Population and health
By: Huda Zurayk
Contributors: International Union for the Scientific Study of Population
Series: Distinguished lecture series on population and development
Publisher: International Union for the Scientific Study of Population
Published: 1994
Place of publication: Liege, Belgium
Language: eng
Number of pages: 21
Subjects: Population Control; Health Planning; Health; Population policy; International Conference on Population and Development (1994 : Cairo, Egypt)
Description: International population policy now includes suggested strategies for health interventions. The broadening of population issues to include health has meant contributions by feminists and health advocates at the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development. The scientific community with many others is part of a complex process internationally to address development, population, and health issues; the scientific community must know how to balance research with advocacy. The international family planning movement has evolved over the decades and become a major force in developing population policy in many countries. Some planners focused on population size, while others uncovered the societal context of fertility. The concept of development as the best contraceptive emerged at the 1974 World Population Conference in Bucharest. Bongaarts established a framework for analyzing the determinants of fertility: marriage, contraception, lactational amenorrhea, and abortion.

A health rationale for family planning influenced the population conference in Mexico City in 1984. A Safe Motherhood Initiative was formed. Abortion-related maternal mortality surfaced as a major health concern. Population policy did not focus on the wider concerns of reproduction. Cultural demographers and anthropologists by 1994 had an interest in the sociocultural context of health. Mortality reduction was always a concern of population policy. The Mosley-Chen framework divided child health determinants into maternal factors (child spacing and maternal age), environmental factors, nutrition and health care factors, and background factors. Many medical interventions became interrelated: immunization, breast feeding, oral rehydration, health services, and family planning. It was hoped that women's health issues could be as easily addressed, however, cultural practices such as female genital mutilation were deeply rooted.

The health transition for adults, sexually transmitted diseases, and the growth of the elderly became growing health concerns. The 1974 document emphasized the environment, nutrition, life style, and health services. The 1984 document focused specifically on water, sanitation, and occupational hazards, life style factors (tobacco, alcohol, and drugs), and primary health care. In 1994, reproductive and sexual health were the focus.
Notes: "International Conference on Population and Development, ICPD '94."

Includes bibliographical references (p. 20-21).