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Asia and the Pacific Consultation on Maternal Health and Rights
Parliamentarians Commit to Country-Level
Action on Maternal Health and Rights |
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Role of Parliamentarians
Dr Huque cautioned that no meaningful
development can occur in countries
where women are not empowered and
are discriminated simply because of their
gender.
Despite progress made made the region still has many countries where a high
number of women and new born still die in
pregnancy and child birth. “This prevailing
ignorance of human rights,” said Dr Huque, “has limited immense opportunity to enjoy
optimal health. He stressed that political
will, policy formulations, programme
development and increased budget
allocation are still much needed.
The role
of Parliamentarians, policy makers and
the media are essential in this process,
as more and more parliamentarians and
religious community leaders speak up for
women’s health. |
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Dr Sugiri Syarief of BKKBN Indonesia
believed that women elsewhere including
in Indonesia need not die during child
birth. “We cannot just sit back and watch
our women continue to die so needless
in pregnancy and child birth,” he stated.
He shared Indonesia’s experience in using
four strategies to improve maternal health:
improve access and the scope of cost
effective quality maternal and new born
health care based on evidence and data;
build effective partnership through cross
sector cooperation; empower women,
family and community through knowledge
improvement to ensure healthy behaviour;
and enhance programme management
through surveillance monitoring, evolution
and financing system. |
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Unmet Needs in Maternal Health
Bali--The Asia and the Pacific sadly
contributes to 44% of the world’s maternal
deaths. Of these 35% are in South Asia.
Several reports on progress to achieving
the MDGs in Asia and the Pacific have
highlighted the fact that it is unlikely that
the region will reach MDG 5 targets by
2015. Many women in these parts of the
world go through a pregnancy uncertain
of whether they will survive childbirth,
which should be a time of joy.
Yet, the interventions to prevent needless
deaths during pregnancy and childbirth
are well known –maternal mortality and
morbidity is preventable. Nevertheless,
many women continue to die due to poor
access to quality maternal health services.
It is well known that high maternal
mortality is an indicator of weak health
systems unable to deliver necessary and
critical services. The marginalized and
excluded suffer disproportionately from
higher rates of maternal mortality and
morbidity, with financial barriers limiting
access to life-saving services.
Governments in the region have made
efforts to reduce the financial barriers to
enable poor women to access services as
well as to life saving services, but overall
allocations for maternal health still remain
low. |
Persistent gender inequality is also
an important factor in limiting women’s
access to the information and services
that will save their lives.
There has been increasing recognition
globally that maternal mortality and
morbidity is a human rights issue, most obviously the right to the highest
attainable standard of health – in
particular. Therefore, AFPPD joined hands with UNFPA Asia-Pacific Regional Office
(APRO) in Bangkok, with support from
the Government of Japan, to organize
an Asia-Pacific Consultation on Maternal
Health and Rights with members of
parliament, NGOs, UNFPA country office
staff, journalists and experts from WHO
and the Asian Development Bank. The
consultation was held in Bali, Indonesia
from 13-15 August and attended by over
90 people.
The consultation was opened by Ms
Nobuko Horibe, Director of the UNFPAAPRO
and was addressed by Mr Sugiri
Syarief, Director-General of the National
Family Planning Coordinating Board of
Indonesia (BKKBN); Dr Pinit Kullavanijaya,
Senator of Thailand and Secretary-General
of AFPPD; and Dr Zahidul Huque, UNFPA
Representative in Indonesia. |
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In her opening address, Ms Nobuko Horibe, Director of UNFPA Asia and the Pacific Regional Office, emphasised that the health status of mothers strongly links with the well being of their children and their families and their communities, so failure to address maternal deaths would cost communities dearly. “Ensuring women’s health when coupled with education and various types of empowerment,” she stated, “would enable them to be a part of the development forces.”
Care, Contraceptives and Education
Ms Horibe said that to ensure better health outcomes for women, there needs to be accessible and quality maternal care, available contraceptives, |
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Healthy and Empowered Women
Contribute to Development |
| ~ Ms Nobuko Horibe, Director,
UNFPA Asia and the Pacific Regional Office |
and education and empowerment of women and girls.
“Women with planned pregnancies,” she said, “will likely have a better health outcome for herself and for her new born baby,” whereas contraception “prevents 20-35% of maternal deaths. When women are educated and empowered, she stated, “they can focus on they own development and career and when they decide to get married they can negotiate when to get pregnant and give optimal attention in resources to their children including for they health and education.”
Challenges Ahead
Ms Horibe highlighted the many challenges to be overcome, including the uneven distribution of health care and health workers and lack of supplies and resources. Where health care exists, the quality of such care needs to be improved. |
Furthermore, sufficient supplies need to be made available, reporting and recording needs improvement, numbers and skills of health workers especially midwifes need to be enhanced.
Women’s Rights and Health Should be Leaders’ Priorities
Ms Horibe said that UNFPA’s continued advocacy ensures that policy, political leaders, decision makers and law makers in Asia-Pacific countries place priorities on women’s rights, their right to health especially right to maternal health by increasing resources to the relevant services and sectors.
