[ALOCHONA] UNFPA denies responsibility for population report

UNFPA denies responsibility for population report, points to UN headquarters

 
DHAKA, Oct 27 (BSS) - The local office of United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has denied responsibility for its controversial last week's report on Bangladesh population size and said the UN headquarters has collected data from its own statistical division instead of UNFPA.

In a letter to the Finance Minister and the Health Minister on Tuesday, the UNFPA Dhaka office clarified its position that they did not provide any statistics on the estimated size of Bangladesh population. Instead, the UNFPA says, it always relies on the national statistics for programmes, reports and publications in Bangladesh.

"We have received letter from UNFPA yesterday and it is now under evaluation," said an official of Finance
Ministry, adding the local office of UNFPA denied their involvement in the preparation of the report titled 'The State of World Population 2010". The report was launched in Dhaka and other parts of the world on October 21.

UNFPA's advocacy officer Asma Akhter confirmed her organizations letter to the ministers and said the matter is being dealt at the top levels. She said neither the local UNFPA nor its headquarters have provided any statistics that contradict with Bangladesh's national data.

'The State of World Population 2010" report said Bangladesh's total population rose to 16.44 crore in 2010, a figure which government agrees to be hardly 14.87 crore by the end of this year. The report also said the population has been increasing at a rate of 1.4 percent per year and it would reach at 22.25 crore by 2050, a prediction that is also contradictory to government's projection.

Launched by UNFPA in Dhaka the report gave birth of huge controversies and suspicion at government and other levels as it was launched at a time when the government is going to hold the National Population and Household Census after 10 years in March,
2011. The last national census was held in 2001 with counting a
total population of 12.43 crore.

Finance Minister Abul Mal Abdul Muhith told journalists on Sunday that the UNFPA report was motivated and was prepared by the deskmen in the UN headquarters in New York. The report also irked Health and Family Planning Minister Professor AFM Ruhal Haque, who told BSS on last Thursday, that neither he nor his ministry was consulted at all before launching the report.

Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics sources said the UNFPA was formally reminded last year for its unwillingness to follow Bangladesh National Statistics. Economic Minister at Bangladesh's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, in a letter, in September 2009 urged UNFPA to use data provided by the National Statistical Agencies and avoid inconsistencies in its publications that include the World Population Report.

The then President of the UNFPA executive board asked UNFPA to ensure harmonization of their statistics with the national statistics of Bangladesh and other countries in the world. She, however, informed Bangladesh representative that World Population Report uses country statistics provided by the Statistical Division of UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA), the agency which is now blamed for Bangladesh's controversial population figure.

The UNDESA, according to the president of UNFPA executive board, was supposed to maintain close relationship with national statistical organizations such as BBS in Bangladesh, But that never happened here, alleges an official of the bureau of statistics.

"UNFPA Dhaka office might not be involved in the report preparation, but it is clear that the report was motivated and biased," said the BBS official, adding it was not a matter of 'ignorance', rather it is a matter of 'deliberate' attempt to undermine national efforts. The main motive behind the report, he said, is likely to be a ploy to influence the government to inflate the population figure for future higher donations in reproductive health.

Preferring anonymity, a director of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) said a business motive might has acted as a factor to project higher number of population and ignore national statistics. She said the higher the population and the higher the chances to get more funds from donors to run family planning, reproductive and sexual health programmes in Bangladesh. The accusation could not be checked immediately with UNFPA.

The country is going to hold its 5th national population and
household census from March 15 to 19 next year. The census, first
time in 10 years, would cost Taka 187 crore. The pilot programme
of the census began on Tuesday in Sutrapur Ward 18 in Dhaka City
Corporation and Natun Bharenga in Bera Upazila in Pabna.

http://bssnews.net/newsDetails.php?cat=0&id=140335&date=2010-10-27

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