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President Nambar Enkhbayar of Mongolia Opens 6th Asian Women Parliamentarians’ and Ministers’ Conference in Ulaanbaatar

Ulaanbaatar - Close to 100 women parliamentarians and ministers, as well as experts and representatives from NGOs and international agencies, gathered in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia on 23-24 September for the 6th Asian Women Parliamentarians’ and Ministers’ Conference on “Financing the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), with a focus on Health and Gender.”

The Conference was hosted by the State Great Khural of Mongolia (parliament) and organized by the Asian Forum of Parliamentarians on Population and Development (AFPPD) in collaboration with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in Mongolia, with support from the Government of Japan.

President Nambar Enkhbayar of Mongolia opened the conference. President Enkhbayar said that in the years since the adoption of the Millennium Declaration in 2000, Mongolia has developed its country-specific MDGs and implemented over 60 percent of its MDG targets. The latest MDG-based Long Term National Development Strategy was adopted by the Parliament earlier this year.

He emphasized that regional cooperation is as important as national efforts in achieving the MDGs. The varying levels of MDG implementation among the Asian countries may be contributed to the state of development level and policy coordination, he said. Many countries in Asia continue to experience difficulties in producing expected results in the areas of health and gender. Therefore, there is an urgent need to focus on further improving policy coordination and cooperation on Maternal and Child Health, Maternal Mortality and HIV/AIDS.

As the proportion of women in decision-making bodies remains low in many countries, Mr. Enkhbayar said that it is important to promote gender equality and empower women to increase their participation in decision-making, which is crucial in finding sound solutions and implementing appropriate policy in achieving the MDGs.

President Enkhbayar recognized the significance of adequate financing to the achievement of MDGs and he expressed his confidence that the conference would contribute to the improvement of health and promotion of gender equality at the national and the regional levels, as well as to finding the right solutions in financing MDGs.

Ms. Safiye Cagar, Director, Information and External Relations Division of UNFPA, emphasized the importance of strong political commitment to invest in primary healthcare, family planning, reproductive health programmes, and women’s education. As a proven poverty reduction strategy, she said, investment in comprehensive sexual reproductive health should be a critical component in any development plans.

As former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan stressed in 2002, population and reproductive health are a crucial measure of success and, if not squarely addressed, the eradication of extreme poverty and hunger cannot be achieved.

Despite strong commitment in financing MDGs over the years, the 2005 UN Millennium Project Report identified major financing gaps for achieving the MDGs, which in the least developed countries will rise from $12 billion in 2006 to $26 billion in 2015. The financing gaps for the Asia-Pacific region as a whole will be considerably larger.

Around the world, funding for international family planning has dropped from over half of all spending on population assistance to less than 10 percent, thus significantly hampering women’s ability to exercise their rights and to plan their families. As a result, 200 million women in the developing world still lack access to family planning services and the world must address these needs urgently.

Addressing gender inequalities at all levels requires tackling the root causes—the institutions, traditions and laws—that perpetuate such inequalities.

The disproportionately low women representation rate in government in the Asia-Pacific region calls for change in prevailing social norms and attitudes. Women must take it upon themselves to address these issues and women parliamentarians in particular are crucial
players as they are the “champions for supporting social and population issues in the national development efforts.”

“Financing the ICPD and the MDGs,” said Ms. Cagar, “requires partnership between developed and developing countries—a partnership, moreover, of mutual responsibility and accountability.” The responsibility to mobilize and channel necessary resources and ensure their efficient use falls on both developed countries, who must follow through with their commitment to increase aid flows, and on developing countries, who need to tailor their national budgets to accommodate ICPD and MDG priorities.

Ms. Cagar called for the allocation of at least 10 percent of development assistance and national development budgets to population and reproductive programmes. She highlighted the Mongolian government’s achievement as an example of a country taking positive steps towards achieving the MDGs, including evidence-based costing and MDGs-consistent planning and budgeting.

Finally, she pledged UNFPA’s support in eradicating poverty and hunger, promoting education, delivering universal access to reproductive health services, ensuring maternal and child health, and combating communicable diseases.

Mr. Yasuyoshi Ichihashi, Ambassador of Japan to Mongolia, said at the opening programme that Japan attaches great importance to the principle of human security, upon which the MDG-based efforts are grounded.

He said that Japan has been actively addressing issues related to the achievement of MDGs in cooperation with the international community and, through G8 activities, has taken significant steps in strengthening the global approach in areas such as family planning, mother and child health, sexually transmitted diseases, and gender-based discrimination and violence. Japan also supports the efforts of UNFPA and AFPPD in these areas.

Financial support is essential to the achievement of the MDGs and promoting human security. Therefore, at the Gleneagles Summit in 2005, Japan commited itself to increase its Official Development Assistance (ODA) by $10 billion in five years. Ambassador Ichihashi noted his government’s bilateral assistance programs as well as assistance channeled through international organizations to support projects on HIV/AIDS, education and other areas.

An international network that fosters greater coordination, said Ambassador Ichihashi, is an important development partner in achieving the MDGs. Particularly, Members of Parliament around the world as well as specialists from international organizations and NGOs should also play a strong role in promoting health, gender equality, education and women’s empowerment.

Good Governance and Accountability Key to Achieving MDGs

In his keynote address, Dr. Pinit Kullavanijava, MP, Thailand and Secretary-General of AFPPD, quoted the UN Millennium Development Goals Report 2008 and said that in order to achieve the MDGs by 2015, there needs to be stronger efforts in developing countries, a sustained favorable international environment and greater financial commitment by the developed countries.

The goal of cutting extreme poverty by half by 2015 is within reach, but poverty rates in many parts of Asia are increasing and the burden of higher commodity prices falls heavily on some of the poorest populations in the world. The number of people living below poverty line even in some developed countries is increasing.

Improvements have been documented in primary education enrollment and aid directed to basic education, but the goal of ensuring universal primary education is hindered by inequalities in access to education. Girls and children from poorer households or rural areas are the most likely to drop out of school.

Under-5 child mortality rate declined from 93 to 72 deaths per 1,000 live births between 1990 and 2006. However, a child born in developing countries is still over 13 times more likely to die within the first five years of life than a child born in a developed country.

With respect to improving maternal health (MDG 5), close to 61% of births in the developing world were attended by skilled health personnel in 2006, up from less than 50% in 1990. However, coverage remains inadequate in Southern Asia (40%) and sub-Saharan Africa (47%).

