Issue
May to July 2000

- Dr. Nafis Sadik, Executive Director, UNFPA

New Delhi – Dr. Nafis Sadik, UNFPA Executive Director and the Under-Secretary General of the United Nations along with Mr. N. T. Shanmugam, Hon. Minister of State for Health & Family Welfare, and Mr. P. M. Sayeed, Deputy Speaker of the Lok Sabha (lower house), launched UNFPA supported Opinion Leaders project in the Parliament House recently.

The project emphasizes on Involvement of elected representatives for advocacy on population, reproductive health, reproductive rights and women’s empowerment issues. The project is focussing on Rajashtan, Madhya Pradesh (two of the Indian states) and in some selected districts of a few other states. In addition, the project will plan for sensitizing and involving Lok Sabha (lower house) and Rajya Sabha (upper house) members of the parliament on various human development concerns especially reproductive health and gender issues. It is executed by the Department of Family Welfare, Government of India and is being implemented by the Indian Association of Parliamentarians on Population and Development (IAPPD) – a member of AFPPD.

Dr. Sadik, during the launching ceremony said "India’s commitment to its population and development programmes is evident in the steps initiated in drafting a population policy of its own. A population policy, as India stands at the threshold of the next millennium, will be a great aid in guiding the population and development programmes so that the goals of the next century can be attained as speedily as possible". She further added "The purpose of the project will be to sensitize the elected leaders to the local issues that effect quality of life of individuals and community, especially with regard to reproductive health and gender concerns. If the leadership at that level is sensitized, the system delivers faster and with greater responsibility"

India

Madhya Pradesh State Opinion Leaders Meet on Population

Bhopal – On 18 July 2000, Indian Association of Parliamentarians on Population and Development (IAPPD) Project Work on "Involvement of Elected Representatives for Advocacy on Population, Reproductive Health, HIV/AIDS, Reproductive Rights and Empowerment of Women" was launched in Madhya Pradesh, India, by organizing a launching ceremony in Bhopal. The ceremony was presided over by Mr. Shrinivas Tiwari, Hon. Speaker, Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly. Mr. Digvijay Singh, Chief Minister Madhya Pradesh, along with his cabinet colleagues attended the function as the Chief Guests. Ms. Shabana Azmi, MP, Good will Ambassador, UNFPA, was the Guest of Honour. Mr. Shiv Khare, Executive Director, AFPPD; and Mr. R.N. Singh, DAC, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, also participated.

Dr. S S Sisodia, Chairman, IAPPD, welcomed the participants. Mr. Digvijay Singh, Chief Minister, informed that the Government has launched the RCH programme in a big way in the state and has also come out with state specific population policy released on 11 May this year. He appealed all elected representatives especially his cabinet colleagues to speak for two minutes on RCH and population stabilization programmes while addressing the people on different occasions. He expressed the commitment of the state for the cause. Mr. Shiv Khare, Executive Director, AFPPD, talked on the role of parliamentarians in the field of population and development and various national, regional and global parliamentarians associations working for the cause of Population Development under the umbrella of AFPPD. Ms. Shabana Azmi expressed her concern over the poor state of health and family welfare services.

She urged that compulsion of any sort should not be imposed, specially on female, because these compulsions are against human rights. Hon. Speaker Mr. Srinivas Tiwari was of the view that sufficient efforts are lacking in Family Welfare and other health and population programmes. After 52 years, India is still not in a position to reach a family living in the remotest corner of the country. Sh. Mahender Singh, Minister of Agriculture, gave vote of thanks.

The ceremony was attended by more than 600 elected representatives including MPs, MLAs, Chairmen Zilla Parishads, Mayors Municipal Corporations, Chairmen Municipal Committees, representatives from NGOs, academicians, experts, consultants and distinguished personalities from all walks of life of Madhya Pradesh.

IAPPD has plans to go to the grass roots level (Village Panchayat) to interact with the elected representatives to know the real situation at the ground level, as well as to organize orientation workshops for legislators at the capital of Madhya Pradesh, Bhopal.