This requires countries to formulate policies, develop action plans, deliver more services, ensure adequate staff, improve transportation, and address social and cultural and economic factors that hamper women from accessing essential health services. |
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International Cooperation
 AFPPD’s Secretary-General Dr Pinit
Kullvanijaya, Senator of Thailand, said
parliamentarians have a moral and legal
obligation to fulfil the commitments
made by countries under international agreements and treaties, including the Cairo Programme of Action, the MDGs, and the Beijing Platform for Action. He also called for international technical cooperation to strengthen national capacities including women’s education, training of health attendants and provisions of emergency obstetric care.
Maternal Health as a Right
Held immediately after the International Congress on AIDS in Asia and the Pacific (ICAAP), the consultation was able to receive input from Mr Anand Grover, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right of Everyone to the Enjoyment of the Highest Attainable Standard of Health.
Mr Grover reviewed the obligations of states under international law to respect, protect, and fulfill the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health. |
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This led into a roundtable discussion (see photo on top of page 3), moderated by Ms Suneeta Mukherjee, UNFPA Representatives in Philippines, among parliamentarians, experts and UNFPA country officials on the challenges and opportunities for implementing
a rights-based approach to reducing maternal mortality and morbidity. Among the views shared, participants agreed that maternal health services must be accessible to all, especially at the grass-root level.
Budget allocation and other resources represent another major issue which parliamentarians are in a position to provide and scale up. |
This right has been widely recognised in international human rights instruments and maternal health has been recognised as an important component of this right, especially in light of a recent landmark resolution passed by the Human Rights Council recognizing maternal mortality as a human rights and development issue.
Continuing the focus on rights, the next presentation by the consultant Mr Rajat Khosla gave a rights-based review of maternal health in Asia and the Pacific. A conceptual framework was discussed and gaps and challenges defined, including lack of data, inadequate resources, uneven progress within countries and unmet need for family planning. |
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Budgeting for
Maternal Health
In a session moderated by Dr Zahidul Huque, UNFPA Representative in Indonesia, and Chaired by Senator Claire Moore of Australia, Dr Flavia  Bustreo, Director, Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health (MNCH), WHO, made a strong case for investing in maternal, newborn and child health in the region, where there is a high share of global MNC burden of disease resulted mainly from inadequate financing and coverage of MNCH interventions. She urged parliamentarians to voice support for and allocate sufficient funding to a core package of health services aimed at improving MNCH, including antenatal care, skilled birth attendance, promotion of exclusive breastfeeding, immunization and other services and strategies.
Mr Ian Anderson, Advisor and Principle Economist at the ADB, continued the discussion of MNCH in Asia-Pacific, where 34% global child, 40% maternal, 60% newborn deaths occur. 14 of 55 countries are slow or regressing on both infant and child mortality MDGs. He said there was a need for both higher quantity and quality of national expenditure, both public and private, on health services and system. He believed that investment in women, particularly young adolescent women, the positive effects on their and their children and the third generation will be tremendous, including increased productivity and the averted cost in healthcare.
Quality of Care
As important as quantity of expenditure is for maternal health, quality is just as crucial and parliamentarians joined in a discussion led by Dr Saramma Mathai, Regional Team Coordinator and Technical Adviser on Maternal Health at UNFPA-APRO. Maternal mortality and morbidity is both a social injustice and a health disadvantage. |
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The Sri Lankan government has required mothers from the first month of pregnancy to go to the clinic and be screened throughout and if there are any complications, the government ensures that they are being sent to the hospitals where they can receive greater care.
Media’s Important Role
Media plays a crucial role in highlighting the needs for services in maternal health. Ms Katja Iverson, Media Specialist with UNFPA Information and External Relations Division, New York, led a panel of journalists from Asia-Pacific countries on how the media can increase public awareness and attention and to hold governments to account.
Action at the Country Level
The second day culminated in the most important session of the consultation where parliamentarians, UNFPA staff and experts put their minds and hearts together to hammer out country-level action plans and implementation strategies and needs.
The session also discussed how parliamentarians, UNFPA country offices, and AFPPD will work together to follow-up on what needs to be done. It was also recommended that country-level working groups be formed to enhance follow-up efforts. A regional action plan was also developed and to be followed up by AFPPD in cooperation with partner agencies.
The closing ceremony was addressed by Dr Pinit, Ms Nobuko Horibe, Ms Mukherjee of UNFPA-Philippines, Minister de Silva from Sri Lanka, as well as Mr Wasim Zaman, Executive Director, ICOMP. |
Women are experiencing inequities, exclusion, and lack of participation in the decision-making that affects their health.
Dr Mathai framed the quality of care as a right, which is affected by the three delays. The first delay is decision to seek care, the second is in reaching the appropriate facility and the third is receiving appropriate high quality care. All these are interrelated and one has to deal with all the three. She urged parliamentarians to enhance monitoring of implementation and delivery so that we do not to let another decade pass with maternal mortality being a silent tragedy. Joining in the discussion were Sentor Claire Moore of Australia; Ms Viplove Thakur and Ms Mabel Rebello, MPs of India; Mrs Ho Naun, MP of Cambodia; Dame Carol Kidu, Minister of Community Development from Papua New Guinea, Mrs Hetifah Sjaifudian Sumarta, MP of Indonesia; Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva of Sri Lanka; and Mrs Kamala Thapa, MP of Nepal.