The survival rate of both women and children increases with fewer pregnancies and the spacing of birth, but globally 200 million women who would like to delay childbearing are without access to safe and effective contraceptives, leading to an estimated 19 million unsafe abortions each year in the developing world and resulting in some 60,000 deaths.

Dr. Pinit said the problem with financing does not lie with a shortage of fund because there is plenty. Lack of good governance, corruption, improper allocation of funds and lack of attention to increasing population are the primary challenges.

He said that parliamentarians must bear the responsibility to be proactive in population and family planning issues in their own countries and must not let local political issues overshadow the real issues that affect people. He called on parliamentarians to give more time and attention to monitor UN and ODA projects.

In addition to international aid, which has been provided in abundance, national implementation must be the key to achieving the MDGs and parliamentarians must help their own countries by raising funds nationally, raising awareness in society and government, and implement the MDGs with accountability.

Progress Made on Health and Gender MDGs in Mongolia

Ms. Dulamsuren Oyunkhorol, Chair, Parliament Standing Committee on Social Policy, Culture, Science and Education, Mongolia, said there is high level political commitment in Mongolia to sustain and accelerate the MDGs. Positive steps taken include the Parliament’s approval of Mongolia’s own country-specific MDGs and the MDG-based National Development Strategy; the forming of the parliamentary sub-committee on MDG to oversee implementation and monitoring; and preparation of MDGs implementation reports.

She said the country incorporates MDGs as priorities in development policy and budget planning and there has been sustained budgetary allocation to key social sectors, such as health, education and social welfare.

She showed current data indicating that the female-to-male ratios in primary, secondary and tertiary education are close to parity (1.0), and they are all projected to hit 1.0 in 2015.

The proportion of women in the population engaged in wage employment in non-agriculture sectors has increased from 51% in 1990 to 54% in 2006. The percentage of female candidates running for office in the national parliament has increased since 1992 with four-year intervals. However, the percentage of female elected to the national parliament has decreased since it peaked in 2000.

In closing, she enumerated some of Mongolia’s future policy priorities, which include implementing Needs Assessment and programme-based budgeting in order to ensure effective use of resources for MDGs achievement and intensifying partnership of government, private sector, communities and civil society organizations.

Pacific Islands Vow to Take Bold Steps to Achieve MDGs

Mrs. Ngamau Mere Munokoa, Minister of Internal Affairs and Agriculture and Works, Cook Islands, expressed her government’s commitment to take bold steps to achieve the Millennium Development Goals by 2015.

Cook Islands have instituted a new policy planning unit for the achievement of MDGs within the Prime Minister’s Office. The country also has a National Sustainable Development Plan, a framework that guides the development activities of the government.

Minister Munokoa said that Cook Islands and other Pacific countries aim to build a more inclusive society, strengthen good governance and ensure sustainable use of resources and infrastructures. She also stressed the importance of a consultative partnership with grassroot organizations and communities in the pursuit of MDGs.

With the assistance of the international community, she expressed confidence in making improvements in evidence-based information, technical capacity and strengthening of local onwership of development initiatives.

In closing, she acknowledged the assistance her country has received from the UN and laid out Cook Islands’ policy priorities, which include the achievement of MDG 3 (gender equality), the ratification of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), increase of the level of women’s representation in parliament, women’s participation in sports, and fine-tuning of family law.

Achieving MDGs Requires More Than Financial Resources

Addressing the topic of health MDGs, Dr. Raj Karim, Regional Director for East and Southeast Asia and Oceania, International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF), said that most countries in Asia are not on track to achieve the MDGs despite increases in resources and available technologies.

She placed special emphasis on the need to address institutional issues. The lack of appropriate institutional arrangements for special population groups & RSH issues hampers the ability to address them effectively.

Since all three health MDGs are interrelated, she recommended stakeholders to take a broad, rights-based, multi-sectoral approach and move away from vertical and toward horizontal programming. It is also crucial to invest to improve management skills, organizational capacity, and information systems at the local and national levels. Intervention needs to be targeted at vulnerable groups at the community, household and individual level and also address institutional inequalities. Greater coordination with civil society organizations and the private sector will avoid duplication of efforts and enhance the building of social capital.

Family planning and RSH are particularly important because globally, an estimated 500,000 women die of pregnancy-related causes every year, the majority of which occurs in developing countries and 13% of all deaths are result of complications from unsafe abortion.

On HIV/AIDS, she said that the drivers of the epidemic are stigma and discrimination, as well as marginalization and even criminalization of key populations, such as sex workers and men who have sex with men. Minimizing these drivers must be a part of the response to the epidemic.

Countries need to commit more resources, adopt evidence-informed policies, combat stigma and adopt measures to remove discrimination, understand the epidemic and strengthen data collection systems, create and maintain well-defined and efficient governance structures that are backed by strong political leadership and meaningful community involvement, take proven prevention strategies to scale, and ensure universal access to HIV treatment and care.

Uneven Progress on Health MDGs

Dr. Lale Say, Medical Officer at the World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva, spoke on Focusing on health Millennium Development Goals – are we on track?

Dr. Say noted that the under-5 child mortality rate has declined in developing regions from 103 deaths in 1990 to 80 deaths in 2006, and the target rate by 2015 should be 40. Dr. Say showed data indicating good progress made on MDG 4 in much of Asia, where there has been a considerable drop in under-five mortality rate between 1990 and 2006. Measles vaccination for infants aged 12-23 months has increased in developing regions as a whole in the same period.

On MDG 5—reducing maternal mortality rate (MMR) by three quarters and achieving universal access to reproductive health—she noted the progress made between 1990 and 2005, during which worldwide MMR declined from 430 to 400.

However, progress has been uneven as the decline is small in sub-Saharan Africa while Asia’s and Oceania’s MMR went down significantly from 410 to 330 and 550 to 430, respectively. According the UN MDG Report 2008, percentage of deliveries attended by skilled health worker has increased from 47% to 61% in developing regions, with East Asia at 98% while South Asia remains low at 40%. She further explained that Emergency Obstetric Care (EmOC) facilities are necessary to treat complicated pregnancy.

With respect to HIV/AIDS and other diseases, she warned that while the number of new cases of HIV declined globally, the percentage of adults living with HIV/AIDS who are women increased in all regions surveyed by the UN. Dr. Say showed that there are an estimated 247 million new cases of malaria each year and highlighted countries where malaria deaths declined, such as in Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and the Philippines. She attributed this progress to increased funding, political will and scaling-up of insecticide treated bed-nets and effective medicines, among other factors.

