Reproductive health statistics reflect pernicious legacy of Chornobyl nuclear disaster (04/23/00)

Reproductive health statistics reflect pernicious legacy of Chornobyl nuclear disaster

by Irene Jarosewich

SHORT HILLS, N.J. - "Though 14 years have passed since Chornobyl, it is not in the past, it is with us - it is in the data," stated Dr. Olesya Hulchiy, professor in the department of health at the Medical University of Kyiv and a member of a delegation from Ukraine that included the head of the National Council for Women, Dr. Iryna Holubiova, who is also the vice-chairman of the State Committee for Youth Affairs, Sports and Tourism, and Roksolana Ivanchenko, a representative from the Department of International Organizations at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The delegation was in New York the week of March 3 for preparatory meetings at the United Nations for the international women's conference, "Beijing Plus Five," to be held in Helsinki during July. At the invitation of the Children of Chornobyl Relief Fund, the delegation spoke before members of the Ukrainian American community on March 10 at the home of Dr. Zenon and Nadia Matkiwsky, members of the foundation's board of directors.

In her presentation, Dr. Hulchiy spoke at length about the distressing health statistics in Ukraine. She stated that the causes for health problems are numerous, including environmental, economic and personal lifestyle choices. Yet, as the 14th anniversary of Chornobyl approaches, she explained that the effect of Chornobyl is evident in the reproductive health statistics, and more specifically, in the statistics tracking endocrine health.

According to Dr. Hulchiy, reproductive health is particularly vulnerable to the effects of the environment, especially the long-term aftermath of radiation fallout. According to several recently completed studies done under the auspices of the World Health Organization, only 6 percent of newborns are born healthy in Ukraine. Almost one in three infants is born with congenital abnormalities.

In a country where almost all women have children before the age of 30, approximately half of all pregnant women are ill - almost half of those with anemia, 36 percent with endocrine disorders and 12 percent with pelvic inflammatory disease. In 1993, 75 percent of all deliveries were normal, in 1998 the number fell to 25 percent. In particular Ukraine's youth has been particularly hard hit: approximately 700,000 adolescents have been diagnosed as suffering from chronic illnesses. In the areas most affected by Chornobyl fallout, between 10 and 12 percent of 3-year-olds suffer from some type of endocrine disorder. Dr. Hulchiy predicts that three generations will suffer from the effects of radiation in Ukraine.

Currently there is a demographic imbalance in Ukraine as ortality rates have exceeded birth rates. Whereas the country's population five years ago was almost 52 million people, recent figures put the population at 50.4 million - 1.5 million fewer people in half a decade.

Dr. Hulchiy praised the efforts of public education campaigns to reduce the rate of abortions, noting that in 1996 there were 30,000 abortions performed, by 1998 the figure had dropped to 12,000. However, she added, one of the primary reasons for female infertility is the very high rate of abortion, "abortion is still the main method of family planning in our country." Though the rates have dropped in the past several years, the cumulative effect of several decades means that hundreds of thousands of women have had abortions.

The effects of Chornobyl remain the main reason for male infertility [Ukraine has the highest population of Chornobyl clean-up workers of all the republics of the former Soviet Union - Ed.], with male infertility reported at 11 percent in the republic, and higher in the areas of Chornobyl's fallout.

During her presentation Dr. Holubiova stated that she oversees programs that provide shelter and care for homeless children - children who were abandoned or ran away, as well as those for whom parents can no longer care, an increasing problem in Ukraine and a consequence of the ongoing economic crisis. Poverty, family violence, alcoholism and drug abuse resulting from despair have risen in Ukraine, which has a profoundly negative effect on family life. There are now close to 200 orphanages and group foster homes for children throughout the country.

Dr. Holubiova also noted that in Ukraine there are approximately 700 women's organizations: 30 of these are nationwide in scope. The groups deal with a broad spectrum of issues - cultural development, financial assistance, maternal and infant health, employment, legal rights, wife and child abuse, trafficking in women, education and job training.

Ms. Ivanchenko spoke briefly about the importance that the Foreign Affairs Ministry has placed on maintaining contacts with key international organizations and NGOs, emphasizing those that focus on human rights. She noted that Ukrainian women benefit greatly from the networking that results from international conferences such as the one in Beijing in 1995 and the upcoming conference in Helsinki. In particular, she praised the efforts of First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton and her high-profile efforts to draw attention to Ukraine and to women's issue around the globe.

All the speakers emphasized the necessity of continued dialogue with the West, for contacts, exposure and information. Dr. Hulchiy, who received training in the United States in 1996 in a program organized by the CCRF, emphasized that no effort is too small and that small, focused efforts, such as direct assistance to a hospital or medical center, bring concrete results. She noted that she feels that a top priority must be to reduce the number of problems suffered by pregnant women.

The upcoming conference in Helsinki, which all three women plan to attend, will review the progress that has been made in issues pertaining to women that were identified during the United Nations international women's conference held in Beijing.

According to Olya Stawnychy, representative of the World Federation of Ukrainian Women's Organizations at the United Nations, who helped coordinate the meeting between the community and the delegation from Ukraine, among the key issues that will be discussed at the international women's conference in July is women's and children's health care, including the effects of environmental degradation, such as Chornobyl; trafficking in women; and women's employment and job training - all issues that affect Ukrainian women directly.

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