Political Will and its Impact
The Minister of Healthcare and Nutrition of Sri Lanka, Mr Nimal Siripala de Silva, illustrated how his country has been able to translate political will into fulfillment of rights by succesfully enhancing services and care for maternal health. He also credited the media for holding medical institutions as well as the government accountable for failure to shore up maternal health services. |
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Men and Boys are Essential Partners
in Preventing Gender-based Violence |
In cooperation with the UNFPA and with support from the Government of Japan, AFPPD organised an Asia-Pacific Parliamentarians’ Meeting on Engaging Men in Prevention of Violence against Women and Girls from 6-7 September 2009 in Bangkok, Thailand.
The meeting was attended by over 40 participants including a core group of 22 parliamentarians from 16 countries in the region. The meeting was organised with the recognition that men and boys have a
major and shared responsibility in speaking out against all forms of violence against women and girls and in changing the structural and cultural root causes that perpetuate gender inequality.
The meeting was opened by Mr Najib Assifi, Deputy Director, UNFPA Asia-Pacific Regional Office, and Dr Pinit Kullavanijaya, Senator of Thailand and Secretary-General of AFPPD, with an overview of the meeting presented by Ms Kiran Bhatia, Gender Adviser at UNFPA-APRO.
Changing Social and Cultural Attitudes
Dr Pinit stressed parliamentarians have a moral and legal obligation to speak out and take concrete actions against violence against women and girls, which in all forms and manifestations is “a violation of human rights and fundamental freedom, with grave and often permanent implications on many levels.” He urged parliamentarians to take the lead in changing social and cultural attitude and structures that perpetuate gender inequality and to partner with civil society to bring about positive change.
Vulnerability and Disempowerment Aggravate Consequences of Violence
Mr Assifi cautioned that there is growing violence against women and girls in the region, where there are deep-rooted inequality, harmful cultural practices, discrimination and abuse of the most vulnerable and disempowered. |
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Women and girls in the region are at higher risk and the primary targets of gender-based violence, with aggravated consequences.
He urged parliamentarians and policymakers to take action to change male-dominated social structures that deny rights and survival of women and girls, who often have fewer options and resources to resist violence. He also called for changes in harmful expressions of masculinities and asked male leaders in all sectors to fight gender stereotypes.
Men and Boys Play Central Role
The first session focused on policy and framework, featuring keynote addresses by Sir Dr Puka Temu, Deputy Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea and a White Ribbon Ambassador, as well as by Ms Sapana Malla, MP from Nepal. Sir Dr Temu said that there was a “wind of change” sweeping nations in the region and there is increasing awareness that men and boys are central players in preventing violence against women and girls. Upon returning to his country, Sir Puka conveyed to the media that he intends to engage MPs and have a healthy debate in Parliament. |
Ms Malla, who was also a rights advocate, said that the Nepal political structure is still not very gender-responsive and very few women are in decision-making roles. She pointed out that in South Asia, attitudes in the political establishment are still reluctant to recognise the seriousness of gender-based violence and to criminalise it.
Legal, Social and Economic Support
Chaired by Datuk Ronald Kiandee, Deputy House Speaker from Malaysia, the next session began with a presentation by Dr Jean D’Cunha, Regional Programme capacity of parliamentarians to craft effective legislations.
Mr Agni Prasad Kharel, MP from Nepal, highlighted robust legislations against domestic violence and trafficking in Nepal in the last three years. He credited international cooperation, especially from NGOs, the national human rights commission, and OHCHR, in ensuring access to justice and protection of survivors of violence. |
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She forcefully empahsised that it was important not only to strengthen legal redress but also social and economic support services for survivors. Access to support services, she said, is a right that imposes duties and obligations on both enforcing agencies and service providers.
VAWG an Affront to Humanity
Mr Abdul Matin Khasru, MP, Bangladesh, gave a heartfelt speech in which he called gender-based violence an affront to humanity. Many stringent laws were enacted to combat violence againt women, but the results were unsatisfactory. He called for, among other things, parliamentary participation in reviewing school curricula to cultivate respect for women and girls. He emphasised that gender inequality is not a ‘women’s issue’ but a national issue.
Legislations against Violence
Mr Ezzatollah Yousefian Molla, MP from Iran, called on countries to deal with violence against women honestly instead of keeping it a secret. He said that the vulnerabilty of women and girls in Iranian society to gender-based violence has been on the agenda of policymakers, who are sensitive to this problem and passed laws to combat its manifestations, including sexual harassment and human trafficking. |
Mr Edcel C. Lagman, Congressman from Philippines, highlighted a considerable number of anti-violence legislations in his country and credited not only legislators but also NGOs and women’s organisations in sensitising parliamentarians on this issue. Stressing the role of men, he said: “It is also precisely because men are the usual perpetrators of aggression and assaults against women that men themselves should be in the forefront of the campaign to end violence against women and girls.”
Partners for Prevention
The discussion of policy and national experience continued with a presentation by Mr James Lang, Programme Coordinator, Partners for Prevention, a UNDP, UNFPA, UNIFEM & UNV Regional Joint Programme for Asia and the Pacific. Mr Lang introduced some regional initiatives in partnering with men and boys to prevent VAWG. The joint programme promotes collective action, collaborative learning and projects, and incubation of new approaches and ideas in male involvement. |
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Working with Civil Society
Mr P.D. Rai, MP, India, shared his prior experience in working with civil society organisations to collect data on violence in India, where the magnitude of the problem is huge. Engaging men and boys, he said, was still an emerging technique and still slowing entering the national discourse. He highlighted the fact that about 70-80% of the national budget is gender-sensitive with reporting mechanisms, which parliamentarians can use to monitor implementation of programmes aimed at reducing gender inequality.