New cases of tuberculosis (TB) increased only slightly in developing regions from 150 per 100,000 populations in 1990 in 151 in 2006. Asian regions have all experienced a decline in the same period, but countries in the Commonwealth of Independent States saw a marked increase.

In conclusion, she said that while there is some progress in child mortality, HIV/AIDS, malaria and TB, stronger progress is need on maternal health, especially in MMR and family planning. Progress has also been uneven across regions, within regions and within countries. Some segments of population in countries that have experienced progress do not benefit from it. Successes are generally the result of targeted actions and adequate funding, and political will are crucial to bring about system-wide development and strengthening.

Aid Should Be Owner-Driven

Mr. Salman Asif, Gender Advisor at UNFPA-Pakistan, spoke about Gender, UN Reforms and Aid Effectiveness. Mr. Asif stressed that gender equality is measured not just by numbers but also by equal recognition and status, not just to provide equal inputs but also to ensure equal outcomes.

He cited some reasons why aid is underperforming. Aid is often donor-driven and lacking in national ownership. A country’s leadership is sometimes absent in setting priorities, resulting in irrelevant projects and undermining other priorities. There also tend to be too many projects and too little coordination. Weak implementation capacity also hampers many projects. He stated that aid should be owner-driven and help to focus on country priorities, and donors have to change their way of delivering aid.

Mr. Asif also highlighted some of the misconceptions about MDGs, including the belief that each and every country must achieve the same numerical targets. He stressed that a universal strategy to MDGS does not exist.

In conclusion, he said that stakeholders should increase MDG investments, tailor global targets to make them context specific, set immediate targets for political accountability, translate targets into specific programmes and policies, and make costing more adequate on a shorter period of time and more reliable.

Implementation Gap Exists Between Goals and Realities

Ms. Sabitra Bhusal Banskota, MP from Nepal, highlighted that about 33% of members of the new Constituent Assembly are women, who are encouraged to participate in the political process. The new Constitution should enshrine women’s rights as a fundamental human right. Moreover, reproductive right and women’s right to be free from violence are reflected in the Constitution.

She said that the Nepal is committed to the elimination of gender disparity and aims to achieve 100% literacy in 2010. However, there remains an implementation gap between goals and realities. For example, free and universal primary education has not been fully implemented.

Gender Equality Should Be Taken Across All Goals

In her presentation, Integrating Gender Into All MDGs, Ms. Janet Wong, Regional Programme Specialist of UNIFEM in East and Southeast Asia, based in Bangkok, started by emphasizing that promoting gender equality and women’s empowerment is an effective way to eradicate poverty, hunger and diseases.

Gender equality, she said, should be taken across all goals and not just a single goal and MDG 3 (Gender Equality) is essential to the achievement of all eight goals. She pointed out that recent MDG reports tended to cover a minimum set of indicators and gender perspectives are not adequately mainstreamed.

Poverty is multidimensional and women experience poverty in many different ways. Their poverty is compounded by their economic, social and political marginalization, as well as other threats such as gender-based violence. Policies on MDGs often adopt an instrumental approach on gender, but policymakers need to ensure a more gender-responsive and rights-based approach, within the frameworks of CEDAW and the Beijing Platform for Action (BPFA), and that equality is not only formal but also substantive.

In order to achieve MDG 1 (eradicating extreme poverty and hunger), pro-poor, gender-responsive macroeconomic policies are needed and should give higher priority to social spending to ease the burden on women who have become the safety-nets for families. Countries need to increase women’s access to paid work, ensure safe conditions for women migration workers, and ensure women’s rights to land titles and equal inheritance.

On MDG 3, she said that educational outcomes need to lead to employment and increased incomes. Countries need to increase women’s participation in decision-making in the public sphere at all levels.

In conclusion, she reminded audience that governments need to implement gender-responsive budgeting, including ensuring appropriate share of national budget to health programmes benefiting women, reducing women’s greater vulnerability to HIV/AIDS, improving and protecting women’s access to therapy and treament and strenghening the capacity of civil society organizations to monitor and ensure progress.

Right Policies and Institutional Settings Conducive to Achieving MDGs

Ms. Datuk Chua Soon Bui, MP, Malaysia, explained that since the 1960s, many of the targets set in the MDGs have been a part of Malaysia’s development plans and budgets. According to Ms. Chua, the Malaysian government systematically implemented the MDGS through five-year plans. 9% of GDP has been allocated to implement the current and 9th five-year plan.

She said that many of the targets of MDGs were achieved in Malaysia by the time the Goals were declared in 2000. Child mortality rate and maternal mortality rate have declined in the past decades. Malaysia continues to strengthen and consolidate its efforts in combating HIV/AIDS, the only remaining goal to be achieved.
Although there has been a general downward trend of newly reported HIV cases in Malaysia, Ms. Chua is concerned about the upward trend of women infected with HIV because the percentage of women infected increased from 9.4% in 2000 to 16.3% in 2007.

Stressing that the political commitment to the MDGs is strong in Malaysia, she told the participants that what we lack are not always financial resources, but the right policies and institutional setting conducive to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals.

Bottom-Up Approach Shows Good Results

Mr. Bill Bikales, Senior Economist and MDG costing expert from UNDP-China and Mongolia, shared his experience and key lessons over the last 15 years on fiscal policy in a number of developing and transition economies.

The first lesson is that many MDG financing strategies focus excessively on large macro targets for spending and resource mobilization in a top-down approach. Budgets should be built from bottom-up, with good projects and programs that can be shown to produce good results and justify every percentage of resources allocated to them.

Second, MDGs are inherently long-term goals and require sustainable financing over time. Budgets for MDGs and social spending thus need to be robust enough to withstand fluctuations in revenue. That also requires accurate tracking and projection of long-term spending commitments.

Third, countries should rely more on their own resources and less on foreign aid. The real work in ensuring sustainability of MDG financing is internal, he emphaszied. Governments must expand domestic resources and use those resources as effectively as possible for MDG achievement.

Fourth, spending on health should be progressive and targeted at the poorest of groups in society.

Fifth, it is a good principle to shift health spending and service delivery responsibilities to lower levels of government, closer to the recipients of the services and subject to central oversight and guidance. Such decentralization, however, must be matched by fiscal capacity, including both revenue-raising authority and access to central budget transfers.

The sixth lesson is that spending must be efficient and it requires reducing horizontal overlapping of responsibilities, such as across ministries at the national level, and unclear vertical division of responsibility between different levels of government.