New Delhi – A group of Medical Parliamentarians including ministers met under the aegis of Indian Association for Parliamentarians on Population and Development (IAPPD) on 9 March 2000 to discuss and review the status of health including reproductive and child health programme in India.

The participants expressed great concern on the status of health of the people in the country. It was unfortunate, they felt that health and family welfare did not get enough allocation; rather the allocation has declined over time. They expressed commitment to do their best for health of the people of the country, and decided to meet often to continue to discuss issues.

The Reproductive and Child Health (RCH) Programme of the country is a much wider package than family planning or population control. It is important that they should "educate the educated ones" about the need to talk especially the Elected Representatives from Panchayat to Parliament about RCH rather than population control.

They will take the advocacy role on the issues connected with health including reproductive health inside and outside the parliament. They will meet the Prime Minister and others concerned to ensure that the programme gets its due and necessary legislations are introduced in the parliament.

It was decided that they will look at the National Health Policy document of 1983 and see what changes it requires in the changed environment of the next century. Efforts will be made to introduce those changes.

The other concern was on the Consumer Act in regard to duties and responsibilities of the medical profession. This issue will also be discussed in one of the meetings of this group and then taken up at appropriate level.

They also committed that they would like to apply their efforts for bettering the public sector health services. They would monitor operation of this programme in their constituencies so that quality of services could be improved. They will also advocate among their fellow parliamentarians to take up monitoring role in their own constituencies.

The IAPPD, which works closely with the International Medical Parliamentarians Organization (IMPO), has taken this initiative, and, according to Mr. Manmohan Sharma, Executive Secretary of IAPPD, it will continue to mobilize medical parliamentarians.

The meeting was held under the Chairmanship of Dr. Vallabh Bhai Katheria, MP, Minister of State for Heavy Industries. Other present were: Dr. Madan Prasad Jaiwal, MP; Dr. C. Krishna, MP; Dr. Ranjit Kumar Panja, MP; Dr. Ashok Kumar Patel, MP; Dr. (Smt.) V. Saroja, MP; Dr. Raman, MP; Dr. Gopal Rao Vithal Rao Patil, MP; Dr. Lalit Bhai Mehta, MP; Mr. Michael Vlassoff, Country Representative, UNFPA, India; Dr. Rani Malhi, ex-MP; Mr. Manmohan Sharma, Executive Director, IAPPD.

Japan

Ms. Imelda Henkin Meet JPFP Members

Tokyo – Ms. Imelda Henkin, Director, Asia and Pacific Division of UNFPA, New York, and Ms. Ryoko Nishida, Director, International Programme Division of JOICFP met JPFP members, led by Dr. Taro Nakayama, Chairman of JPFP, on 10 July 2000 in Tokyo, Japan, and discussed the following topics:

1) Population issues in Japan (Aging and Low Fertility Rate, Child Abuse, and Domestic Violence);

2) Population issues in Asia (Food security, water resource, HIV/AIDS, environmental issues, empowerment of women); and

3) Importance of the role of parliamentarians.

The members of JPFP included Dr. Taro Nakayama, Chairman of JPFP; Mr. Yoshio Yatsu, Deputy Executive Director of JPFP; Ms. Akiko Dohmoto, Vice Chairperson of JPFP; Ms. Kayoko Shimizu, Secretary General of JPFP; and Ms. Chieko Nohno, Deputy Secretary General, JPFP.

New IPPF President Meet Japanese MPs

Tokyo – Mrs. Angela Gomez, the new President of the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF), met the Japan Parliamentarians Federation for Population (JPFP) members, led by Dr. Taro Nakayama, Chairman of JPFP, and Mr. Shin Sakurai, Executive Director of JPFP, in Tokyo, Japan, on 21 April 2000.

Mrs. Gomez explained the current IPPF activities. IPPF is shifting its focus from Family Planning to Reproductive Health/Rights, especially on male involvement, services to the adolescent people and problems of HIV/AIDS.

