Canadian aid emphasises population control.

Ottawa--On September 5, Canadian Cooperation Minister Minna, unveiled a $2.8 billion five-year plan to promote population control, abortion (under the terminology of reproductive health services), abortifacient contraception, homosexuality sex education targeted at poor nations. The program purports to address "four key areas of social development in developing countries, namely, "health and nutrition, basic education, HIV/AIDS, and child protection."

Backgrounders supplied with the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) press release on the subject indicate that, by "health", the government means primarily "reproductive health", which includes abortion, sterilization and contraceptive services. The reason for such heavy emphasis on "reproductive health" is clearly laid out in the background info on health: "Experts believe that family planning practices would probably bring more benefits to more people at a lower cost than any other single health initiative currently available."

Even the goal of providing "basic education" is motivated by population control. The government's own background information papers on providing "basic education" state the rationale: "While high-quality basic education is important for everyone, supporting girls' education is the single highest-yielding investment that a developing country can make. Studies show that girls who are educated marry later, have fewer children."

Under the heading of AIDS, CIDA is again donating to "reproductive health." The AIDS backgrounder says, "CIDA is supporting several major programs that work with community groups and local organizations to reach vulnerable groups most at risk. They provide community reproductive health services and condoms, and help slow the spread of HIV infection through training, education and peer counselling."

As if the $2.8 billion were not enough, yesterday Minna announced another "$5 million contribution over five years to improve access to reproductive and health services for youth and adolescents in Bangladesh."