Finally, he stressed that “spending is effective only in environments where governance is good and public institutions are well-functioning and transparent.” Therefore, a priority in MDG attainment is reform and improvement of health policies, institutions, procurement processes and financial management systems.

Decentralization and Local Governments Crucial to Achievement of MDGs

Dr. La Ode Ida, Deputy Speaker, House of Regional Representatives of Indonesia, along with Ms. Eka Komariah Kunchoro, MP, Indonesia, spoke on Regional Autonomy and the Efforts to Achieve the MDGs in Indonesia.

They traced Indonesia’s democratization and decentralization reform efforts over the years and linked them to the quality of public services and the realization of social economic welfare. Education, health and social welfare are among the 31 policy areas over which authority is delegated to regional governments.

Local governments are crucial to the achievement of the MDGs because they have the authority to set agendas and allocate budgets. Local governments have shown strong efforts to achieve the MDGs. Indonesia has experienced downward trends in maternal mortality ratio and infant mortality rates since the 1980s. Gender equality remains a challenge, however. Dr. Ida and Ms Kunchoro showed that the number of women public servants in important positions is less than half of the men’s.

Other challenges include the lack of coordination between provincial and district authorities, inefficiency in the bureaucracy, corruption, cultural discrimination against women in public life and intervention of special interests in politics.

However, they believe that the MDGs can be achieved in Indonesia if the local governments can learn from best practices and be committed, consistent and people-oriented. It also depends on transparent, accountable and clean government, with supervision by the national government and active participation from the community.

Global Advocacy for MDGs Essential in Influencing Policymakers

Ms. Mascha Matthews, Senior Advocacy Officer, German Foundation for World Population (DSW), Brussels, spoke on the topic Partnerships and Advocacy in Support of MDGs.

She explained that DSW’s mission is to help people free themselves from poverty by supporting family planning and sexual and reproductive rights. DSW conducts global advocacy by influencing policymakers at all levels. It advocates for sound aid-giving and allocations for MDGs. To fight and reduce poverty, DSW advocates that 20% of aid from Europe should be benchmarked for basic health services and secondary education.

Ms. Matthews said that there should be a division of labour to ensure aid effectiveness. Donors who are strong in promoting health and gender initiatives should take the lead. Aid-giving should also be an inclusive process with participation from civil society and parliamentarians.

On the role of parliamentarians, she said that partnering countries and their parliamentarians can debate, decide and stress what percentage of aid should go towards MDG efforts. What’s more, parliamentarians are instrumental in monitoring and evaluating MDG implementation and ensuring government accountability.

Good Governance a Moral and Spiritual Practice

Dr. Indermohan S. Narula, Resident Representative and Technical Advisor, Japan International Corporation of Welfare Services (JICWELS), spoked on Governance and Accountability: the Foundation for Sustainable Development and Well-Being (MDGs).

He stated that governance is an expression of trusteeship, with the vulnerable and the poor as the trust of our societies who need to be served and developed. Trustworthiness is thus a vital characteristic of governance and the source of accountability. The quality of governance, he said, is determined by 1) the quality of leadership; 2) the characteristics of the governed; and 3) the nature of the structures and process employed to exercise authority and allocate resources to meet human needs, such as MDGs.

He added that governance involves much more than being the government. Governance occurs at all levels and encompasses the ways that formal government, NGOs and community organizations and the private sectormanage their financial resources and affairs. A governor must maintain clear perception of social reality, consult with the governed, properly assess the resources of the community, and make decisions in a manner that preserves and promotes institutional unity.

Dr. Narula also called corruption the “very antithesis” of good governance. He said that overcoming corruption requires not just administrative procedures and legal safeguards but also commitment at the personal and moral level. “Governance,” he said, “is in essence a moral and spiritual practice whose compass is found within the human heart.”

Changing Public Attitude Through Media

Mr. Bill Ryerson, President, Population Institute and Population Media Center, USA, spoke about the use of communication and media in family planning. Mr. Ryerson believes that the non-use of family planning methods is mainly due to access barriers, fear of male opposition and religious opposition. Similar reasons also apply to HIV/AIDS patients, who also suffer from stigma and discrimination.

He stated that attaining the MDGs requires not only funding in medical areas but also funding in communication. Because of the need to change public attitudes regarding family planning, he founded his organization in 1998.

He cited a melodrama in Mexico as a form of behavior change communication. Through these dramas, the audience become more aware about the consequences of different attitudes and behaviors. The strategy of behavior change communication is not just sending a message but creating a role model for society through emotion-based media programming.

Women MPs as Major Advocates for MDGs

Dr. Donya Aziz, MP

Dr. Donya Aziz

Dr. Donya Aziz, MP, Pakistan, emphasized that women MPs in Pakistan are involved and interested in all development issues to ensure the provision of public social services for all, both men and women.

Many legislations concerning women’s affairs were adopted, she explained, thanks to a large number of women politicians, and men who to some degree has accepted the reality and benefits of having active women MPs.

In 2006, a women protection law was adopted to safeguard women from violence. This legislation also included a consultative dialogue with human rights groups. Another new law was adopted to review deep-rooted cultural practices and attitudes, such as under-age marriage.

Having women as major advocates for MDGs in the parliament has had a positive impact, and there is a need to empower both women and men to achieve better results. Civil society can play a large role in this process.

Development Endangered If Not En-Gendered
Mrs. Tuti Indarsih Loekman Soetrisno, MP

Mrs. Tuti Indarsih Loekman Soetrisno, MP, Indonesia, spoke on Governance, Accountability and Sustainability of MDGs-related Efforts.

Indonesia has mainstreamed gender in nearly all aspects of national development. She showed data that indicate near perfect balance (99%-100%) in the ratio of girls to boys in primary, secondary and tertiary education. However, only 33.3% of women workers are now employed in non-agricultural sectors, far short of the target of 50%. Women representation in the parliament stands now at 11.3%.

Indonesia’s immunization programme has been instrumental in protecting a high percentage of children from a number of diseases. The country’s child mortality rate is 32 per 1,000 live births in 2008 and the government has instituted a Health Protection Programme for Neonatals to lower the high number of deaths in the early period after birth.

Maternal mortality rate has dropped from 450 per 100,000 live births in 1990 to 307 in 2007, but much work remains to be done to reach the target of 110 by 2015. Among the challenges is the lack of access to skilled birth attendants in some remote areas.

