...it is recommended that all countries: (a) 

 respect and ensure, regardless of their 

 overall demographic goals, the right of 

 persons to determine, in a free, informed and 

 responsible manner, the number and spacing of 

 their children; and (b) encourage appropriate 

 education concerning parenthood and make 

 available to persons who so desire advice and 

 the means of achieving it (U.N. Economic and 

 Social Council 1974). 



Family planning programs have been the most 

 effective in Asia and parts of Latin America. 



Population has been an important issue in the 

 developed world as well. In the United states, for 

 example, much attention has been given in recent years 

 to fertility control, with emphasis on making family 

 planning services more accessible to the poor. The 

 1972 report of the Commission on Population Growth and 

 the American Future, entitled "Population and the 

 American Future," was a unique and comprehensive review 

 of issues relating to population growth in the United 

 States. Although some of its recommendations were not 

 implemented, it remains a model effort of its type and 

 a useful reference for population commissions in other 

 countries. 



Health, nutrition, and population problems 

 particularly affect women, whose status is low in much 

 of the developing world and who are too often excluded 

 from the benefits of development. Even more than many 

 other developmental efforts, programs in these areas 

 are likely to improve the status of women and open up 

 new social and economic opportunities to them. At the 

 same time, opening up new opportunities for women to 

 work outside the home or family farm could make a major 

 contribution to lowering the birth rate, which will in 

 turn make other development goals easier to achieve. 



This panel has identified seven areas in which the 

 scientific and technological expertise of the United 

 States could make a major contribution to the 

 developmental efforts of developing countries. Both 

 the developing countries and the international 

 community have indicated the importance of each of the 

 topics selected. In no special order of priority, they 

 are: 



1. Infectious diseases of the tropics 



2. Water systems 



3. Contraceptive technology 



4. Nutrition 



5. Infrastructure for primary health care services, 

 including maternal-child health and family planning 



78 



