Philippines

PLCPD Gears Up for Passage of Philippine Population Law

As the Philippine Congress entered into its last regular session in July this year, parliamentary leaders of the Philippine Legislators Committee on Population and Development (PLCPD) have been flexing their muscles to ensure the passage of the proposed law entitled "Integrated Population and Development Act".

The measure is intended to provide a long-lasting solution to the country’s population problem which grows at a rate of 2.32 per year, still among the highest in Asia. Unlike in the past where coercive policies — which eventually backfired — characterized Philippine population policies, the current proposal anchors itself on reproductive health, the promotion of gender equality and equity, family planning, the education of children and poverty reduction. Even with its changed goals, the bill is expected to encounter stiff resistance from leaders of the Catholic Church as 85% of all Filipinos are Catholics. Despite this, the bill’s authors are unfazed by any religious backlash saying that it is high time that the population issue be made part of the development solutions to the country’s problems.

"We are taking initiatives to engage in dialogue with the Church as we know that they too are convinced that this problem needs to be solved decisively," said Congresswoman Luwalhati R. Antonino, Co-Chairperson of PLCPD. "We just differ in the approach, but even that can be solved," she added.

Local Partnership for Population and RH/FP Works!

The Philippine Legislators’ Committee on Population and Development (PLCPD) has gone further in its advocacy efforts for population, reproductive health and family planning, this time by going local. This is done by tapping their counterparts at the town and village levels in three pilot areas in different parts of the Philippines to mobilize resources on population and RH/FP.

In January, PLCPD joined the Philippine Commission on Population (POPCOM) and the Philippine NGO Council for Health and Welfare (PNGOC), in a tripartite local advocacy project for population and RH/FP. Each had their respective roles: PLCPD, through its parliamentarian member, to organize local government lawmakers around appropriating funds for population programs; POPCOM to organize local executive around the implementation aspects of these local laws and PNGOC, around the mobilization of civil society and citizen support.

Six months into the programme, the tri-partnership was able to realize the passage of local ordinances that provide a yearly budget for population and RH/FP at the township level and in most of the villages. They also created positions for town- and village-level population officers.

In these areas, the local advocacy teams that were organized to implement the programme were formalized through resolutions to become permanent local population and development councils. In one town, they went further by organizing the adolescents as their youth counterpart. Entirely different stakeholders joining together in a partnership for population and RH/FP.

PLCPD Receives Funding from Ford and Packard

Two complimentary programmes to educate the Philippine public on population, reproductive health and family planning issues are set to go in full swing this year with the approval of grant support to the Philippine Legislators’ Committee on Population and Development (PLCPD) by The Ford Foundation and Packard Foundation.

The two projects include research activities, education and training, and communications and media activities.

Manila – The Philippine Congress hosted the third Global Forum and the Thirteen Meeting of the Global Parliamentarians on Habitat on 25-28 July 2000 in Manila, Philippines, with the theme "Yokohama to Manila: In Pursuit of Commitments to the Habitat Agenda" to enhance information exchanges on issues involving the future sustainability of human settlements. The Global Parliamentarians for Habitat is one of the partners of the united Nations Centre for Human Settlements (UNCHS) toward the implementation of the Habitat Agenda of sustainable development and adequate shelter for all.

The Third Global Forum discussed around two principal topics:

� Sustainable Cities in the New Century: Making the Vision Work Through Responsive Legislations and Policies;

� Diversification: Address the Challenges and Exploring Opportunities.

AFPPD was represented by Mr. Roberto M. Ador, Executive Director of PLCPD.

Australasia

Working hard to motivate Parliamentarians in Australia Reports - All Party Parliamentary Group on Population and Development

Canberra – The Australian All Party Parliamentary Group on Population and Development began the financial year with a study tour of the South Pacific. The membership has continued to grow throughout the year. There are now 54 members of the group, comprising of 34 Federal Parliamentarians, 2 Associate members and 18 Corresponding members. During the year, there have also been a number of meetings hosted by the All Party Parliamentary Group.

On Tuesday, 24 August 1999, there was a meeting of the All Party Parliamentary Group Executive Committee. During this meeting, the report from the South Pacific Study Tour was given, and a programme of activities was planned for the upcoming year.

Mrs. Ingar Brueggemann, Secretary-General of the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) spoke to the group on 21 September 1999. Mrs. Brueggemann was accompanied to the meeting by David Wheen, National Coordinator of Family Planning Australia. On 7 March 2000, Mr. Colin Hollis, MP, hosted a meeting of the All Party Parliamentary Group with Dr. Prasop Ratanakorn, Secretary General of the Asian Forum of Parliamentarians on Population and Development (AFPPD) giving the group an opportunity to farewell Dr. Prasop who has since retired from the Thai Senate.

