[Dental cellulitis in children. Realities and perspectives in Senegal]. / Les cellulites d'origine dentaire chez l'enfant. Réalités et perspectives au Sénégal.

Cellulitises originated from teeth are frequent in developing countries. Theyare noted as well as in child as in adult. In child, causal tooth may be primary or permanent. In a prospective trial carried at Hôpital d'Enfants Albert Royer CHU-Fann, where we studied the frequency of cellulitises among the children, the main patterns of dental affections and the causal teeth involved and, in the same way, the management and prevention of these diseases in child. We noted that: 56.52% of the cases of cellulitises recorded interest the child of pediatric dentistry age and that 87.5% of the cellulitises cases are due to a primary tooth (primary molar overall) and first permanent molar necrosis. Management and prevention of cellulitises are based on: the respect of the therapeutic protocol, dental hygiene education and systematization of setting of dental caries preventive clinical procedures like SEALANTS and stainless steel crowns as well as in primaryand permanent dentition with as main target the primary molars and the first permanent molar or 6 years age tooth.

[Young people at the end of the century. The specter of unemployment, the torments of the street]. / Jeunes d'une fin de siecle. La hantise de l'emploi, les affres de la rue.

PIP: The age boundaries of youth are often unclear. Not everyone defines these boundaries in the same manner, especially since it is a question of knowing at what age youth begins and ends. Demographers consider this population to be younger or older than 15 years. Many researchers consider youth to be aged between 12 and 30 years. The UN Convention on the Rights of Children and the African Charter of the Rights and Welfare of Children define youth as beginning where childhood ends, at age 18. When France wanted to consult its youth about their future, it chose the age range of 15-25 years. Everyone considers youth the majority of the population in Africa, especially in sub-Saharan countries. Youth represent up to 50% of the entire population. Everyone equally agrees to recognize that this majority is the most disadvantaged group in society. Their needs are great. The dangers that threaten them are many and serious. From drugs to wandering, from adolescent and illegitimate pregnancy to delinquency, from illiteracy to unemployment, youth have every opportunity to make a mistake before adulthood and to compromise their life. Youth live in crisis; they know only crisis, that is, economic crisis, social crisis, family crisis, crisis of values, and crisis of morals. Youth are distressed and in disarray. They are on the edge of despondency. What to do, then, at the dawning of a century which risks accentuating all forms of exclusion and marginalization? As a leading Sahelian said, the problem of youth is somewhat integrated with the problem of development. Youth constitute the future of all nations. Actual policies, be they national or international, have demonstrated their limits. It is necessary to change them. The 21st century cannot accept less. And the youth are worth it.^ieng

[The African Charter on the Rights of the Child. The member states of the Organization of African Unity must ratify without further delay]. / La Charte africaine des droits de l'enfant. Les etats membres de l'OUA doivent ratifier sans plus attendre.

PIP: In July 1990, the Organization of African Unity (OUA) adopted the African Charter of the Rights and Welfare of the Child. It includes a Preamble, two relative parts on the Rights and Respects of the Child, and 47 articles. It defines "child" as a complete human being less than 18 years old. It recognizes the child's unique and privileged place in African society and that African children need protection and special care. It also recognizes that the child has freedom of expression, association, peaceful assembly, thought, religion, and conscience. It aims to protect the private life of the child and safeguard the child against all forms of economic exploitation and against work that is hazardous, interferes with the child's education, or compromises his/her health or physical, social, mental, spiritual, and moral development. It also calls for protection against abuse and bad treatment, negative social and cultural practices, all forms of exploitation or sexual abuse, and illegal drug use. It also aims to prevent the sale, trading, kidnapping, and begging of children. It calls for the creation of an African expert committee on the rights and well-being of the child. Its mission is to promote and protect the rights consecrated by the Charter, to practice applying these rights, and to interpret the disposition of the Charter as required of party states, OUA institutions, or all other institutions recognized by OUA or by a member state. The Charter goes into effect 30 days after OUA or 15 member states ratify it. As of August 24, 1994, only four states had ratified it. Member states have taken it upon themselves to take all necessary measures to adopt the Charter. The delay of African states in this affair is incomprehensible. Eleven years separate the adoption of the Declaration on the Rights and Welfare of the African Child and this Charter. Must the African child wait as long to see the Charter become law?^ieng

[CERPOD-SARA cooperation: a research project on adolescent fertility]. / Cooperation CERPOD-SARA: un projet de recherche sur la fecondite des adolescentes.

