German Television Host Named UNFPA Goodwill Ambassador and Face to Face Spokesperson United Nations, New York, 30 November, 2000.
	UNAIDS Goodwill Ambassador and Face to Face Campaign Spokesperson, Wendy Fitzwilliam, Helps the United Nations Mark World AIDS Day
	UNFPA Commissions a Follow-Up Poll on Population and Development Issues in 13 European Countries
	Miss Universe 2000 to Visit Reproductive Health Projects in India
	United Nations Population Fund Elated with Netherlands and United Kingdom Action to Avert Condom Crisis
	A Special Note
	IPPF Farewell to Outgoing UNFPA Executive Director Dr. Nafis Sadik

The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has appointed German television producer and moderator, Dr. Alfred Biolek, its Goodwill Ambassador and Face to Face Campaign Spokesperson for Germany.

Since joining Germany's television industry in 1963, Dr. Biolek has risen to become one of its most prominent personalities. Since 1994, he has moderated and produced weekly television general interest programs, "Alfredissimo--Kochen mit Bio" and "Boulevard Bio". This latter has been the most popular discussion program in Germany for about 10 years.

"When I was aksed if I wanted to becme a UNFPA Goodwill Ambassador, I immediately accepted," said Dr. Biolek at a press conference announcing his appointment and held on 30 November at United Nations headquarters in New York.

As Goodwill Ambassador, Dr. Biolek will speak out for the rights of young people to receive adequate reproductive health care, as well as the information and services they need to avoid HIV/AIDS and unwanted pregnancies. He will work with the Face to Face Campaign Partner in Germany, the German Foundation for World Population, widely known by its abbreviation, DSW (Deutsche Stiftung Weltbevoelkerung). He intends to mobilize politicians, the media and other decision-makers, to help generate more funds for development projects.

Dr. Biolek's first function as UNFPA Goodwill Ambassador will be to advocate for international development assistance on Germany's biggest television program, "Wetten dass?" which has an average audience of 10 million viewers.

Dr. Biolek also plans to travel to South Africa with DSW to see population and development problems firsthand and talk to leaders in the developing world, and back home in Germany, about the need to act.

The United Nations marked World AIDS Day on 1 December with a town hall meeting moderated by Riz Kahn of CNN International on the theme of "AIDS: Men Make A Difference."

Wendy Fitzwilliam, Miss Universe 1998, a Face to Face Campaign Spokesperson and UNAIDS Goodwill Ambassador, was one of 20 featured participants from around the world at the daylong event. Among the other participants were Harri Holkeri, the President of the General Assembly; Louise Frechette, Deputy Secretary General of the United Nations; Dr. Nafis Sadik, Executive Director of UNFPA; Carol Bellamy, Executive Director of UNICEF; and five representatives of Lovelife, South Africa's innovative national HIV-prevention program.

UNFPA commissioned Face to Face International and the MORI Social Research Institute to conduct a follow-up poll (to a similiar poll they conducted in 1997) in 13 Western European countries to measure public opinion on major national and international issues, including development and population issues, and to seek to determine whether and how those opinions had changed over the past three years.

The poll will be conducted during the first quarter of 2001 and will consist of approximately 1000 face to face interviews in each country. A report on Western Europe and on each country will be produced. The poll results will be released from UNFPA headquarters and by Face to Face Campaign Partners in each concerned European capital, most likely in mid-June 2001. The results will be used to focus local and international attention to reproductive health and family planning, HIV/AIDS, the empowerment of women, and the health needs of adolescents. The presentation of poll results should also indicate what the public and the government in each polled Western Eurpoean country can and should do to strenghten support for meeting the goals and objectives of the ICPD Programme of Action.

The findings of the first poll--released in 1996--provided objective information that was of considerable value to UNFPA and the Face to Face Campaign's 20 European NGO partners in crafting strategies and messages for their advocacy materials and events. The new poll will repeat most of the questions of the original poll for baseline purposes and in order to help Face to Face Campaign Partners determine how future advocacy activities should be planned and carried out to have the maximum impact on public opinion and policy makers.