Mr Fary Djemi Francis, MP, Indonesia, introduced recent legislations on domestic violence and human trafficking. Despite these recent legal advances and support from international donors and the national government, the cases of gender-based violence continue to rise. Therefore, he called for a new paradigm regarding violence prevention and a focus on involving men and boys. |
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Changing Attitudes and Eliminating
Discriminations
Mr M. Daoud Sultanzoy, MP from Afghanistan emphasised the need to also address cultural root causes that perpetuate violence against women. Afghanistan women and girls have been facing violence in many forms for decades now and the young democratic government will need to do a lot more to empower women and root out patriarchal attitudes and strutures.
Mme Vo Thi De, MP from Vietnam, presented three methods to address gender-based violence. First, men and boys should be engaged, especially male decision-makers who have real power to make changes. Second, discriminations must be eliminated and more women leaders are needed. Finally, international cooperation is crucial in building up capacity of parliamentarians to craft effective legislations.
Mr Agni Prasad Kharel, MP from Nepal, highlighted robust legislations against domestic violence and trafficking in Nepal in the last three years. He credited international cooperation, especially from NGOs, the national human rights commission, and OHCHR, in ensuring access to justice and protection of survivors of violence. |
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Statement of Commitment
Arising from the
Asia-Pacific Parliamentarians’ Meeting on Engaging Men in
Prevention of Violence against Women and Girls
6-7 September 2009, Bangkok, Thailand
As male parliamentarians from Asia Pacific we commit ourselves to playing a role in working together for the prevention and elimination of violence against women and girls in our countries.
We will do this by:
1. Being role models as male leaders who speak up against all forms of gender based violence and promote zero tolerance;
2. Actively participating in public awareness campaigns and raise our voice on what men and boys can do for violence prevention;
3. Advocating for other male parliamentarians to join the network;
4. Enacting and supporting legislation, policies and programmes that bear impact on reducing violence against women and girls;
5. Supporting and working in partnership with NGOs and community initiatives to promote good practices and effective interventions; and
6. Providing and sharing information across the network and throughout our parliaments.
We will support the efforts of the women parliamentarians to address root causes of discrimination and abuse and stand together to do all we can to end violence against women and girls in our own countries.
Signed on September 7 2009. |
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Standing Committee Formed
The second day of the meeting saw the formation of a Standing Committee of Parliamentarians on Prevention of Violence against Women and Girls, comprising of male MPs from Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, India, Iran, Malaysia, Mongolia, Nepal, and the Philippines. Sir Dr Puka Temu was elected as its Chairman.
On behalf of Senator Claire Moore, Chair of AFPPD Standing Committee on Women, Ms Penny Sharpe, MP from Australia, spoke about potential cooperation between the two standing committees to further women’s rights in the region.It was recommended that members of the Standing Committee should also be involved with the upcoming Asia-Pacific Women Parliamentarians’ and Ministers’ Meeting to be held in Malaysia in November. |
A roundtable discussion, led by Ms Kiran Bhatia, involving all participants were held where parliamentarians put forward recommendations on how to engage men and boys in preventing violence against women and girls. These recommendations were recorded and will be further deliberated and acted on by the Standing Committee.
At the conclusion of the meeting, a six point Statement of Commitment (see above) was adopted and the parliamentarians committed themselves to be role models in advocating and supporting all efforts at all levels to prevent and end gender-based violence in their country. |
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Ms Purnima Mane Addresses MPs at ICAAP |
 On 10 August during the 9th ICAAP in Bali, Dr Pinit Kullavanijaya, Senator of Thailand the Secretary-General of AFPPD, hosted a luncheon with Ms Purnima Mane, Deputy Executive Director of UNFPA, who addresed 25 parliamentarians and ministers across Asia-Pacific who were invited by AFPPD in cooperation with UNAIDS to attend the conference in Bali.
Ms. Mane expressed her pleasure that so many countries and parliamentarians are demonstrating growing political will to combat HIV/AIDS at local and national levels. She urged parliamentarians to step up efforts to fight stigma and discrimination in some countries. She also mentioned that more resources need to be allocated and proper implementation be monitored by parliamentarians.
Dame Carol Kidu, Minister for Community Development, Papua New Guinea, and Ms Chieko Nohno, MP, Japan, shared their experience and efforts in strengthening responses to AIDS in their parliament and |
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Harm Reduction Crucial to Public Health
and Stemming the Spread of AIDS |
In collaboration with Response Beyond Borders (RBB), AFPPD organised a parliamentarians’ workshop on harm reduction on 8 August in the Bali, Indonesia.
This is a follow-up to the First Asian Consultation on the prevention of HIV related to drug use, and subsequently two regional workshops which were held in Southeast Asia and South Asia, by the Asian Consortium on Drug use, HIV, AIDS and Poverty.
Mr Dinesh Trivedi, Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, India gave the inaugural address. Senator Dr Pinit Kullavanijaya, Secretary-General of AFPPD, stated in his presentation that there is a strong need to examine the current situation of HIV infection through drug use and the current government response to drug use in order to reform laws and policies that are overly punitive. Drug policy and policy on AIDS must be based on human rights standards. |
Enhancing Parliamentarians’ Support
Dr Nguyen Van Tien, MP, Vietnam emphasized that parliamentarians do not know much about harm reduction and some still do not support such programmes. Significantly, drug users in Vietnam are still facing stigma and discrimination. He mentioned that governments and especially the UN agencies need to provide more support such as education and training to government staff and MPs.