Dr. Nakayama explained that Japan had currently been facing severe financial difficulty and it was hard to keep the level of contribution. However, both Dr. Nakayama and Mr. Sakurai had responded that Japan would continue to strongly support IPPF in the future.

From JPFP, Dr. Taro Nakayama, Chairman of JPFP; Mr. Shin Sakurai, Executive Director of JPFP; Mr. Yoshio Yatsu, Deputy Executive Director of JPFP; and Ms. Kazuko Nose, Director of JPFP, were present, whereas from IPPF were Mrs. Angela Gomez, President of IPPF; Mr. Gay Swee Poh, Treasurer of IPPF; Mrs. Ingar Brueggemann, Director-General of IPPF; and Ms. Kiyoko Ikegami, Resource Mobilization Officer of IPPF.

The Asian Population and Development Association (APDA) , an association of AFPPD in Japan, will conduct "Basic Survey on Agricultural and Rural Development by Progress Stage in Myanmar" in cooperation with the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fishery, Government of Japan. The objective of the study is that in extending assistance in agricultural and rural development to Asian countries, it is necessary to identify the areas in which agricultural and rural development assistance is to be offered, the form in which it is offered and the regions to which it is offered in accordance with stage of development in keeping with country’s policy issues for overall promotion and improvement of rural areas while taking structural changes in population and employment into consideration, in an effort to form the foundation for offering effective and efficient assistance. The study visit consists of two surveys: one in June 2000 and another in July-August. The study will be conducted by Dr. Seiichi Fukui, Professor, Kobe University; Mr. Akihiko Ohno, Professor, Aoyama Gakuin University; Dr. Koichi Fujita, Associate Professor, Kyoto University; and Mr. Osamu Kusumoto, Senior Researcher, APDA.

Another study visit will be in Cambodia to study "Employment Security System and Labour Policy in Asia" in cooperation with the Employment and Human Resource Development Organization of Japan and Ministry of Labour, Government of Japan. The purpose of the study mission is to find out the exact situation of Employment Security System and Labour Policy in Asian countries and to contribute effective Japanese policy for cooperation with overseas cooperation programme. The members of the study mission include Dr. Hiroshi Komai, Professor, Tsukuba University; Mr. Akihiko Ohno, Professor, Aoyama Gakuin University; Ms. Naoko Amakawa, Researcher, JETRO-IDE; and Mr. Osamu Kusumoto, Senior Researcher, APDA.

The Asian Population and Development Association (APDA) in cooperation with the AFPPD will also conduct an in-depth study on Aging in Thailand. The project is funded by the Government of Japan. The visiting group experts – Dr. Hitomi Karube, Professor Yasuo Hagiwara and Mr. Masaaki Endo, Project Manager, APDA – will visit Thailand in late August 2000 to undertake this study.

Parliamentarians Meet on North Korean Children’s Plight

Seoul – The Korean Parliamentary League on Children, Population and Environment (CPE) organized a conference on the plight of North Korean Children on 4 July 2000 at the National Assembly Members’ Building, titled "The Life and Future of North Korean Children Seen in the New Era of inter-Korean Relations". The conference was opened by Hon. Hae-Chan Lee, MP, President of the CPE. The distinguished guests included Mr. Samuel Koo, Director of UNICEF Office in Japan and Special Representative to the Rep. of Korea; Dr. Hirofumi Ando, Special Adviser to the Executive Director of UNFPA; Mr. Somsey Norindr, United Nations Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative, and Ms. Carroll Long, Acting Regional Director for the UNICEF Regional Office for East Asia and the Pacific.

Dr. Gi-Beom Lee, Professor of Education at Sookmyung Women’s University, spoke on the Life and Growth of North Korean Children. Hon. Ui-Hwa Chung, MP, and Hon. Myungsook Han and two other professors were speakers at the panel discussion.

This was also the installation ceremony of the new office of the Korean Parliamentary League on Children, Population and Environment (CPE).

