PORTUGAL

POPULATION AND REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH ASSISTANCE
OVERALL ASSESSMENT

Portugal is not fulfilling its potential as a donor to international population programs, as evidenced by its low and static contributions to UNFPA throughout the 1990s. Even as one of the least wealthy donor countries, Portugal could afford to increase its contributions to UNFPA and to make a small contribution to IPPF. Portuguese observers report no specific obstacles to increased contributions for population programs, but point to the need for expanded advocacy efforts to change the government’s development policy and financial allocations. A recent NGO initiative to raise awareness of international reproductive health issues among parliamentarians is a positive step towards increasing attention to needs in this area.

1 Development Assistance: Policy and Funding

Portugal is a small and relatively new donor whose development assistance program focuses on Portuguese-speaking nations in Africa. Portugal has one of the smallest economies and the lowest GNP per capita among the donor countries. Its small development assistance program is highly concentrated in its former colonies in Africa, where it has strong historical and cultural ties. In recent years, the government has extended its aid program to other countries, but the bulk of funds are still channeled to Angola, Cape Verde, Guinea Bissau, Mozambique, and Sao Tome and Principe.

Portugal’s aid program allocations remain far short of the UN goal of 0.7 percent of GNP. In 1997, Portugal’s total development assistance amounted to $251 million, which represented 0.25 percent of GNP. Portugal’s aid to GNP ratio has dropped in recent years, after peaking in 1992 at 0.35 percent. Portuguese officials cite 0.36 percent of GNP as a goal, but it is unclear whether this level is achievable given recent downward trends.

The aid program is administered through several different governmental departments and ministries, including the departments of education and health. Priority sectors for the aid program include economic policy reform and debt restructuring. Historically Portugal has devoted a very high percentage of total development assistance to debt relief in Portuguese-speaking Africa.

Technical projects focus on the areas of environmental management and hospital-based health services. Portugal also funds the training of students and professionals from Africa through university-level education programs. Staffing of the development assistance program is generally considered adequate, although there is a lack of expertise in specific technical areas like poverty and gender.

2 The Policy Environment for International Population Assistance

The Portuguese government has not responded in clearly identifiable ways to the Cairo conference on population and development. Although the Ministry of Health has expanded its working definition of reproductive health to include maternal and child health and AIDS in addition to family planning, these changes have not translated into increases in funding levels or new programs.

The political environment does not appear to be an obstacle to increasing population assistance levels. Public opinion surveys on support for overall development aid are very positive, with over 90 percent of the public supporting foreign assistance. Portugal’s Family Planning Association (FPA) has recently initiated advocacy activities to strengthen political support for the ICPD agenda in Portugal. These activities include a 1998 conference called Cairo Plus Three to raise awareness of reproductive health needs among parliamentarians and government officials. The FPA has received additional funding from UNFPA to conduct public education activities relating to reproductive health.

3 Trends in Funding for Population Assistance

Overall and Multilateral Funding Levels:

Portugal’s reporting on population assistance has been erratic, so trends are difficult to assess. Portugal reported population assistance expenditures to UNFPA for the first time in 1994, when it provided $59,000, and again in 1996 when it reported $249,000. This latter figure includes a $25,000 core contribution to UNFPA in 1996. In 1997 and 1998 Portugal doubled its contribution to UNFPA to $50,000–still a tiny percentage of the roughly $7 million Portugal contributes in total to the UN system, and of its total aid program of over $250 million.

Bilateral Funding and Program Priorities:

Portugal’s small bilateral population program emphasizes training, AIDS prevention and medical services. In 1996, Portugal reported spending approximately $212,000 bilaterally in population-related programs. Since the late 1980s, Portugal has conducted a training of trainers program for family planning workers from Portuguese-speaking African countries. These programs were expanded in recent years to include AIDS prevention. Some Portuguese medical assistance programs also address reproductive health needs. For example, in Mozambique, Portugal has provided medical personnel to staff six rural health centers providing maternity care and to train local staff.

Funding for NGOs:

Portugal does not contribute to IPPF, the major international NGO in the reproductive health field. Government funding of projects initiated by national NGOs is in its infancy, as NGOs are still exploring how to successfully access development assistance funds for reproductive health projects.

4 Technical Capacity

Owing to the current low level of programming in reproductive health, Portuguese aid officials do not perceive a need for additional specialized staff in this area. At the present time, Portugal’s limited bilateral reproductive health program is administered through two divisions of the Ministry of Health: the Division of Maternal and Infant Care and Adolescence and the National Committee Against AIDS. Overseas field personnel funded through the bilateral program are mostly medical professionals who provide clinical services in recipient countries.

Collaboration between the government and NGOs in the reproductive health field is in a nascent phase and has thus far been limited to advocacy activities. The Portuguese FPA is expanding its role in international cooperation and advocacy, and has proposed visits by parliamentarians to Portuguese-speaking African countries to explore reproductive health needs. There is clearly potential for further collaboration in population policy and program development between the government and the FPA.