AIDS Laws Need to be Rights-based
Ms Datuk Noraini Ahmad, MP, Malaysia stated that Asian governments should enact and strengthen HIV/AID and drug laws to ensure that IDUs have equal rights and the laws must be based on a human rights approach. The government will also need to ensure that IDU and other vulnerable population have full access to treatment, rehabilitation and health services and more opportunity for employment. |
Eliminating Discrimination
Ms Francesca Semoso, Deputy Speaker, Bougainville, Papua New Guinea advised governments to review and revise law that discriminate, condemn and criminalize drug users and work for the prison reforms. She emphasised that “We are the agents of change and we need to have the passion and commitment to drive these changes for a better community, a better nation and a better region.”
Dr Rajitha Seneratne, Minister of Construction and Engineering, Sri Lanka chaired the closing ceremony and he urged parliamentarians to commit themselves to continue to work for the prevention of HIV related Drug Use and removal of related stigmatization and discrimination. |
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| MPs Urge Actions to Realize Commitments on AIDS |
Close to 2,000 people participated in the 9th International Congress on AIDS in Asia and the Pacific (ICAAP) in Bali, Indonesia from 9-13 August. This year’s Congress was convened under the theme “Empowering People, Strengthening Networks.”
Recognising the need for political leadership, AFPPD with UNAIDS organised a Symposium on “Translating Political Commitment into Action” on 10 August.
Mr Dinesh Trivedi, Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, India chaired the symposium and emphasised in his remarks that the power of parliamentarians is significant in the response to AIDS. The success in ending stigma relies upon the political will and commitment of policy makers in monitoring the implementation of policies and allocating more budgets. |
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In her remarks, Ms Kyung-wha Kang, Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights, urged parliamentarians to put human rights at the centre of HIV/AIDS response. She parliamentarians to break the silence, prejudice and misconceptions that surround the epidemic; undertake legal reforms to create an enabling environment for effective responses; improve oversight and consideration given to HIV-related issues; and ensure that national budgets invest in the HIV response and that together with international sources of funding, resources are allocated in proportion to HIV prevalence rates.
Dame Carol Kidu, Minister for Community |
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Development of Papua New Guinea stated in her presentation that the highest level of political commitment for PNG was demonstrated first at the National Summit on HIV Prevention in 2006. The HIV/AIDS Management and Prevention Act was passed since 2005. She said that this act covers for example the rights of people infected with HIV, pre and post test counseling, discrimination, and purposeful transmission of HIV.
Ms Sapna Malla, MP from Nepal highlighted the need for better coordination and policy coherence among different government agencies, civil society organizations, UN agencies, donors and development partners. While recognising the progress that has been made thus far she emphasised the need for governments to be held accountable for translating their commitments into programmes ensuring greater protection for the most vulnerable groups including women, girls, men who have sex with men, transgender people, sex workers and people who use drugs.
Dr Nguyen Van Tien, MP from Vietnam said that parliamentarians should propose and support new legislations and budget for HIV programmes and oversee their implementation. He argued that MPs who act individually or in isolation will find it difficult to make a difference in changing law or policy. |
 He recommended the formation of a key group of MPs, who understand and support the issues, to advocate for the understanding and support from other MPs, with technical assistance from UN and other international agencies.
Senator Claire Moore of Australia stressed that political actions must be monitored and measured with benchmarks so as to make commitments meaningful. Political leaders must internalize the urgency of the AIDS epidemic and take all necessary actions.
The session was closed by Senator Dr. Pinit Kullananijaya, Secretary General of AFPPD. |
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Gender Equality Reduces Women’s and Girls’
Vulnerability to HIV/AIDS |
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Bali--In collaboration with the AIDS Society of Asia-Pacific (ASAP), AFPPD organised a satellite session at the ICAAP on “Women parliamentarians addressing feminization of HIV/AIDS” on 11 August.
Dame Carol Kidu, Minister of Community Development of Papua New Guinea chaired the session and cited example of the care and support in her country that reach women affected by HIV and AIDS through a community-based approach. Minister Kidu emphasised that this programme which is being implemented by the Catholic Diocese of Kundiawa in Simbu Province a service point to provide additional resources for vulnerable people.
Ms Chieko Nohno, Senator from Japan said there is an urgent need to prevent the feminisation of HIV/AIDS by enacting gender equality laws, providing extensive sex education as part of education about life, formulating and implementing gender-based violence prevention laws, and conducting strict surveillance of and managing human trafficking laws. |
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Senator Claire Moore of Australia said that as the feminisation of HIV/AIDS moves the epidemic into the domain of sexual and reproductive health, our challenge is to integrate HIV/AIDS and sexual and reproductive health. The value of approaching the spread of HIV through a SRH framework is evident as the disease spreads increasingly to women and young adults. At the same time, the advantages provided by the strong funding base for HIV would be well integrated into a broader SRH approach.
Dr Donya Aziz also agreed that HIV/AIDS has become undeniably a matter of sexual and reproductive health. She stressed that women’s rights are an end in themselves and every woman deserves to live in good health and free from diseases like HIV and from coercion in her sexual and reproductive life. Parliamentarians should therefore be obliged to improve the status of women and girls.