New Chair of CPE Korea

The Korean Parliamentary League on Children, Population and Environment (CPE) has elected Mr. Hae-Chan Lee, MP, as its new Chairman, succeeding Dr. Sang-Mok Suh. Mr. Lee has been involved in sustainable development, and was Mayor of Seoul City.

CPE also appointed Ms. Sangmi Lee as its new General Director in place of Ms. Amy Kim who is going to study for her Ph.D. in Haward University, USA. CPE has made tremendous progress under Ms. Kim and developed many programmes.

         Third APA/ICPD Meeting to be held in Tokyo

Tokyo – The Asia-Pacific Alliance: Advancing the ICPD Agenda (APA/ICPD) is an informal association of non-governmental organizations (NGOs), government agencies, international bodies, donor agencies and foundations in the region, to increasing public education, coordination, and resource mobilization to meet the goals of the ICPD Programme of Action. Their first and second meetings took place in Honolulu, Hawaii in March 1999 and Chiangmai, Thailand, in December 1999 respectively.

The third meeting will be held from 28 August to 1 September 2000 in Tokyo, Japan, and will be hosted by the Japan Organization for International Cooperation in Family Planning (JOICFP). The David and Lucile Packard Foundation will provide funding support for the meeting. AFPPD is also part of APA.

High Level Policy-Makers Seminar on South-to-South Collaboration

Tokyo – 2050, a non-governmental organization dedicated to creation of better understanding and appreciation of global population and development issues, and the UNDP-Tokyo, will jointly organize the High Level Policy-Makers Seminar on South-to-South Collaboration, in cooperation with the Partners in Population and Development and David and Lucile Packard Foundation, with the support of the UNFPA and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Japan.

This seminar, as a follow-up to "South-to South cooperation into the twenty-first Century: Meeting Reproductive Health, Population and Development Challenges in Africa and Asia", will focus on the policy-makers’ roles and challenges in the realization of the ICPD+5 targets and goals. It will also serve the purpose of promoting and generating effective support aiming parliamentarians, influential opinion leaders, government officials, and NGOs or civil society organizations representatives in Japan.

The seminar will take place at the United Nations University in Tokyo, Japan, on 11 and 12 September 2000.

Thailand

UNFPA Executive Director at ADB Meeting in Thailand

Chiangmai – Dr. Nafis Sadik, Executive Director of UNFPA, visited Chiangmai, Thailand on 3, 4 and 5 May 2000 to address the Asian Development Bank Meeting. On her return, she met UNFPA/CST and Population Division (ESCAP) officials in Bangkok and reviewed UNFPA funded programmes. She was also accorded on reception dinner attended by H.E. Mr. Korn Dabbaransi, Hon. Deputy Prime Minister, Thailand.

Others present were Ms. Imelda Henkin, Director, Asia-Pacific Division; Dr. Ghazi Farooq, Director of UNFPA/CST; Dr. Sheila Macrae, UNFPA Representative of Thailand; Dr. Nibhon Debavalya, Chief of Population and Rural and Urban Development Division; and Mr. Shiv Khare, Executive Director, AFPPD.

Pattaya – The United Nations Population Fund/Country Technical Services Team for East and South-East Asia based in Bangkok, Thailand (UNFPA/CST) organized the Inter-Country Workshop on Adolescent Reproductive Health for East and South-East Asia and Pacific in Pattaya, Thailand from 1 to 3 May 2000. UNFPA/CST also brought together young people from the region in a separate workshop a week earlier. Prof. Dr. Prasop Ratanakorn, Former Secretary General of AFPPD opened the workshop. Ms. Imelda Henkin, Director of Asia-Pacific Division, UNFPA, in her keynote address, emphasized the importance of ARH as programme priority for UNFPA.

