JAMAICA has made significant improvements in mortality, education and reproductive health, according in the 2004 State of the World Population Report, launched in Kingston yesterday by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).

The report addressed the commitments made at the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development in Cairo by 179 countries. Based on a country by country survey "nearly all the developing countries surveyed report they have incorporated population concerns in their development and poverty-reduction strategies", the report said.

"We have been able to translate the commitment in Cairo into policies designed to transform the lives of our people, in particular, our women," said K D Knight, the foreign minister.

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