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The Irish and Reproductive Health Research
Half the Irish public believe that their Government should help fund
contraceptive and family planning advice. The same level also agree with the
provision of sex education in schools.Half the Irish public believe that their Government should help fund
contraceptive and family planning advice. The same level also agree with the
provision of sex education in schools. This is according to the findings of
the new MORI/United Nations Population Fund (UNPF) and a study just released
by the Irish Family Planning Association (IFPA).In addition, the data shows that 49% of Irish agree that the IrishGovernment should help fund advice programmes on how to avoid sexuallytransmitted diseases. The IFPA welcomed the high awareness levels amongIrish people of the HIV/AIDS crisis in developing countries. The studyactually reveals that the Irish public identified HIV/AIDS as one of themost important issues facing developing countries. One in four of the Irishpublic spontaneously mentioned HIV/AIDS when asked about the most importantissues facing the world, compared with one in five in Europe.Since the first MORI/UNFPA report on Irish perceptions of population issuesin 1996, there has been a significant increase in the level of support amongthe public for sex education programmes in Irish schools. This support rosefrom 66% in 1996 to 71% in the latest study. Out of the 13 countries inwhich the MORI/UNFPA study was carried out, Ireland's support for sexeducation is only surpassed by Sweden, where 78% of the public favour suchprogrammes in schools.Commenting on the study, Tony O'Brien of the IFPA, said "While thelevel of commitment shown by the current administration to reproductivehealth care in the developing world has been appalling, there is a strongbelief among the Irish public that the Government should help fundcontraceptive and family planning advice in poorer countries. Half of thepublic support expenditure on sex education programmes and advice on how toavoid sexually transmitted disease in the developing world."He continued, "Despite the rising death toll in developing countriesfrom reproductive related causes, including HIV and AIDS, the IrishGovernment's commitment towards funding and promoting reproductive healthprogrammes in the developing world is abysmal. In fact, we have one of theworst records of funding such programmes among donor countries."The survey was conducted for the United Nations Population Fund by MORI inthirteen countries this February and March. A sample of 1,084 adults wasinterviewed across 60 sampling points, with all interviews conductedface-to-face in-home.
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