Ms Francesca Semoso, Deputy Speaker, Bougainville, Papua New Guinea highlighted some effective measures in stopping the feminisation of HIV/AIDS in the Pacific, such as an increase of financial and technical support to initiatives-governmental and non-governmental-that promote women’s economic empowerment, |
including opportunities for women’s paid employment and entrepreneurship and link these interventions to HIV prevention interventions.
More vigorous efforts are needed to implement national policies to promote the education of girls at all levels and to increase their legal empowerment, especially in countries where gendered barriers to education still exist.
Dr Jeanet Garin, MP, Phillipines pointed out that a stronger awareness campaign and youth education on HIV/AIDS can help prevent the rise in number of cases. To combat HIV/AIDS, Dr Garin said that coordinated and sustainable effort at both national and local level is needed through the strict enforcement of the Republic Act 8504 or the Philippine AIDS Prevention and Control Act of 1998.
The session was closed by Senator Dr. Pinit Kullananijaya, AFPPD Secretary-General. |
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Asian Governments Pledge to Complete
Cairo Agenda through Concerted Action |
 Bangkok – A global action plan linking reproductive health, women’s rights and development remains an urgent priority 15 years after its adoption, Asian and the Pacific governments affirmed on 17 September.
Senior officials from 30 countries pledged to do more to promote safe motherhood, family planning, gender equality and adolescent health, at a forum reviewing regional progress since the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD).
The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) and UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, organized the meeting as part of a worldwide series of activities commemorating the landmark 1994 Cairo conference.
“Fifteen years later the ICPD goals remain out of reach for too many countries and too many groups of people in Asia and the Pacific,” UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of ESCAP Noeleen Heyzer noted in welcoming remarks.
“With more than 300 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births, the region accounts for half the global total,” she said – deaths that could mostly be prevented with skilled birth assistance as the ICPD Programme of Action calls for. She said she intended to initiate a regional UN system campaign to give top priority to reducing maternal mortality.
Much has been accomplished since 1994, observed Purnima Mane, UNFPA Deputy Executive Director, but the goal of universal access to reproductive health by 2015 – now a target under the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) – remains unfulfilled. Further progress, she said, will require greater efforts to reduce inequalities in health provision and more funding, particularly for birth care and family planning.
Opening the forum, Thailand’s Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya cited his country’s progress in reducing poverty and extending reproductive health care and other social services, and offered to share its successful approaches with other developing countries.
Nafis Sadik, former UNFPA Executive Director and Secretary-General of the ICPD said that the 1994 conference showed that the success of demographic policies depends on the affirmation of the right to sexual and reproductive health, and that both are essential for sustainable development. This perspective, she lamented, is largely absent from current global discussions on climate change.
Dr. Sadik, now the Special Envoy of the UN Secretary-General for HIV/AIDS in Asia-Pacific, called for increased attention to protecting the intimate partners of men who engage in risky sexual behaviour, noting that Asian women generally “lack power to negotiate condom use, for example.”
Papua New Guinea’s Minister for Community Development Carol Kidu chaired the two-day forum. More than 100 representatives from about 30 governments, as well as civil society and other international organizations in Asia and the Pacific took part.
Group discussions focused on access to reproductive health care including family planning, promoting gender equality and ending violence against women and girls, international migration and population ageing. Participants’ policy recommendations were included in a Declaration on Population and Development adopted at the forum’s closing.
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“Enhance political commitment to reposition and revitalise family planning as a development agenda for achieving reproductive health outcomes as well as broader poverty reduction goals.”
“Encourage leadership at all levels--national, provincial and local--especially in the area of HIV/AIDS prevention.”
“Empower women to actively participate in decision-making process and increase the number of women who hold political office at all levels.”
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~Asia-Pacific High-Level Forum Declaration |
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“This is a moment of opportunity”, the Declaration states, with just five years left to realize the Cairo objectives and the MDGs. It identifies a set of key actions countries in the region must take to close critical gaps in implementing the Programme of Action and address new challenges, such as the global economic crisis and climate change.
The Asia-Pacific High-level Forum on ICPD at 15: Accelerating Progress towards the ICPD and Millennium Development Goals was preceded by an NGO forum and an experience-sharing meeting on South-South cooperation, organized by Thailand and the United Nations Population Fund. (UN/ESCAP Information Services and United Nations Population Fund) |
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Parliamentarians Promote Universal Access to
Reproductive Health Commodities and Services |
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Parliamentarians from South Asian countries met in Kathmandu, Nepal from 28 to 30 July 2009 for the Asian Regional Conference for the SAARC Countries Parliamentarians on Advocating for Universal Access to Reproductive Health Services and Commodity Security. It was organised by UNFPA in collaboration with AFPPD.
Universal Access Must be Prioritised
The conference opened with an address by President Dr Ram Baran Yadav of Nepal. President Yadav talked about the slow progress of MDG 5 to improve maternal health, with targets set for 2015. To achieve MDG 5, advancing healthcare for women and providing universal access to reproductive health services must be prioritized, said Dr Yadav. He urged delegates at the conference to deliberate on advocacy to create opportunities for different kinds of networks and new alliances to work together effectively.
