data collection and analysis in developing countries, as well as for maternal health improvement, women's capacity-building and projects for more than 1.2 billion adolescents in the world. Japanese NGOs working for population and reproductive health areas are cooperating with the UNFPA and IPPF in maternal and child health programmes in Afghanistan, advocacy on reproductive health in Myanmar, the enhancement of reproductive health education programs for adolescents in Latin America and the Caribbean region, and other relevant activities.

Through the Human Security Fund, Japan has supported the UNFPA's project for "Mobilizing Communities to Reduce Reproductive Health Morbidity & Mortality in Eritrea" to improve living standards for residents affected by conflicts and drought. Japan has also provided Bangladesh with grant aid for the "Project for Support to Strengthening of Emergency Obstetric Care Service" as worked out by the Bangladesh government to reduce maternal mortality.

As 2004 sees the 10th anniversary of the International Conference on Population and Development held in Cairo, Japan is striving to enhance the international community's measures to cope with the population problem through the United Nations Commission on Population and Development and the UNFPA Executive Board in which Japan has participated. Japan is willing to continue proactive participation in debate on the population problem.

## (4) Food

Approximately 800 million people in the world are reportedly suffering from starvation, including some 300 million children. Every five minutes, one child dies of starvation-related causes. The World Food Summit (Rome Declaration) and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) call for halving the ratio of starving people by 2015. The need for food aid has been growing due to civil war, natural disasters, terrorism, the HIV/AIDS epidemic and the like. The World Food Programme (WFP) for food aid provided some 100 million people with food worth 3.3 billion dollars in 2003. Its aid

Chart II -25 Distribution of Food Aid by Region

Region	¥100 million
Asia	24.1
Africa	65.5
Middle East	19.1
Latin America	4.0
Total	112.6

Note: As the figures in the table are rounded off, they do not necessarily add up to the totals.