Together with the government, parliamentarians have made progress in amending the Health Law to include reproductive health rights, improving health insurance scheme and increase the Health National Budget.

However, there are discrepancies between laws and policies on the one hand, and their actual implementation on the other. She pointed to patriarchic tradition and gender construction as the main barriers to the acceptance of the voice of women in the public sphere. Budget allocations have also been inconsistent and not gender-sensitive. In closing, she insisted that if not en-gendered, development would be endangered.

Iranian Women Faring Better in Education and Health

Dr. Zohreh Elahian, MP

Dr. Zohreh Elahian, MP, Iran, highlighted data in a number of areas that indicate progress in women’s rights and welfare.

On education, she showed data that indicate literacy among women aged 15-24 increased by 125.45 per cent between 1976 and 2005, compared to 38% among men in the same period. Women are consistently outperforming men in gaining entry into universities, a trend that is also reflected in admission statistics for medical schools, where women have progressed from a position of virtual parity in 1992-93 to a position of dominance in 2002-03.

Both the number and relative proportion of women medical specialists have increased 7-fold in the past 30 years. The relative proportion of female obstetrician and gynecologists has also increased substantially and 98% of all specialist obstetrician and gynecologists in Iran are women. Between 1991 and 2006, the proportion of Ministry of Health staff who are women has also increased significantly.

The massive scale-up of integrated reproductive and child health services at primary care level has yielded dividends in terms of reductions in under-five and infant mortality. “Even though the most recent data is only from 2003,” she said, “the trends established lead us to conclude that MDG4 will be achieved on time.” Maternal mortality in Iran is also on course to meet MDG target well ahead of the 2015 deadline.

Iran has also instituted supportive health policies and programmes to improve antenatal care, focus on child growth monitoring, promote healthy nutrition in pregnant and breastfeeding women and control communicable and non-communicable diseases. Dr. Elahian noted that the Islamic Consultative Assembly highly supports the government’s policies regarding maternal and child health and control of HIV-AIDS both politically and financially.

Women Parliamentarians Fighting for Gender Equality
Ms. Rida Azimi, MP

Ms. Rida Azimi, MP, Afghanistan, spoke on the role of parliamentarians in achieving the MDGs in her country. She said that women have fought to increase the number of seat in the parliament for each region from one to two. Women’s political participation in the parliament is now 26%. The number of women who registered for the election increased from 41.5% in 2004 to 44% in 2005. However, the false perception that women need authorization to vote is still pervasive and negatively affects female suffrage.

Women parliamentarians, she said, are working closely with international organizations working on women issues in Afghanistan, but the number of women in decision-making positions has not increased enough. Women MPs have lobbied to increase women representation in the justice, security and, especially, the diplomatic sectors.

Women MPs are also advocating the Ministry of Finance to include budget for women issues. Afghanistan has the second highest maternal mortality rate in the world and 83% of Afghans who die from TB are women. One challenge is the lack of health and legal centers that are accessible to women in rural area.

She said that all policies and programmes should reflect the gender equality clause enshrined in the Constitution. Currently, the parliament of Afghanistan is drafting a law against domestic violence and on gender equality.

Conference Delegates Unanimously Adopt
Ulaanbaatar Statement of Commitment

On 24 September at the Closing Programme of the conference, parliamentarians and ministers discussed in details and adopted a Ulaanbaatar Statement of Commitment.

By adopting the Statement, the delegates committed themselves to taking the following strategic actions:

The Closing Programme was chaired by Ms. Delia Barcelona, UNFPA Representative in Mongolia, and addressed by Mr. Nyamaa Enkhbold, Vice Chairman of the State Great Khural of Mongolia (Parliament), Dr. Tsolmon Jadambaa, Vice Minister of Health of Mongolia, Ms. Safiye Cagar, Director of IERD at UNFPA and Mr. Shiv Khare, Executive Director of AFPPD. Vice Minister Tsolmon read out the Ulaanbaatar Statement of Commitment.

Ms. Delia Barcelona reiterated that parliamentarians are the lifeline and voice of their people and constituencies, whose livelihood depends on their will to bring about progress and concrete actions. Vice Chairman Enkhbold recognized the contribution of women MPs to this conference and promised to provide opportunities to women MPs in the Mongolian parliament to support such conferences in the future on behalf of the Government of Mongolia. The conference was closed by Vice Chairman Enkhbold.

For the full text of the Statement, please contact AFPPD Secretariat at afppd@afppd.org.

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Central Asian Women MPs Highlighted Their Role and Input Into Development

The AFPPD Central Asian Women Parliamentarians Conference was held in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, on 3-4 September, and was attended by members of parliaments and government representatives from Afghansitan, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan. Also in attendance were academics, journalists and representatives from the UN and NGOs. The theme of the conference was “Role and Input of Women Parliamentarians Into Development of Society.”

The opening ceremony was addressed by Chairman of the Tajik Parliament, the Honorable Mahmadsaid Ubaydulloyev. In his welcoming speech, he stressed the important role that women play in the country’s society and outlined the successes of his country in granting more rights to women.

The opening ceremony was also addressed by Dr. Tutkushev Beksultan Serikbayevich, Deupty Secretary-General of AFPPD and Senator from Kazakhstan, and Mr. Khaled Philby, UNFPA Representative in Uzbekistan and UNFPA Regional Director for Central Asia. A videotaped greeting of Mrs. Thea Fierens, Director, UNFPA Regional Office for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, was also shown.

Ms. Thea Fierens said in her message that parliamentarians can make key changes on policies and serve as a bridge between the people and their governments. She further noted that networks of parliamentarian activities have a trickle-down effect to the rest of the population and are effective in advocating for people’s rights and ensuring that their needs are met. She pinpointed the challenges in several key areas, including universal access to reproductive health, spread of sexually transmitted infections and HIV, scaling up of improved sexual and reproductive health services for young people, and share of national budgets for health sector development.

During the conference, women parliamentarians discussed issues concerning their role in development and social and parliamentary affairs both in their own countries and in the region. They also shared their views on pressing issues related to the advancement of women in government, the situation of women in society, their contribution to society, social protection of women, respect for the rights of women in education and reproductive health.

A particular emphasis was placed on funding and gender budgeting. It was noted that countries in the region share many similar problems and that their solution requires a continuous exchange of legislative experience and coordination in monitoring legislation and implementation.

Conference participants praised the existing international experience in establishing gender partnerships, especially the experience gained from participation in AFPPD activities, and emphasized the need to develop and adopt specific legislation to ensure equal rights and equal opportunities for women and men.