PIP: The population of the Sahel will increase two-fold if the 3.1% annual growth rate continues. High fertility (6.5) accounts for most of this growth. Little is known about the fertility of adolescents and young single women who are the most numerous age group. Various national and global surveys until now, such as the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS), have provided little information on the fertility and sexual activity of adolescents. Adolescent fertility is a preoccupying phenomenon in the Sahel. In Gambia, it makes up 15% of all fertility. In April 1994, the Center for Studies and Research on Population for Development and USAID's Analysis and Research Support for Africa Project agreed to study the trends and determinants of modern contraception and reproductive health behavior among adolescents and young single women in the Sahel. The central question they hope this study will answer is: What are the barriers to access to family planning services? Some specific objectives are estimating the proportion of sexually active adolescents and young single women, determining their contraceptive use, and identifying socioeconomic and cultural characteristics of females whose needs are not met by existing family planning programs. The methodologies are an intensive analysis of existing demographic data (e.g., DHS) and data collection and analysis of qualitative data. About 30 focus groups with adolescents, parents, family planning managers, family planning providers, and religious leaders will be conducted to thoroughly examine questions concerning barriers to contraceptive use. Quantitative research will take place in Gambia, Mauritania, and Senegal. Qualitative research will take place in Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, and, maybe, Senegal. The results will be used by managers of family planning service programs and family planning education programs.^ieng

[Population variables as fundamental in development planning]. / L'aspect population est fundamental dans la planification du developpement

PIP: This article summarizes the major points extracted from an interview with the Head of the Population Division at the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) regarding the problems of integrating population variables with the socioeconomic development of developing countries. 1) The Kilimanjaro Program of Action remains the basic framework that ECA uses as a reference point in matters pertaining to population; 2) Regarding the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund's structural adjustment policies (SAP's), ECA's position is one which stresses the need to ensure that the social aspects of SAP's are met in the short term such as the needs of the aged, women and children; however, population problems are long-term and require long-term solutions; 3) During the past 15-20 years population issues have not been properly integrated in the short-term solutions to development problems; ECA encourages governments to integrate demographic variables and population issues in their development plans to achieve long-term solutions; however, the short-term obstacles include infant mortality, infectious diseases and the debt crisis; 4) ECA has proposed an African Alternative SAP (AASAP) to highlight the existence of social problems and the multiple variables affecting the African countries; the AASAP also encourages regional cooperation to strengthen the negotiating position to obtain more resources that with effective management systems can improve the conditions of individual countries; 5) family planning and contraception remain integral components of a population policy and it is important that governments recognize the need to fight against infant and maternal mortality. Family planning encompasses much more than contraception.^ieng

[It is necessary to control fertility in order to attain our objectives]. / Il est necessaire de maitriser la fecondite afin d'atteindre nos objectifs.

PIP: An interview with the Director of Human Resources in Senegal's Ministry of Planning and Cooperation provided information on the implementation to date of Senegal's national population policy enunciated in April 1988. Senegal's major population problems include its very young age structure, uneven spatial distribution, and rapid natural increase estimated at 2.7% annually. Senegal's high fertility rate is of concern because of its influence on maternal and child health, its impact on economic growth, and its implications for achieving the objectives of the national population policy. The strategy of the national population policy is to respect the rights and traditions of the population but to provide information and education on population to make people aware of its role. Birth spacing is not an unknown concept in Senegalese tradition, and neither Islam nor Christianity is in principle against family planning. It is no longer certain that children in rural areas provide needed manpower or old age support. New aspirations, increased monetization of the economy, increased communication, and the influence of modernization in general have probably influenced the perception of children's roles in rural areas. A program of action with some 20 priority projects in the area of population is currently under development in Senegal.^ieng