SAARC parliamentarians’ presence at the conference is a strong demonstration of their commitment to ensuring universal access to reproductive health, said Mr Najib Assifi, Regional Director of UNFPA Asia-Pacific Regional Office (APRO) in Bangkok. He called for increased investment in reproductive health as part of overall efforts to strengthen health systems and insure international health security.
Reducing Maternal Mortality
Mr Jagdish Upadhyay, Chief of Commodity Security Branch of UNFPA in New York, said that MDG 5 cannot be achieved by doing business as usual. |
He noted maternal mortality is the largest health inequity in the world, with 99% of deaths occurring in developing countries. Improving health care for women and providing universal access to reproductive health services must continue to be a top priority. The economic arguments are strong for the investment in maternal health, Mr Upadhyay argued. It is estimated that maternal and newborn mortality leads to US$15 billion in lost potential productivity globally every year.
Leadership, Partnership and Investment
Ms Thoraya Ahmed Obaid, Executive Director of UNFPA, gave a video address in which she said that universal access to reproductive health can make great strides towards dignity of every woman. She said that all stakeholders must partner closely and advocate to achieve security of reproductive health commodities and to ensure accessibility.
Leadership, partnership and investment were three areas emphasized by Mr Ian McFarlane, UNFPA Representative in Nepal. He said that these are the concrete and practical next steps that are needed to ensure that MDG 5 is achieved by 2015. Mr Khadga Bahadur Basyal Sarki, State Minister of the Ministry of Health and Population in Nepal urged parliamentarians and ministers to sign a joint declaration towards securing reproductive health commodities.
The parliamentarians in attendance made country presentations in which they highlighted their countries’ progress, |
challenges and successes in providing reproductive health commodities. After presentations from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, panelists from the Philippines shared their experiences in advocating for reproductive health and in drafting and pursuing the current RH Bill pending in the Congress.
The conference declaration was unanimously signed and adopted by conference delegates, calling for sufficient priority and resources to reduce maternal mortality, to provide a budget line for reproductive health in each of their countries, to introduce programmes and policies to support reproductive health and HIV prevention and care, and to train and retrain skilled health professionals.
Media representatives from SAARC countries were an important part of the conference. Mr William Ryan of UNFPA APRO chaired a diverse panel of media representatives who discussed the challenges and successes in providing coverage to reproductive health issues.
Parliamentarians and country representatives also prepared project plans for small advocacy programmes on reproductive health commodities which they will work on for the next six months.
The Speaker of the House of Representatives Hon. Mr Subas Nemwang delivered the closing address and called the conference an opportunity to work together and share experiences across the region. He urged delegates to ensure good quality RH services and commodities are accessible to all. |
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African and Asian Parliamentarians and Delegates
Informed of Official Development Assistance |
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The second component of the workshop, held at the United Nations University, saw representatives from MOFA and UNFPA, as well as experts from UNU, NPO 2050, The Japan Evaluation Society, The World Bank, and the Japanese Parliament addressing and sharing practical knowledge with the attendees whom then later conducted break-away discussions, identified issues, and formulated recommendations which will be transmuted during this 3-year project. Among the participants are two out of the three female former Ministers of Justice in the history of the Japanese constitutional government: Mr Mayumi Moriyama and Ms Chieko Nohno.
Prior to the conference, some parliamentarians had no knowledge of the term “ODA” and were unaware that their country is a recipient. Through this workshop, members were able to return to their countries with advocacy tools and strategies to strengthen their roles in the ODA process, which is parliamentarians’ first concrete step towards improving the effectiveness of ODA for population and sustainable development activities. (APDA) |
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From 7-10 July, parliamentarians and representatives from Africa and Asia congregated in Tokyo for the “Parliamentarians’ Capacity Building Project on Accountability and Aid Implementation for Population and Development Issues”, which was organized by the Asian Population and Development Association (APDA).
Participants visited the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Headquarters where experts presented the most recent information on the objectives and implementation of Official Development Assistance (ODA), and gladly opened the floor to the delegates whom were granted the opportunity to pose questions directly to the Parliamentary Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Nobuhide Minorikawa; and JICA Vice-President, Mr Yoshihisa Ueda. |
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| Forum Demands Concrete Actions on Cairo Commitment |
Activists for women’s health and rights today demanded “concrete, practical and fully funded actions” by governments to fulfill their 15 years of promises about investing in equality, human rights and social and economic development, especially for women and girls.
In a five-point Berlin Call to Action ending the Global Partners in Action forum here, more than 400 delegates from 131 countries urged the international community to meet the 2015 deadline for achieving the Programme of Action of the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD).
“As urgent as the ICPD agenda was in 1994, it is even more so today,” said the declaration, which the non-governmental organization (NGO) delegates hammered out in a late-night session after three days of talks. “We demand that all governments fulfill the commitments made to their own |
people and the international community at Cairo in 1994.”
The ICPD created “a visionary global consensus” among 179 governments that overturned existing demographics-based approaches to achieving sustainable development, reducing poverty and slowing population growth in favor of policies based on meeting the needs of individuals for human rights and sexual and reproductive health care. Reaffirmed in many UN and international meetings ever since, including the 2000 MDGs, the Cairo Consensus pledged investments that in too many cases have not been made.
