All of Us: Births and a Better Life--Population, Development and Environment in a Globalized World.

Edited by Jack Freeman and Pranay Gupte

Earth Times Books. 1999. 480 pp.

Holding this hefty 500-page publication in one's hand, one might wonder: "Are there no limits to a theme like development?" The subtitle, Births and a Better Life--Population, Development and Environment in a Globalized World, suggests awide coverage of these issues. That impression is confirmed by Nafis Sadik, Executive Director of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), as she writes in the foreword that the "editors have tried to be as inclusive as possible concerning the vast universe of sustainable development". This inclusive editorial policy has led to an anthology of 92 articles, divided into nine sections. But there is no need to worry, because this is not as overwhelming as it may seem. The contributions have on average a maximum length of four to five pages, and most of them are written in a constructive, easy-to-read style.

In "Women still have a long way to go," the reader is introduced to Sambaa, a Mongolian hairdresser who receives interest-free loans under a poverty alleviation programme. The reader also learns about 24year-old Humberto, a medical student handing out condoms to adolescents in Mexico City as a volunteer for a non-governmental organization.

Morris B. Abram. Chairman of UN Watch in Geneva, gives a general, though interesting, introduction to how his division is monitoring human rights". The continuous web of related articles works surprisingly well in the adaptation from articles in a newspaper to the appearance in this anthology.

The part dealing with the 1994 Cairo Conference gives a good insight into the events and issues of that time. Jyoti Shankar Singh explains: "The Cairo Conference broke the taboo on open and frank discussion of sex-related topics at intergovernmental forums.

The Chairman of the Cairo Conference writes on the key action programme that it "was a happy end for a long, protracted delivery, but both the mother and the baby were safe and healthy". Luckily, the contributions are not basically concerned with the mother, namely the diplomatic processes, but rather with the baby, the outcome of the Conference and the results achieved from it.

Truly, "All of Us" covers a broad field of interrelating topics. But as most of the articles are brief and consistent, they would be likely to appeal to a broad readership. The contributions are full of enthusiasm, and the topics are treated with respect and concern.

Population Ageing 1999

The Population Division of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs issued at Headquarters on 29 June the first United Nations wall chart on population ageing. Titled Population Ageing 1999, it provides the most upto-date and comprehensive information available on population ageing at the global, regional, subregional and national levels.

One of every ten persons is now aged 60 years or older. By 2050, the United Nations projects that one of every five persons will be aged 60 years or older. By 2150, it will be one of every three. The number of persons in this age group is now nearly 600 million. It is projected to grow to almost 2 billion by 2050 when the population of older persons will outnumber that of children (0-14 years).

The wall chart includes the number and percentage of older persons, the life expectancy at age 60, the percentage of the older population currently married, the potential support ratio, the statutory retirement age and the percentage of the older population in the labour force. It was produced by the Population Division as part of its ongoing work on the demographic, economic and social aspects of population ageing and as a contribution to the International Year of Older Persons 1999.

The Global Population Challenge: Five Years from Cairo

United Nations Radio has produced a special series of radio programmes on population issues on compact disk (CD). The series, which highlights the progress made since the International Conference on Population and Development (Cairo, 1994), is the first radio programme produced by United Nations Radio on CD.

Entitled "The Global Population Challenge: Five Years from Cairo", the series comprises 12 features on issues such as the impact of the Cairo Conference, teen pregnancy, HIV/AIDS, sex education, maternal mortality, domestic violence, adolescent sexuality, sex education and female genital mutilation. The CD has been distributed to more than 500 broadcasters around the world.

United Nations Radio produces daily news and weekly feature/magazine programmes in 15 languages, as well as special series on a variety of subjects such as breast cancer, the law of the sea, domestic violence, indigenous peoples and the child sex trade. These programmes are free of charge and distributed to more than 2,000 broadcasters in more than 180 countries.