73 out of 1000

11 July has been declared World Population Day on the initiative of the UN Development Programme. This day was approved after the population of the earth exceeded five billion. The UN Population Fund marks World Population Day in order to increase awareness of important problems of population and development. This year this day was marked under the slogan "Men are partners in protecting mothers' health".

Decisive role

It is precisely men who can really save lives as partners in the cause of protecting mothers' health. In many issues, they play a decisive role. Husbands often take decisions concerning family planning and the use of the household which affect the welfare of the whole family and its future. Support from a well-informed husband improves the results of his wife's pregnancy and childbirth, and in the event of complications, when women need urgent medical aid, their support can save women's lives. Caring fathers can play an important role in looking after their children and bringing them up.

Too many women in the world die during pregnancy and childbirth because they are deprived of the right to protect their reproductive health. The alarming scale of the HIV infection among women is a tragic reminder that in many parts of the world, women have no opportunity to protect their own health. When a woman can plan her family, she can also plan her life. When she is healthy, she can be more productive. When her reproductive rights are encouraged and protected, she can fully participate in society's life together with others. Men's involvement as partners is an important strategy aimed at improving women's reproductive health and ensuring their rights.

The state committee for family, women's and children's affairs is dealing with this problem in Azerbaijan. In the period from 26 November 2006 to 1 February 2007, employees of the state committee held meetings with young people in 10 districts of Azerbaijan (Quba, Xacmaz, Sumqayit, Xanlar, Saki, Masalli, Imisli, Goranboy, Mingacevir and Baku). They discussed reproductive health problems with 400 citizens aged 15-24. The results of these meetings were placed in a report on the implementation of the first stage of the programme of meetings with communities of Azerbaijan within the framework of the regional project of the UN Population Fund "Initiative on the reproductive health of South Caucasus youth".

Participants in the meetings told the state committee about cases that have become an everyday occurrence, especially in the south of the country, marriages with minor girls, women contracting AIDS and venereal diseases from their husbands working in Russia and other countries, the need to set up a representative office of the state committee in every district of the country.

It turned out that girls, who consult doctors and psychologists, sometimes secretly from their parents, are especially active in looking after their reproductive health. One of the results of the project is the state committee's proposal to the state to set up youth centres that could solve health and family problems in complex. According to the deputy head of the state committee's section of children's problems, Ceyran Rahmatullayeva, very often, people, especially young people, do not want to go to dermatovenerologic clinics, fearing that their acquaintances and relatives might see them there. If there were youth centres in the country, the number of visits to doctors by young people would be higher, which would have a positive influence on statistics regarding the incidence of venereal diseases, AIDS and reproductive health as a whole.

Infant mortality in figures

Meanwhile, according to official information, the population of Azerbaijan is 8,557,000. In the first three months, the country's population grew by 24,000. 53.8 per cent of newborn babies are boys and 46.2 per cent are girls. As for the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), according to its predictions, our country's population will total about 11 million by 2050. Our South Caucasus neighbours will be lagging behind us (2.3m in Armenia and 3.5m in Georgia).

The average pace of the population growth in Azerbaijan accounted for 0.9 per cent in 2000-2007. In Georgia and Armenia, the population is shrinking - by 0.9 and 0.5 per cent respectively. According to predictions, by that time, the planet's total population will be 9.2-10 billion (6.4 billion right now), where 35 per cent of the growth will fall to developing countries.

Real progress will be made in the sphere of implementing the 20-year action plan that expires in 2015, according to the International Conference on Population and Development in Cairo. Progress will be made on poverty reduction, women's equality and use of opportunities for improving reproductive health.

Nevertheless, a lot needs to be done in Azerbaijan to reduce the infant mortality rate, to prevent the spread of AIDS and to meet the needs of young families. According to the report of the UN Population Fund, in terms of infant mortality, Azerbaijan is on the list of the most backward countries. It is noted that 73 of every 1,000 babies are stillborn or die in the first year of their life. The average indicator in the world is 53. In developed, seven babies in every 1,000 die, in underdeveloped countries this figure is 58 and in the least developed countries - 92. The maternal mortality rate in Azerbaijan is 94 in every 1,000. The average age of men in Azerbaijan is 63.7 and women 71.1.

The director of the scientific-research institute of motherhood and gynaecology, Faiza Aliyeva, also admits this. She said that, the maternal mortality rate during labour has increased in comparison with the previous years. She said that in 2005, the maternal mortality rate totaled 33 per 100,000, while in 2006 this figure totaled 40. In five months of this year, the maternal mortality rate in the whole country totaled 19 per 100,000 people.

"Of course, these figures might be inaccurate. But we are trying to register all mothers' deaths when possible and clarify their causes. The monitoring we have carried out shows that the main cause of mothers' death is the guilt of the first link. This means that beginning from the first month, pregnant women do not register with women's clinics and visit doctors at some private clinics or maternity hospitals. This is where the problem comes from," Aliyeva pointed out.

The director of the scientific-research institute stressed that according to statistics, the maternal mortality rate in the country totaled 18-20 per 100,000 in 1998-99. 

"Now that we are summarizing the results, we can see that at that time, the figures of the maternal mortality rate were artificially understated. Now almost all maternity hospitals get medicines and have equipment. They are provided with the necessary equipment, but the maternal mortality rate is not falling, but on the contrary, it is increasing. This shows that the reality was hidden at the time," Faiza Aliyev said in her interview.

In turn, UNICEF calls on the Azerbaijani government to take serious measures to develop pre-school education and reduce the infant mortality rate. This organization says in its recommendations that the Azerbaijani government needs to invest in pre-school education and UNICEF is ready to render technical aid in this sphere.