By spring l996 the Ministry of Health had set national targets for sterilizations, and health workers were being given individual quotas. In many areas health workers receive a bonus for each additional procedure, while they can lose their jobs if they fail to meet their quotas. Dr. Yong Motta openly defends quotas. That Peruvian medical workers under heavy pressure to meet sterilization quotas should resort to coercion is hardly surprising. Knowing full well this danger, the 1994 Cairo Population Conference condemned the use of quotas or targets in birth control campaigns, an admonition Dr. Yong Motta and other Peruvian officials have now admitted ignoring.
Coercion takes various forms.
First, there are repeated visits to the homes of holdouts. Various bribes and threats are also employed. According to interviews in villages and press accounts in El Commercio, hungry women are offered the opportunity to participate in food programs, including programs supported by the U.S., if they agree to sterilization. Women already participating in food programs have been threatened with expulsion. Rural women report that no mention is made of sterilization's health risks.