This workshop was atended by UNFPA Country Representatives, Deputy Representatives, NGOs, donors and government officials in charge of Adolescent Reproductive Health numbering over 100, and was addressed by Ms. Imelda Henkin, Director of Asia-Pacific Division, UNFPA. Mr. Shiv Khare, Executive Director, AFPPD, attended the meeting and spoke about the parliamentarians motivational efforts on ARH.

Ms. Henkin also visited the AFPPD Secretariat with Dr. Sheila Macrae, UNFPA Representative of Thailand. She reviewed the work of the Asian Forum with parliamentarians and discussed future activities.

Vietnam

Parliamentarians Involvement on Reproductive Health and Development Policy in Vietnam - Report

Hanoi – More than 80 participants, including high ranking officers from the Parliament, Political Parties, Government, Mass organizations, 15 Provinces and Research Institutions, participated in the National Seminar on Population, Reproductive Health and Development Policy of Vietnam in the New Millennium. The seminar was held at the Parliament Guesthouse in Hanoi, Vietnam, from 12 to 13 June 2000, and hosted by the Parliament Committee for Social Affairs (PCSA) with the support of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) through project "Advocacy support among elected official on Population and Development".

The objectives of the seminar are to:

a) review policy on population, reproductive health and development policy;

b) make some recommendations for changing, amendment; and

c) issue new policy and strategy on these fields.

The speakers included Mme. Nguyen Thi Than, Chairperson of PCSA and Chairperson of Vietnam Association of Parliamentarians on Population and Development; Mr. Omer Ertur, UNFPA Representative of Vietnam; Mr. Le Quoc Khanh, Vice Chairperson of PCSA; and Representatives from government agencies, such as the National Committee for Population and Family, the General Statistical Office, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural development, the Ministry of Planning and Investment, the Institute of Sociology, the Hochiminh City People’ Council, the Thaibinh provincial People’ Council, and the Kontum Provincial People’ Council,

The following recommendations have been sent to Parliament, Prime Minister, and some related Ministers for their concern:

• Approval of the New strategy on Population of Vietnam in the new millennium;

• Approval of the New strategy on Reproductive Health of Vietnam in the new millennium;

• Approval of the Policy on Spontaneous Migration to help floating people have good life, safe environment, and security;

• Integration of Population variable in the new Socio-economic strategy;

• More resources for Population and Reproductive Health programme support for some disadvantaged regions;

• Approval of related Ordinances, such as Population, Migration, and Religion;

• More resources for Poverty Reduction, Population, Reproductive Health and Development and Prohibition of some services for sex diagnosis and selection.

• Organizing the Consultative meeting on Communication between Researchers and Policy makers on Pop, RH and Dev issues.

With participation of 25 researchers and MPs, during one and half days, at the end of seminar, recommendations have been approved, and agreed to:

1. set up a Club or Forum to gather policy makers and researchers on  Population and Reproductive Health, Development to exchanging information and results;

2. plan for next activities;

3. organize 2 Training Workshops for Leaders of Elected Official for all provincial people council on the subjects of Population and Development Reproductive Health, and Malnutrition Prevention Policy (165 participants will be invited to each workshop, supported by UNFPA and UNICEF, for the period of 3 days, in August 2000);

4. organize 2 Parliamentarians seminar on Gender and Social policy support from CIDA Canada (August and September 2000).

Error in Authorship "Young People Living in a World with HIV/AIDS"

With reference to the Inter-Country Meeting of Parliamentarians and Specialists on HIV/AIDS and STDs held in Bangkok on 12-14 November 1999, the paper on "Young People Living in a World with HIV/AIDS" was written by Ms. Prudence Borthwick, Assistant Project Officer, UNICEF East Asia and Pacific Regional Office, Bangkok, and not by Dr. Rudolf Knippenberg, Regional Adviser-Health and Nutrition, UNICEF East Asia and Pacific Regional Office, Bangkok, as indicated in the AFPPD December 1999 Newsletter (page 9) and the Report of the Inter-Country Meeting of Parliamentarians and Specialists on HIV/AIDS and STDs (page 82). We regret the error.