While progress has been made in providing more opportunities and protection to women, there remains a gap between policy and implementation. For example, according to delegates from Afghanistan, in recent years, the Afghan Parliament passed several laws on the rights of women, but in reality, women rarely benefit from them. Similar problems exist elsewhere in the region, so the delegates believed that holding this kind of activities, where parliamentarians can openly exchange their experience, is important and will benefit all participants and interested parties.

Delegates agreed at the end of the conference to organize the next Central Asian Women Parliamentarians Conference in Turkmenistan in 2009. The outcome of a two-day conference was the signing of the Dushanbe Declaration.

Women Parliamentarians’ Achievements Need to be Highlighted
AFPPD Standing Committee on Women Made Several Decisions

Wellington – AFPPD’s Standing Committee on Women reviews and guides the gender-related activities of AFPPD. The Committee is currently chaired by the Honorable Ms. Steve Chadwick, MP and Minister of Women’s Affairs of New Zealand. Minister Chadwick chaired the 13-member Committee meeting on 20-21 August at the Parliament of New Zealand.

The Committee reviewed the report of the gender-related activities of AFPPD which highlighted its support for national parliamentarian committees’ population and health initiatives, legislation on the elimination of domestic violence and efforts to promote participation of women parliamentarians at the national, regional and international level.

AFPPD’s active participation at the “Women Delivers” Conference in London in October 2007 and its organization of the yearly Asian Women Parliamentarians’ and Ministers’ Conference were also reviewed and various suggestions of improved impact discussed. It was agreed that women parliamentarians’ profile must be enhanced and their achievements be highlighted.

Ms. Joy Liddicoat, Commissioner of the New Zealand Human Rights Commission, spoke on her experience on women-related human rights issues and asked women parliamentarians to be more supportive of human rights related causes.Ms. Andrea Evans, Deputy Policy Manager, Ministry of Women’s Affairs, New Zealand, informed women parliamentarians from 13 countries about the monitoring framework of an Action Plan being implemented in New Zealand.

During the day of the Standing Committee meeting, a MDG-3 Torch was received from Denmark by Minister Steve Chadwick at the Parliament House. This ceremony was a reminder to parliamentarians of New Zealand about gender issues related to MDGs. The ceremony was also attended by women parliamentarians from Asia-Pacific, members of AFPPD Standing Committee on Women and parliamentarians and NGOs of New Zealand.

The Standing Committee meeting was attended by Ms. Dato’ Saripah Aminah, MP, Malaysia; Ms. Donya Aziz, MP, Pakistan; Ms. Kobkul Phancharoenworakul, MP, Thailand; Ms. Darlene Magnolia Antonino-Custodio Ricasa, MP, Philippines; Ms. Penny Sharpe, MP, Australia; Mrs. Tuti Indarsih Loekman Soetrisno, MP, Indonesia; and Ms. Viplove Thakur, MP, India. From the Pacific: Ms. Cassey Eggelton, Deputy Speaker, Cook Island; Mr. Laauli Leuatea P. Schmidt, Deputy Speaker, Samoa; Ms. Va’aiga Tukuitoga, MP, Niue; Mr. Tangata Vainerere, Pacific Parliamentarian Assembly on Population and Development, and Ms. Jane Singleton, Chief Executive Officer, Australian Reproductive Health Alliance. NZPPD was represented by Ms. Jackie Edmond, Executive Director, Ms. Abby Rogerson and Ms. Rachel Leatham. AFPPD was represented by Mr. Shiv Khare and Ms. Harleen Thakral.

New Parliamentarian Group Formed in Papua New Guinea

On 24 September, a group of interested parliamentarians and ministers of Papua New Guinea gathered in Port Moresby on the initiative of UNFPA-Papua New Guinea to kick-start the formation of a parliamentary select committee on population and development. The parliamentarians who attended the conference agreed to be the founding members of the PNG Parliamentary Committee on Population and Development (GPPD) and expressed their commitment to address population, reproductive health (RH) and gender issues in their respective electorates and in PNG. The founding members were optimistic that more MPs will join in the course of time. The Committee will become part of a Regional and Global network.

Addressing the Committee, Dame Carol Kidu cited the exciting initiatives undertaken by parliamentary groups on population and development in many other countries including those in the Pacific and also revealed that she had benefitted tremendously from activities organized by the Asian Forum of Parliamentarians on Population and Development (AFPPD). Mr. Duah Owusu-Sarfo, UNFPA Representative, made a presentation of the history and activities of parliamentary groups on population and development and pledged UNFPA’s readiness to provide funding for the initial activities of the Committee and secretariat support. Mr. Ken Fairweather, Minister of Defense, also promised to release a staff of his to assist in coordinating activities of the Committee.

Abortion Law Reform Bill Passed in Victoria, Australia

Abortion has been legalized in the Australian State of Victoria with the passing of the Victorian Abortion Law Reform Bill by both houses of the state parliament. After the Lower House of the Victorian Parliament passed the Bill 49-32 on 12 September, the Upper House passed the third and final reading of the Bill 23 – 17 on 13 October. After long parliamentary debates, all proposed amendments, which would have weakened the Bill, were debated and rejected.

Under the Bill, terminations of pregnancy will be regulated and legalized up to 24 weeks gestation. After the 24th week, a registered medical practitioner may perform an abortion on a woman only if the medical practitioner 1) reasonably believes that the termination of pregnancy is appropriate in all the circumstances and 2) has consulted at least one other medical practitioner who also reasonably believes that the termination is appropriate in all the circumstances.

5th Asia-Pacific Conference on SRHR to be in China

Preparation for the 5th Asia-Pacific Conference on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (APCSRHR) has started with the convening of the 22-member International Steering Committee on 27-28 August in Taicang, China.

Chaired by Dr. Baige Zhao, Vice Minister, National Population and Family Planning Commission, and co-chaired by Dr. Gill Greer, Director-General of International Planned Parenthood Federation, the Steering Committee includes prominent NGOs and youth representatives.

The 5th APCSRHR will be held in Beijing on 18-20 October 2009. The 4th APCRSHR in Hyderabad, India, brought together 1,300 NGOs, United Nations agencies, government representatives, parliamentarians, and donors. It was the largest gathering of population and Sexual Reproductive Health-related NGOs and agencies.