Ian Howie, the most senior Australian working in the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) spoke with the group on 16 March 2000. A general discussion was led by Ian after he spoke about the Day of Six Billion and Global Population Issues that are affecting both the developing and developed world.

Then on 5 April 2000, a lunchtime meeting was held with Dr. Thomas Frejka discussing "Low Fertility in Post Industrial Society – What Does This Mean for Australia?" Dr. Frejka is an eminent expert in international academic circles.

One of the most notable events held during the last year was the Day of Six Billion Forum that the group hosted, in conjunction with the Australian Reproductive Health Alliance Inc, Family Planning Australia and the Save the Children Fund Australia, on 12 October 1999. Speakers at this event were: Professor Jack Caldwell, Emeritus Professor of Demography, ANU; Professor Graeme Hugo, Professor of Demography, University of Adelaide; Ms. Dianne Proctor, Chief Executive Officer, Australian Reproductive Health Alliance (ARHA); and Ms. Lindsay Beaton, Research and Publications Officer, Australian Reproductive Health Alliance.

The forum, chaired by Dr. Brendan Nelson, MP, Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group, discussed domestic, regional and global population issues. This event was used to launch the poster "Day of Six Billion People, Major Influences on world Population – A Select Timeline of Events, Thought and Policy".

The group received national media coverage of this event, and motions were raised both in the House of Representatives and the Senate.

During the year, the group has been in contact with colleagues in the UK, Canada and New Zealand, and with AFPPD on a range of issues.

New Zealand Parliamentarians’ Group Elect New Chair

Wellington – The New Zealand Parliamentarians’ Group on Population and Development held its first meeting under the new Labour-Alliance Coalition Government on 29 March 2000.

Members elected a new Executive Committee with Mr. Steve Chadwick, MP, as Chair; and Ms. Ann Hartley, MP, and Ms. Anne Tolley, MP, as the two Vice Chairs.

Since 1999, the Group’s members have more than doubled in number to 36, or 30% of Parliament, plus two associate members. The Group represents the five major political parties.

Mrs. Ingar Brueggemann, Director-General of the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) was the guest speaker at the meeting. Mrs. Brueggemann talked about the importance of family planning as a developmental effort and the need to make it a "cool" topic so people will talk about it more openly. She also stressed the critical role that Parliamentarians can play in speaking up on the issues and in influencing public opinion.

Malaysia

HIV/AIDS is a challenge we have to face. - Colin Hollis

Kuala Lumpur – AFPPD Malaysia in cooperation with UNFPA and UNDP (Malaysia) organized the National HIV/AIDS Seminar for Parliamentarians in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on 21 July 2000. The Seminar was opened by Dato Muhamad bin Abdullah, Deputy Speaker of the Parliament of Malaysia, and was addressed by Dato Zainal Abidin Zin, Chairman, AFPPD Malaysia; Datin Paduka Marina Mahathir, President Majilis AIDS Malaysia; Mr. Colin Hollis, MP (Australia), Secretary General, AFPPD; Dato Prof. Dr. T. Marimuthu; Dr. Faisal bin Haji Ibrahim; Senator Dr. Charlie C. L. Chang; Mr. Steven J. Kraus, Programme and External Relations Adviser, UNAIDS, Bangkok; Datuk Zulhas nan Raffique; Mr. Abdul Rashid Mat Adam; and Dato Napsiah binti Omar, Deputy Secretary General, AFPPD.

Mr. Colin Hollis, MP, Secretary General of AFPPD, at the National Seminar said that the Asian Forum of Parliamentarians on Population and Development (AFPPD) has had a focus on population issues, but some years ago, we realized that population was more encompassing than population figures alone. Habitat, the physical and social environment, economic and social rights, food security and access to safe water supply are only some of the issues.

For us all HIV/AIDS, and how we respond, is a challenge. It’s a challenge for us as legislators, as citizens and as parents. Given the ease of information travel today, AIDS cannot be isolated. No country is free of AIDS. No one, individuals or Governments, can ignore this issue and that is why meetings such as this is so important.

HIV/AIDS is today a part of life and these figures should not only challenge our assumptions, but also challenge us to act.

He further informed that AFPPD will be organizing the Asia-Africa Meeting of Parliamentarians and the Asia European Dialogue this year. AFPPD continues to cooperate with UNFPA, New York, and worldwide.

Asian Forum’s New Deputy Secretary General

Dato (Ms.) Napsiah binti Omar, MP from Malaysia, has become the new Deputy Secretary General of the AFPPD.

She has been a member of Family Planning Association since 1960s and a Member of Parliament since 1982. She was the Minister of several Ministries in Malaysia including the Minister responsible for National Population and Family Development Board.

