POPULATION AND FAMILY PLANNING

PROJECT, INITIATED IN 1968, HAS BEEN THE KEY EFFORT IN THE MANAGEMENT OF EXTERNAL ASSISTANCE TO COLOMBIA"S PRIVATE SECTOR POPULATION PROGRAMS. ALTHOUGH PROGRAM RESOURCES DERIVED FROM A VARIETY OF DONORS, A LARGE NUMBER HAD THEIR ORIGIN IN US CONTRIBUTIONS FUNNELED TO COLOMBIA THROUGH AID/W CONTRACTS AND CONTRIBUTIONS TO INTERNATIONAL AND MULTILATERAL INSTITUTIONS. CRUDE BIRTH RATE IN COLOMBIA REDUCED FROM 36/1000 TO 30/1000 BETWEEN 1974 AND 1977; FERTILITY RATE HAS DECLINED FROM 193 BIRTHS PER 1000 WOMEN OF FERTILE AGE IN 1964 TO 120 IN 1977. AT END OF 1976, APPROXIMATELY 80% OF COLOMBIAN WOMEN WERE AWARE OF FAMILY PLANNING. OVERALL APPRAISAL OF PROJECT FAVORABLE, ALTHOUGH TIGHTER MISSION MANAGEMENT AND MORE RELEVENT OUTPUTS MIGHT HAVE RESULTED FROM MORE PRECISE STATEMENTS OF GOAL, PURPOSE, AND OUTPUTS.