AFPPD will play a prominent role in organizing parliamentarian participation and involvement through workshops and panel discussions. A donor forum is also planned. AFPPD’s Executive Director Shiv Khare attended the Steering Committee of APCSRHR in Taicang, China.

Vietnamese MPs Played Active Role in AIDS Conference in Mexico

The Vietnamese Association of Parliamentarians on Population and Development (VAPPD), a member of AFPPD, organized the participation of Members of Parliament of Vietnam at the International AIDS Conference in Mexico on 3-8 August.

Vietnamese parliamentarains and VAPPD staff met on the sideline of the conference with the Mexico Parliament Committee for Public Health and Committee for International Relations. They also attended a luncheon briefing on Parliamentary Leadership in the Response to the HIV/AIDS Epidemic, during which Dr. Nguyen Van Tien, Vice Chair of VAPPD, discussed the role of Vietnamese MPs and VAPPD in HIV/AIDS-related legislations. He also commented on the effectiveness of activities organized by AFPPD and the International Medical Parliamentarians Organization (IMPO), which have enhanced their understanding of population and development issues and encouraged sharing of best practices.

Philippines Awaits Passage of Magna Carta of Women

After being named a priority legislation by the Philippines’ Legislative Executive Development Advisory council (LEDAC), the Magna Carta of Women bill was endorsed by the Committee on Women and Gender Equality in June 2008. The Philippine House of Representatives passed it in August 2008. Inspired by and partly derived from the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), this bill consolidates 15 previous bills and was mostly the product of work by the Committee.

The chair of the Committee, Ms. Nanette Castelo-Daza, said “the Magna Carta of Women eliminates discrimination against women, but recognizes, protects, fulfills and promotes human rights and fundamental freedoms of women, particularly the poor and marginalized.” Speaker Prospero C. Nograles stated that the passage of the bill showed the country’s commitment to uplifting women and eliminating “discrimination and abuse.” The legislation also needs to be passed by the Philippine Senate to take effect.

Senator Pia S. Cayetano noted that “CEDAW has been in force for twenty-six years since the Philippines ratified it in 1981. Yet Filipino women continue to suffer from various forms of discrimination stemming from economic, political and social factors and unequal relations between men and women.”

“Two and a half decades of waiting for the fulfillment of this obligation is too long,” said Senator Cayetano. “The time has long been ripe for a comprehensive law that guarantees and recognizes women’s basic human rights,” she added.

The proposed Magna Carta of Women will define in the law what “discrimination” is, make discrimination against women unlawful, and calls for the revision or total repeal of discriminatory provisions in existing laws.

The Bill will give particular attention to poor and marginalized women and provide them special assistance. It also sets a time-table on the government to achieve a number of measurable goals to realize gender equity, such as set targets of women representation in government agencies and councils, equal access to education, to ownership and to health services and information.

Finnish Parliamentarians Urge President of Finland to Highlight Reproductive Health

A delegation of the Finnish All-Party Parliamentary Group on Population and Development (APPG) and a representative of Vaestoliitto, the Family Federation of Finland, had a meeting with the President of Finland Tarja Halonen on Thursday 18 September to urge the President to take up sexual and reproductive health and rights issues in the UN High-level meeting on Millennium Development Goals taking place in New York the following week. In connection with the High-Level meeting President Halonen is also co-chairing a special event on maternal and child health together with the President’s of Chile and Tanzania.

President Tarja Halonen took an extremely positive stand to the requests made by the Finnish Parliamentarians and promised to take the issues up both in the High-Level meeting and the side event. She also promised to take them up in her meeting with the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

Laos Parliamentary Committee Promotes Social and Cultural Affairs Legislations

The Social and Cultural Committee of the National Assembly in Laos actively participates in the formulation and amendment of laws and statutes in social and cultural affairs and other fields, including drugs and medical products, education, intellectual properties, narcotics, sports and mass media. Mr. Douangdy Outhachak, Chairman of the Social and Cultural Committee and President of the Association of National Assembly Members for Population and Development highlighted the Committee’s contributions in these legislative areas at the meeting and workshops of the Social and Cultural Committee and LAPPD, which were held on 28 - 30 July 2008 in Thalad, Vientiane province. This event was supported by Public Administration and Civil Service Authority (PACSA), UNDP and UNFPA. Dr Xaysomphone Phomvihane, Vice President of the National Assembly and Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee attended the opening ceremony.

In the fiscal year 2008-2009 the Social and Cultural Committee will continue enhancing its responsibility for studying and commenting on materials of the sixth and seventh ordinary session of the National Assembly. The Committee will coordinate with relevant organizations, reviewing the implementation of laws, setting up plans for formulating and amending the laws and inspiring the formulation of decree on implementation of the promulgated laws. It will improve the working style and the mechanisms of cooperation and coordination between committees, sectors and relevant organizations.

CAPPD Chair Becomes Deputy Prime Minister of Cambodia

Mrs. Men Sam On, MP, Cambodia, who is the Chair of the Cambodian Association of Parliamentarians on Population and Development (CAPPD), has now become Deputy Prime Minister of Cambodia.

UNDP-Turkmenistan Promotes Gender Equality in Family Life

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is currently running a project titled “Gender Mainstreaming in Policy Making in Turkmenistan” that supports the Government of Turkmenistan in promoting gender equality and women’s advancement by enhancing national capacity for gender sensitive analysis and raising public awareness on gender issues among government officials at central and local levels and population in general. Other UNDP’s activities include facilitating the preparation of the shadow CEDAW report, revision of the National Action Plan and establishment of Resource Centers to strengthen the dynamic of women’s social life and to provide women with different types of assistance and counseling.

European Parliamentary Forum Fact Finding Mission in Georgia

On 19-20 September, the European Parliamentary Forum on Population and Development (EPF) led a Fact Finding Mission of European Parliamentarians to Georgia to assess the situation of reproductive health of internally displaced persons and to evaluate the health infrastructure needs of the country in the aftermath of the conflict between the Republic of Georgia and the Russian Federation. The mission has been organised on the invitation of Hon. George Tsereteli MP, Vice Chairperson of the Georgian Parliament and Member of EPF Executive Committee with the cooperation of the United Nations Population Fund in Georgia.

The mission allowed the Parliamentarians to assess the necessary measures to be taken to meet the reproductive health needs of the Georgian refugees, including what is immediately needed and what will be required for the long term.