Recently appointed UNFPA Goodwill Ambassador and Face to Face Campaign Spokesperson, Lara Dutta will travel to West Bengal and Bihar in late January 2001 to visit a number of reproductive health care project sites.

Interacting with clients, health care workers, community women, NGOs and local government authorities, Lara will encourage young women to utilize available sexual education and reproductive health services and to speak out concerning their rights and unmet needs.

Addressing local and national officials through the media and face to face, Lara will champion the importance of the full development--through education, good health and opportunity--of each adolescent girl and young woman's potential.

Lara will be accompanied by Face to Face Campaign Manager Walter Coddington, Alvaro Searano of UNFPA's TV documentary group and a reporter from The Times of India. The Times of India is India's number one--and the world's number two--general English newspaper.

The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) welcomed news in November that the Netherlands would make $39 million and the United Kingdom nearly $37 million in supplemental earmarked contributions to UNFPA for 2000 to avert a shortage crisis in contraceptive and other reproductive health supplies in developing countries.

The total contribution, around $76 million, will be used to purchase male and female condoms, other methods of contraception, obstetric and gynecological equipment, and drugs for the treatment of STDs in the world's poorest countries.

The contribution is a gratifying response to UNFPA's advocacy efforts throughout 2000, which repeatedly called attention to and documented a marked shortage of commodities, including contraceptives, during 1999 and 2000 in almost all developing countries and countries in transition. UNFPA, the world's leading supplier of contraceptives to developing countries, and other organizations had to reduce support in this critical area due to lack of funding. At the same time, demand for effective contraception and protection against HIV infection has increased. In the countries most affected by HIV/AIDS, growth in demand for condoms has far exceeded earlier estimates.

Every $1 million shortfall in contraceptive commodities is likely to result in approximately 360,000 unwanted pregnancies, 150,000 abortions, more than 800 maternal deaths and 11,000 infant deaths.

Dr. Nafis Sadik, Executive Director of UNFPA said, "As a direct result of the large, timely contributions of the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, there will be fewer unwanted pregnancies, fewer abortions and fewer maternal deaths in developing countries, and a reduction in the transmission of sexually transmitted diseases and HIV/AIDS."

Face to Face International would like to recognize another corporate friend of the Face to Face Campaign: Haskell New York, Inc. Haskell New York is a full-service office supply, advertising specialty and printing products provider based in New York since 1928. Haskell New York has donated the printing of this month's newsletter.

Over the last year, Haskell New York has helped make office management at Face to Face International a more streamlined and cost efficient process by linking us up to their Web ordering system "Rosy and Mike", which is an office products ordering, management and valuation tool that also allows customers to earn frequent buyer credits on future purchases. Contact: info@rosyandmike.com, or visit: www.rosyandmike.com.

IPPF European Network (IPPF EN) used the opportunity of Dr. Sadik's last official visit to Brussels on 20 November 2000 to organize a farewell dinner in her honor. IPPF EN and guests attending the dinner paid tribute to Dr. Sadik's commitment and achievements in improving the the lives of so many women and men around the world. Guests included the European Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid, Poul Nielson; the Belgian State Secretary for Development Cooperation, Eddy Boutmans; the Danish MEP and President of the Parliamentarian Working Group on Population, Sustainable Development and Reproductive Health, Ulla Sandbaek; and UNFPA Goodwill Ambassador and Face to Face Campaign Spokesperson for Belgium, Goedele Liekens. After honoring Dr. Sadik, Ms. Liekens showed the first part of her new film comparing her own pregancy to that of a Tanzanian woman. The film, "Birth of a Mother", is being produced for the joint UNFPA/IPPF Face to Face Campaign in Belgium, with partial financial support from the Belgian Federal Government. IPPF was represented by IPPF EN Advocacy Manager, Vicky Claeys, who welcomed the guests and spoke on behalf of IPPF Director-General, Ingar Bruegemann, and IPPF EN Regional Director, Lyn Thomas.