The main emphasis of the Foundation's current work in population is on enhancing the capacity of developing countries to improve the reproductive health of their citizens. Activities focus on the social, cultural, and economic factors that influence reproductive health, with special attention to the needs and concerns of disadvantaged women, in both rural and urban areas, throughout their reproductive life cycle. The approach is comprehensive and includes ensuring access to high-quality family-planning services; preventing problems of pregnancy-related disability and death; promoting children's healthy development; and controlling sexually transmitted diseases, including aids. The Foundation also supports projects targeted to the particular needs of adolescents.

In pursuit of these goals, the Foundation's Board of Trustees at the end of fiscal 1990 approved a reorganization of the Population program that makes reproductive health its centerpiece. The reorganized program encompasses work in three interrelated areas. The first is social science research and training to expand knowledge about the socioeconomic and cultural issues affecting reproductive health. The second area, which recognizes women's key role in decisions about reproduction, seeks to help women articulate their reproductive health needs both within the family and at the community and policy levels. Grants support community-based reproductive health projects, the development of models of reproductive health care focused on women, and education about reproductive health and rights. The third area seeks to promote broad public discussion aimed at developing ethical and legal frameworks for reproductive health appropriate to the culture and traditions of different societies. Grants support research on the extent and consequences of reproductive health problems and assist efforts to promote more informed public discussion of reproductive health policies and ways to improve them.

Work in the first area, social science research and training, is just getting under way. It will be more fully developed over the next two years. In the other two areas, several grants were made during the year as part of preparations to reorganize the program.

In the second area, for example, grants totaling some $1.1 million were made to the International Women's Health Coalition (iwhc) to increase women's access to quality reproductive health care in the developing world and to strengthen their voices on matters related to reproductive health and rights. With one of the grants, the iwhc is assisting the Bangladesh Women's Health Coalition (bwhc) and the Bangladesh Association for the Prevention of Septic Abortion in planning future research. iwhc is also helping bwhc train staff and evaluate the quality and management of its service delivery. With another grant iwhc is providing technical assistance to help reproductive health-care services in Indonesia improve staff training, medical counseling, and data collection and analysis. In addition, the iwhc will use Foundation funds to continue its efforts to educate American women, health professionals, and U.S. policy makers about the extraordinary difficulties