Reports on Visits to UNFPA Country Offices

The strengthened linkages with UNFPA country programs and national policies is one of the core factors in AUICK’s strategic project for the years 2004-2007.  From October 2003 to early June 2004, AUICK dispatched a several delegations, including some IAC members, to every AAC candidate city to negotiate affiliation into the AACs Network with the mayors and administrators. On those occasions the delegation visited the relevant UNFPA Country Offices to discuss further linkage between UNFPA Country/Regional Programme and activities in AACs.  AUICK received not only several useful suggestions on better implementation but also indications of some difficulties in adjustments between each party’s program.  Most issues had been resolved by the AACs Conference, but some issues are pending. This article is a report on the visits to the relevant UNFPA Country Offices.

Visit to UNFPA China Office

On 21 October 2003, the AUICK delegation, composed of Mr. Kazutoshi Sasayama, Chairman, Mr. Masayuki Ishitsubo, Executive Director, and Mr. Nobuyuki Morimoto, Manager, visited the UNFPA China Office in Beijing, and discussed the new project and the AACs Conference with Ms. Siri Tellier, UNFPA Representative of China.

The delegation explained that AUICK had previously invited 8 senior officials from Tianjin City to training courses, but that AUICK was considering an alternative medium-sized city as a candidate for the AAC network.  Tianjin's rapid growth had pushed the population of over 10 million and enlarged the city beyond the size targeted for the AAC network.  The delegation then requested the cooperation of the UNFPA China Office in selecting a suitable medium-sized city, and preferably one with an international port such as Kobe has.  Ms. Tellier agreed to strengthen the linkage between UNFPA China Office and AUICK, and to select an appropriate medium-sized city as an AAC in China.

On 10 March 2004, AUICK formally requested the UNFPA Representative to recommended a candidate city for the AAC in China.  The Representative then kindly requested that the National Population and Family Planning Commission (NPFPC) of China, recommended a city.  Ms. Zhang Yang, Director of International Organisation Division, acted as a go-between, and recommended three candidates.  After due consideration, AUICK decided to enter into an affiliation with Weihai.

On 31 May 2004, Mr. Sasayama, Mr. Ishitsubo, and Mr. Morimoto visited Beijing, China, and met with two senior officials of NPFPC: Dr. Ru Xiaomei, Deputy Director General; and Ms. Zhang Yang, Director, Division of International Organizations, Department of International Cooperation.  Dr. Ru Xiaomei expressed her hope for AUICK to have a strong relationship, not only with Weihai city but also with the Chinese Government.  At the conclusion of the meeting it was agreed that Ms. Zhan Yang will serve as a mediator at a meeting with the Mayor of Weihai the following day.

Following the meeting with the NPFPC officials, the AUICK delegation visited Ms. Siri Tellier, UNFPA Representative in China.  After expressing appreciation to her for her support in organizing the meeting with the NPFPC officials.

AUICK emphasized the importance of the attendance of representatives from UNFPA Country Offices as follows: "The promotion between all of the AACs and the relevant UNFPA Country Offices is one of the core factors in our new strategic project. Since the mayors from all AUICK Associate Cities will meet at the AACs Conference, it is our hope that a representative from each UNFPA Country Office attends the Conference. In addition, to building sustainable development, AUICK would like to invite an assistant representative. The Assistant Represetatives knows a great deal about local issues and what's happening on the ground.

Ms. SIri Tellier agreed to consider carefully the AUICK's proposal.  Then, both parties discussed various issues, including the language communication difficulties of senior Chinese local government officials and assistance from UNFPA China Office.

At the conclusion of the meeting it was proposed that Mr. Yu Yu, National Program Officer of UNFPA China Office, will be accompanied to the meeting with PhD Song Yuanfan, Mayor and some senior of Weihai to be held on 1 June at a hotel in Qingdao, where Mayor Song was attending the 3rd APEC Medium & Small Enterprises Technology Conference & Fair.

Visit to UNFPA Malaysia Office

On 5 February 2004, the AUICK delegation, composed of Mr. Kazutoshi Sasayama, Chairman, Mr. Toshiaki Baba, Director, and Mr. Nobuyuki Morimoto, Manager, visited the UNFPA Malaysia Office, and discussed the new project and the planned AACs Conference with Ms. Yeoh Yeok Kim, UNFPA Assistant Representative in Malaysia.

