16 only one element of a population program; (iii) provision of high quality family planning services as widely as possible through well-developed health systems and other channels; and (iv) suppora for elements of a population program in countries which do not yet have an official population policy or program"<sup>3</sup> . The country action plans set out programs for policy dialogue, economic and sector work that include more rigerous treatment of population issues, integraticn of population activities into SALS and SACs, into social development projects and non-PHN projects, as well as for traditional investments in the PHN sector, 34. An interesting feature of the process of developing the Program of Action is the extensive discussions which took place among the Country and Sector Operating Divisions, a dialegue which has helped the integration of population issues into the development of country strategies. Another interesting feature of the TAsk Force's work is its liaison with outside agencies, many of which were represented at Task Force meetings -- USAID, the Population Coundcl, and Fahmily Health International, for example. Third, the Task Force took into account views on population issues expressed by the Population Advisory Committee at a meeting in mid-April 1989. This committee, comprised of a group of African population experts and senior policvmakers, has been formed to advise on the development of "The Population Agenda', the multi-donor initiative mentioned above.

35. In Asia, a Population Sector Study will be produced in FY91. A preliminary note<sup>4</sup> has suggested that the Bank is maintaining its program in the region with its major borrowers -- India, Indonesia and Bangladesh -- but must prepare itself to meet the changing demands of those countries, and could be doing more to generate demand in countries where family planning programs are at an early stage of development. In these latter countries there is a need for more targeted economic and sector work, to explore the economic-demographic relationships in those countries, and the possibilities of donor coordination. In the wellestablished programs, budgets are not increasing fast enough to keep pace with demand for family planning; USAID's role in contraceptive supply is at best stable, and may be reduced, resulting in increased demand for Bank resources for contraceptive procurement. The note classifies countries in the region according to their demographic chaiacteristics and program history and suggests a differentiated Bank strategy.

36. In EMENA, family planning in Bank projects has been carried out through the health system. In some parts of the Middle East this reflects traditional attitudes towards population and family planning issues. In the Maghreb countries, however, there is growing acceptance of the need to consider demographic variables in economic and human resource developmenL The Maghreb division produced two reports in FY90 which provide this movement with important theoretical underpinning.<sup>5</sup> In LAC, many countries remain very sensitive on population matters, but have accepted the importance of family planning as a health intervention. Sector work in the region does much to reinforce this importance, the FY90 Brazil study on Women's Reproductive Health being a case in point.

37. Research work currently underway in the PHRHN division will help to inform some of the issues that the operating divisions and TDs in the regions are grappling with in the 3 Ibid, Executive Summary, para. 3.

4 "Asia Region: Discussion Note on the Population Sector" June 29, 1990 5 "Morocco. Reaching the Disadvantaged: Social Expenditure Priorities in the 1990s", and for the Maghreb, MThe Dcmographic Challenge to Sustainable Economic Development"