“With five years left,” the Berlin Call to Action said, “we call on local, national and international decision-makers to join with non-governmental organizations to establish and implement concrete, practical and fully-funded actions for ensuring sexual and reproductive health and rights.” |
“Human beings cannot live in dignity without the full implementation of the ICPD Program of Action,” the statement said. “It is a matter of human rights, democracy and equality for all.”
Theme of the Global Partners in Action: NGO Forum on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Development was “Invest in Health, Rights and the Future.” It was co-hosted by the Government of Germany’s Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development and UNFPA, the UN Population Fund, with additional support from the MacArthur Foundation.
AFPPD Secretary-General Dr Pinit Kullavanijaya represented the Asian parliamentarian grouping at the Forum. For more information, please visit www.globalngoforum.org/. (Global Partners in Action) |
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Thai MPs Support Population and Housing Census |
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On 30 June in Bangkok, the Parliament Standing Committee on Children, Youth, Women, Elderly Persons and Persons with Disability in Thailand hosted a conference entitled “What Thailand would achieve from the 2010 Thailand Population and Housing Census” to raise awareness about the importance of the Population and Housing Census, the next round of which will be undertaken on 1 July, 2010. The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in Thailand supported this parliamentarians meeting and is supporting the National Statistical Office in the 2010 population census.
Data Source for Development
Over 300 participants including more than 10 MPs and many representatives of key government and non-government agencies attended the conference held at the Thai Parliament House. Mr Surachet Masdit, Chairperson of the Standing |
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On 30 June in Bangkok, the Parliament Standing Committee on Children, Youth, Women, Elderly Persons and Persons with Disability in Thailand hosted a conference entitled “What Thailand would achieve from the 2010 Thailand Population and Housing Census” to raise awareness about the importance of the Population and Housing Census, the next round of which will be undertaken on 1 July, 2010. The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in Thailand supported this parliamentarians meeting and is supporting the National Statistical Office in the 2010 population census.
Data Source for Development
Over 300 participants including more than 10 MPs and many representatives of key government and non-government agencies attended the conference held at the Thai Parliament House. Mr Surachet Masdit, Chairperson of the Standing |
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census data for national and sub-national plans and policies, Mr Assifi addressed key areas that UNFPA provides assistance in census-taking including quality data collection, data analysis, and utilization and dissemination of data. In the afternoon, Dr Ratchada Tanadirek, a Bangkok MP gave a session to address the importance of the population census for parliamentarian affairs and international collaboration.
Mr Chuan Leekpai, former Prime Minister of Thailand, was present at the conference throughout the day. The conference was organized by the Standing Committee together with the National Statistical Office, Ministry of Information Communication and Technology with technical support from the Institute for Population and Social Research, Mahidol University and UNFPA-Thailand Office. (UNFPA-Thailand) |
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| RH Bill Proponents Seek President Arroyo’s Support |
 Manila--Passing the controversial reproductive health bill pending in the Philippines Congress is facing stiff opposition, but the leadership of the House of Representatives is determined to approve the measure.
Seeking Presidential Support
In the latest push by the bill’s proponents, a powerful delegation has been formed to convince President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to support the bill’s passage. The group includes current and former legislators and mayors, leaders from the religious and labour community, advocates, doctors and Congressman Edcel C. Lagman. Presidential candidate Senator Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III also voiced his support of the bill recently.
Congressman Lagman, Deputy Secretar-General of AFPPD and the principal author of the bill, addressed a letter on 14 September to President Arroyo, highlighting the strong support the bill has received in the Congress and from the general public. Congressman Lagman emphasised that the RH Bill’s central advocacy is “to afford parents the freedom of informed choice on both the natural and artificial methods which are legal and medically safe.” |
House Speaker Facilitating Vote
In an effort to expedite a vote on the bill, Speaker Prospero Nograles on 10 September ordered Majority Leader Arthur Defensor to simplify the plenary debate to pave the way for the voting on the measure. Speaker Nograles also directed the Defensor-led committee on rules to gather together the two major opposing sides to a conference to agree to mechanics of the debate and immediately put the bill to a vote.
More House Members Give Support
To date, according to Congressman Lagman, the bill has 131 co-authors and some more Members of the House are committed to vote for the measure without being co-authors. “With the definitive political will of Congress, the growing support of the Filipino people and the realization and understanding of the nexus between population and development, it would be unwise for the executive to reject the RH bill,” Congressman Lagman said earlier this year. |
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| Francophone MPs Reaffirm Commitment to Fight AIDS |
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A resolution adopted during the annual gathering of the Parliamentary Assembly of La Francophonie in Paris from 3-6 July sent a strong message that fighting AIDS is given high priority on the agenda of Francophone parliamentarians.
“I am encouraged to see this level of leadership from Francophone countries to the AIDS response,” said Mr Michel Sidibé, Executive Director of UNAIDS.
The resolution adopted by the Assembly called for, among other matters, boosting HIV prevention efforts, especially among groups with higher risk of infection. It also rejected punitive laws, such as the criminalisation of HIV transmission and laws barring marginalised groups from accessing health services. Access to anti-retroviral drugs must be free to all in need, the resolution added, stressing the need to ensure that the necessary resources are provided for the health-care systems of developing countries in Africa and Asia. The lack of an effective response to poverty will weaken the response to AIDS, it warned. (UN News) |
| Parliamentarians from Francophone countries, which bear a large burden of the global HIV/AIDS epidemic, reaffirmed their commitment to tackling the disease, in a move welcomed by the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS). |
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