Ms. Kim made a number of comments at the meeting as summarized below:

• She emphasized the importance of reproductive health and gender issues, and said she was very pleased to see them specifically noted as focus areas.
• Ms. Kim suggested that her office will liaise with the NGO’s and NPO’s that are invited to be involved in the process.
• Malaysian mayors, or governors, do not currently meet in any group setting. She said AUICK’s mayor’s conference could serve as a model that could lead to a national conference in Malaysia.
• Ms. Kim praised the strategy to focus on medium-sized cities, noting they can serve as a model for smaller cities and towns.
• She also noted that if AUICK could provide financial assistance for the implementation of the plans, it would be helpful. The AUICK delegation indicated that AUICK’s mission is providing technical assistance to help improve cities in Malaysia through AUICK training and it would also consider how to raise funds to improve cities in cooperation with other countries.
• Ms. Kim inquired about whether AUICK staff has expertise in technical areas. The AUICK delegation replies that AUICK has access to those Kobe city personnel with technical expertise to serve as lecturers in the training courses.
• Ms. Kim was very pleased that AUICK would assist Kuantan. Kuantan was not currently involved in a UNFPA Malaysia sponsored Mayors Meeting because Kuantan was not officially a city.  However, Ms. Kim promised to invite the President of Kuantan to the Mayors meeting hereafter, to cooperate with AUICK in the new project, and also to attend the AACs Conference later in the year.

Visit to UNFPA Vietnam Office

On 9 February 2004, Mr. Sasayama, Mr. Baba, and Mr. Morimoto visited the UNFPA Vietnam Office in Hanoi, Vietnam, and met with Mr. Omer Ertur, UNFPA Representative in Vietnam.

Mr. Ertur thanked Mr. Sasayama and AUICK for embarking on the new project, and said that the UNFPA would definitely be a part of the effort. He also indicated that Danang is the appropriate city to add to the program.  He was pleased that the AUICK mission visited VIetnam for future collaboration with the country through Danang City.

Points made by the UNFPA Representative in Vietnam included:

• Urbanization is a concern in Vietnam as many cities are growing increasingly fast. UNFPA is the lead agency in studying migration patterns in Vietnam. One of the first signs of migration from rural to urban areas is squatter settlements in the cities. Past governments did not pay enough attention to in-migration to the cities.
• Housing is a major problem in urban areas of Vietnam. The city has improved tremendously over the past 5 years but there is a problem of urbanization in Vietnam exemplified by Danang. Hardly 20 percent of the population in Vietnam is urban but it is increasing rapidly. There is a significant movement now from rural to urban areas. This movement is causing the formation of squatter settlements as they come to work in the cities causing housing problems. One of the major problems in growing cites is that a lot of people have trouble finding a place to live and Mr. Ertur requested to ensure housing problems be included in AUICK’s analysis.
• The Mayors’ conference was an excellent idea to highlight urbanization as an important issue. Urban planning would be a failure without paying attention to who is migrating and identifying the social services available for these people. It was noted that starting from the top is necessary.
• The decision to focus on medium-sized cities was excellent. Big-city problems are colossal and that the small cities can cope and AUICK’s contribution will be to make medium-sized cities better places to live.
• Mr. Ertur also mentioned that his office can assist with the selection of Vietnamese to attend training sessions, and also with follow-up on implementation.
• The Vietnamese Government has a heavy emphasis on centralization. Local governments have no special emphasis on urban issues. There is a tendency to follow the former policy of retaining people in rural areas, so not to interrupt agricultural activity. There is no Ministry of Urbanization in Vietnam and that a mayors’ conference would be required. Vietnam should have a metropolitan mayors’ meeting to discuss problems. Mr. Ertur said, Vietnamese mayors, or governors, do not meet in any formal group setting and that AUICK’s mayor’s conference could serve as a model that could lead to a national conference in Vietnam.

Meeting with UNFPA Representative in Indonesia

On 21 February 2004, in Bali, Indonesia, Mr. Ishitsubo and Mr. Morimoto met and discussed the new project and the AACs Conference with Dr. Bernard Coquelin, UNFPA Representative in Indonesia.

Discussing the lingkage between AUICK's programs and UNFPA programs, the Representative made the following points:

• It is sometimes difficult for the Indonesia Office to provide comments on participants nominated for AUICK training as the UNFPA program may not cover that specific field and therefore the office is not always familier with them;
• The Office obtains much of the information from the AUICK website for its own planning purposes;
• It is often difficult to link the UNFPA country program and the AUICK program because, for example, the country program had already determined outputs and framework before the AUICK program was approved.  The only way that the Office can use the outcome of the AUICK program is to duplicate the process in another city;
• AUICK should visit the UNFPA Country Directors to discuss their programs, and let them discuss with the central givernment how to link the programs;
• The selection process of participants for AUICK training sometimes results in political people being sent, not technical people; and
• The long term planning shedules of AUICK and the UNFPA need to be synchronized so that they can use each other's inputs and outputs in planning processes.

Visit to UNFPA Bangladesh Office

On 24 February 2004, Dr. Talwar, Mr. Ishitsubo and Mr. Morimoto visited the UNFPA Bangladesh Office in Dhaka, Bangladesh, and discussed the new project and the AACs Conference with Ms. Suneeta Mukherjee, Representative in Bangladesh.  UNFPA senior staff members also attended the meeting.