World Population Approaches 7 Billion

World population is projected to reach 7 billion in 2012, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The world population hit 6 billion in 1999. These figures come from the updated world population estimates and projections released in June 2008 through the Census Bureau’s International Data Base (IDB). The IDB provides information on population size and growth, age and sex composition, mortality, fertility and net migration. The data are available for 226 countries and other selected geographies.

This revision to the IDB includes updated projections for 34 countries. Compared to previous estimates, this revision indicates that the world population will be 146 million larger in 2050. The Census Bureau’s latest projections show world population growing at a slower pace during the first half of the 21st century than the latter half of the 20th century. The world population doubled from 3 billion in 1959 to 6 billion in 1999, but is projected to increase by only 50 percent between 1999 and 2040. Global population growth, about 1.2 percent per year, is projected to decline to 0.5 percent by 2050. However, this growth will be concentrated in less-developed countries.

About 1.5 percent of the current global population is 80 or older, with more than half living in developed countries. By 2050, about 5 percent of the world’s population is projected to be 80 or older, with about three in four likely to be living in less-developed countries. For developed countries, the percentage of the population 80 or older will grow to about 10 percent in 2050.

World population estimates and projections include the impact of HIV and AIDS. Of the 34 countries updated in this revision, nine are hard hit by this pandemic These nine countries are: Benin, Cote d’Ivoire, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Guinea, Nigeria, South Africa, Zimbabwe and the Central African Republic).

Data for other countries seriously affected by HIV and AIDS are also available from the International Data Base.

Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment Key to Achieving Millennium Development Goals

Investing in Comprehensive Sexual and Reproductive Health is a Proven Poverty Reduction Strategy

MDG Efforts Grounded in Human Security

Good Governance and Accountability Key to Achieving MDGs

Progress Made on Health and Gender MDGs in Mongolia

Pacific Islands Vow to Take Bold Steps to Achieve MDGs

Achieving MDGs Requires More Than Financial Resources

Uneven Progress on Health MDGs

Aid Should Be Owner-Driven

Implementation Gap Exists Between Goals and Realities

Gender Equality Should Be Taken Across All Goals

Right Policies and Institutional Settings Conducive to Achieving MDGs

Bottom-Up Approach Shows Good Results

Decentralization and Local Governments Crucial to Achievement of MDGs

Global Advocacy for MDGs Essential in Influencing Policymakers

Good Governance a Moral and Spiritual Practice

Changing Public Attitude Through Media

Women MPs as Major Advocates for MDGs

Development Endangered If Not En-Gendered
Mrs. Tuti Indarsih Loekman Soetrisno, MP

Iranian Women Faring Better in Education and Health

Dr. Zohreh Elahian, MP

Women Parliamentarians Fighting for Gender Equality
Ms. Rida Azimi, MP

Conference Delegates Unanimously Adopt
Ulaanbaatar Statement of Commitment

Photo Gallery

Central Asian Women MPs Highlighted Their Role and Input Into Development

Women Parliamentarians’ Achievements Need to be Highlighted
AFPPD Standing Committee on Women Made Several Decisions

New Parliamentarian Group Formed in Papua New Guinea

Abortion Law Reform Bill Passed in Victoria, Australia

5th Asia-Pacific Conference on SRHR to be in China

Vietnamese MPs Played Active Role in AIDS Conference in Mexico

Philippines Awaits Passage of Magna Carta of Women

Finnish Parliamentarians Urge President of Finland to Highlight Reproductive Health

Laos Parliamentary Committee Promotes Social and Cultural Affairs Legislations

CAPPD Chair Becomes Deputy Prime Minister of Cambodia

UNDP-Turkmenistan Promotes Gender Equality in Family Life

European Parliamentary Forum Fact Finding Mission in Georgia

World Population Approaches 7 Billion

Asian Forum of Parliamentarians on Population and Development (AFPPD) Calendar of Activities

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	Forum Newsletter

Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment Key to Achieving Millennium Development Goals

Investing in Comprehensive Sexual and Reproductive Health is a Proven Poverty Reduction Strategy

MDG Efforts Grounded in Human Security

Good Governance and Accountability Key to Achieving MDGs

Progress Made on Health and Gender MDGs in Mongolia

Pacific Islands Vow to Take Bold Steps to Achieve MDGs

Achieving MDGs Requires More Than Financial Resources

Uneven Progress on Health MDGs

Aid Should Be Owner-Driven

Implementation Gap Exists Between Goals and Realities

Gender Equality Should Be Taken Across All Goals

Right Policies and Institutional Settings Conducive to Achieving MDGs

Bottom-Up Approach Shows Good Results

Decentralization and Local Governments Crucial to Achievement of MDGs

Global Advocacy for MDGs Essential in Influencing Policymakers

Good Governance a Moral and Spiritual Practice

Changing Public Attitude Through Media

Women MPs as Major Advocates for MDGs

Development Endangered If Not En-Gendered Mrs. Tuti Indarsih Loekman Soetrisno, MP

Iranian Women Faring Better in Education and Health

Dr. Zohreh Elahian, MP

Women Parliamentarians Fighting for Gender Equality Ms. Rida Azimi, MP

Conference Delegates Unanimously Adopt Ulaanbaatar Statement of Commitment

Photo Gallery

Central Asian Women MPs Highlighted Their Role and Input Into Development

Women Parliamentarians’ Achievements Need to be Highlighted AFPPD Standing Committee on Women Made Several Decisions

New Parliamentarian Group Formed in Papua New Guinea

Abortion Law Reform Bill Passed in Victoria, Australia

5th Asia-Pacific Conference on SRHR to be in China

Vietnamese MPs Played Active Role in AIDS Conference in Mexico

Philippines Awaits Passage of Magna Carta of Women

Finnish Parliamentarians Urge President of Finland to Highlight Reproductive Health

Laos Parliamentary Committee Promotes Social and Cultural Affairs Legislations

CAPPD Chair Becomes Deputy Prime Minister of Cambodia

UNDP-Turkmenistan Promotes Gender Equality in Family Life

European Parliamentary Forum Fact Finding Mission in Georgia

World Population Approaches 7 Billion

Asian Forum of Parliamentarians on Population and Development (AFPPD) Calendar of Activities

Development Endangered If Not En-Gendered
Mrs. Tuti Indarsih Loekman Soetrisno, MP

Women Parliamentarians Fighting for Gender Equality
Ms. Rida Azimi, MP

Conference Delegates Unanimously Adopt
Ulaanbaatar Statement of Commitment

Women Parliamentarians’ Achievements Need to be Highlighted
AFPPD Standing Committee on Women Made Several Decisions