AUICK announced that the city selected in Bangladesh for the Conference was Chittagong, and that great efforts would be made to make it a model city, with improved planning and improvement in the access and quality of services.  The UNFPA Country Representative in Bangladesh endorsed the choice of the city, with improved planning and improvement in the access and quality of services.  The UNFPA Country Representative in Bangladesh endorsed the choice of the city; and pointed out that UNFPA was already working in Chittagong on urban health through Ms. Tehera Ahmed, Assistant Representative, and Dr. Rafiq Sultan.  The efforts of UNFPA and AUICK in Chittagong will also be coordinated so that better results can be achieved.  Dr. Rafiq Sultan was also sent to Chittagong with the AUICK group to show the activitirs of the UNFPA Country Program.

Ms. Tehera Ahmed was designated as the UNFPA Liaison Officer for AUICK activities.  The choice of UNFPA Assistant Representative as a liaison was thought to be beneficial for establishing continuity in the coordination and cooperation between AUICK and UNFPA Bangladesh.  UNFPA Bangladesh was enthusiastic about collaboration with AUICK as they were already working to help Bangladesh to achieve MDG goals of reduced maternal mortality through a current project.  A computer presentation was given to AUICK, displaying the fruitful efforts that UNFPA Bangladesh are embarking upon to achieve these goals.

Dr. Mukherjee assured the delegation of the support of UNFPA to achieve result based goals of the new AUICK project, particularly as the UNFPA goals in Chittagong coincide with those of AUICK. She arranged Dr. Rafiqus Sultan, National Professional Project Person to accompany the AUICK delegation to Chittagong and show them a vocational aid center which he took care of.

The UNFPA Bangladesh office was already aware of AUICK trainning acitivities as they had been providing suggestioins for suitable Bangladesh local government officials for training in Kobe.  The staff of UNFPA Country Office in Bangladesh appreciated that AUICK took time to visit the personnel and build a stronger relationship between the two organizations.

Visit to UNFPA India Office

On 1 March 2004, Dr. Talwar, Mr. Ishitsubo and Mr. Morimoto visited the UNFPA India Office in New Delhi, India.  The meeting was held with Ms. Ena Singh, Assistant Representative, and Ms. Shachi Grover, Program Officer.

After AUICK's explanation on the new project and the AACs Conference, some discussion was held on the choice of Chennai as an Associate City.  It was explained that the choice of Chennai was based on its responsive nature in earlier training courses, and also that, like Kobe, it was a port city.

The idea of trackling urban problems was greatly appreciated by UNFPA India.  There is a need to strengthen program activities in the cities, and it felt that capacity building could contribute greatly to this.  The UNFPA staff was impressed by the strategy of using training as a forum to share experiences in urban planning and management and appreciated the idea of experts.  AUICK's efforts were greatly appreciated by UNFPA India.

Regarding participation in the Mayor's Conference in Kobe, the representation of UNFPA India would be decided by the new UNFPA representative in April.  Meanwhile, Ms. Shachi Grover was designated to be a contact person for AUICK.

Dr. Iqbal Secures Faisalabad Affiliation

The AUICK IAC member in Pakistan is Dr. M.A. Kareem Iqbal, former Federal Secretary Member, Sindh Local Government Commission.  AUICK entrusted him to negotiate with Faisalabad Tehsil Administration, UNFPA Pakistan Office and an appropriate academic institute to be involved in the new project.  On 7 April 2004, Dr. Iqbal visited the UNFPA Pakistan Office in Islamabad, and met with Dr. Olivier Brasseur, UNFPA Representative in Pakistan.

Dr. Iqbal explained the new project to Dr. Brasseur who expressed his gratitude for the efforts made by AUICK in the field of population and development within the goals set by the ICPD.

Dr. Brasseur then explained the Country Program Action Plan (CPAP) 2004-2008 for Pakistan, and the Program for Cooperation between the Government of Islamic Republic of Pakistan and UNFPA.  The CPAP takes note of the national reform process, particularly decentralization, and emphasizes a district specific approach.  Ten districts were selected by the Government and UNFPA for inclusion in the Country Program.  Unfortunately Faisalabad is not one of the ten.  However, since there are some areas of Dr. Brasseur was prepared to consider AUICK's request for collaboration.

On 25 May 2004, Dr. Iqbal visited Falsalabad with Ms. Shaheda Fazil, UNFPA Assistant Representative in Pakistan.  They met with Mr. A.M. Mumtaz Ali Cheema, Tehsil Nazim of Tehsil Municipal Administration Faisalabad, and then with two academics of Unversity of Agriculture Faisalabad: Dr. Bashir Ahmed, Vice Chancellor; and Dr. Asghar Cheema, Dean & Head of Department of Sociology.  All four parties - UNFPA, AUICK, Faisalabad Administration, and the University of Agriculture Faisalabad, reached an agreement to work together in collaboration and in accordance with UNFPA - AUICK guidelines.