Asian Forum’s New Member of the Executive Committee

Mr. A. Sultanov, MP from Krygyz Republic, is a new member of the AFPPD’s Executive Committee.

He has replaced Mr. Jamgyrbek Bokoshev, who did not succeed in the elections early this year.

AFPPD Secretary General at Millennium Forum

NYC – Mr. Colin Hollis, Secretary General of AFPPD, attended the Millennium Forum held at the United Nations (UN) Headquarters in New York from 22 to 26 May 2000 along with 1,350 representatives of over 1,000 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and other civil society organizations from more than 100 countries.

The aim of this Forum was to build upon a common vision and the work begun at civil society conferences and the UN world conferences of the 1990’s; to draw the attention of governments to the urgency of implementing the commitments they have made; and to channel our collective energies by reclaiming globalization for and by the people.

America/Europe

Inter-European Parliamentary Forum on Population and Development (IEPFPD)

At the 6 March meeting the Consultative working Group members formed an interim executive Committee in order to register the Forum as a legal entity under Belgian law. The executive committee proper will be elected at the launch meeting, provisionally designated for 26 September during the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly in Strasbourg.

Members of the interim executive committee are: Interim chair: Marjatta Vehkaoja, Finland; Interim Deputy chair: Elena Poptodorova, Bulgaria; Interim Treasurer: Chris McCafferty, UK; and Members: Senator Lucien Neuwirth, France; Senator Ans Zwerve, Netherlands; Nina Reznik, Russia.

The Forum is currently identifying founder members (established formal and informal Parliamentary groups) also in order to register the Forum. The next interim executive committee meeting will be in early July in Brussels.

UK Secretary of State for International Development Quizzed on Beijing+5

The UK Secretary of State for International Development was asked about the Beijing+5 review by the Chair of the UK All-Party Group on Population, Development and Reproductive Health, Chris McCafferty, MP, during Oral Answers to Questions in the House of Commons on 5 July 2000.

Asked if a statement will be made on the final report of the Beijing review, Under-Secretary of State for international Development George Foulkes said the principles laid down at the Beijing Conference were reaffirmed despite the efforts of some hard-line states to reverse previous gains.

Mr. McCafferty asked further whether he will do very thing possible to ensure that the sexual health and reproductive rights of adolescents and women are regarded as human rights and are part of the Government’s international development policy.

Mr. McCafferty said, "I can reassure that the gains made in Cairo were successfully defended in Beijing…we would like much more explicit commitments to women’s sexual rights, particularly the right to control their own sex lives, but a number of conservative countries are still blocking that," he said.

Inter-American Programmes

The Inter-American Parliamentary Group on Population and Development (IAPG) within the framework of a project funded by United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), is organizing three sub-regional forums in Latin America and the Caribbean in order to sensitize parliamentarians to increase legislative reforms supporting sexual and reproductive rights and health.

IAPG is also working in the publishing process of two documents entitled "Legislative Module on HIV/AIDS" and "Legislative Commitments to Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights: a Five Years Review of the Cairo and Beijing Conferences" that will be used as a working tool in the mentioned forums.

UNAIDS Brief British Parliamentarians

London – UNAIDS Head Dr. Peter Piot has told an enquiry that UNAIDS, with the support of world agencies, has succeeded in putting AIDS on the international agenda and at the top of all UN agencies’ agendas. Dr. Piot was speaking at a UK House of Commons International Development Committee enquiry into the impact of HIV/AIDS on developing countries’ social and economic development.

Commenting on the recently-concluded 13th World AIDS Conference in Durban, Dr. Piot said that this was the first time the conference had been held in Africa, or a developing country, that there were 47 African participants, and that the media coverage had been excellent. More practical issues were discussed at this conference, although, according to Dr. Piot, there was hardly any new scientific information regarding reduction of mother-to-child transmission available.

On microbicides, he said that about 20 new products were currently being tested, with 36 more in the pipeline. However, Dr. Piot pointed out that the logistics of getting an effective microbicide to women would be formidable, and that vaccines would be easier to administer than microbicides, as a single injection would be effective over a given period of time, whereas microbicides would have to be used at every act of intercourse.

At a later meeting in the enquiry, UK’s Secretary of State for International Development Clare Short stressed that all poor countries need a universal primary health care system to deal effectively not only with the problems of HIV/AIDS, but also with malaria and other health concerns. This should be done preferably through health ministries, despite difficulty in getting such a political commitment.

New Officials of JPFP (Japan)

Japan Parliamentarians Federation for Population (JPFP) has elected new officers after the elections in Japan in June this year. JPFP also nominated Mr. Yoshio Yatsu, MP (Japan) as the Representative to the Asian Forum of Parliamentarians on Population and Development (AFPPD) to succeed Mr. Shin Sakurai.

The new Office Bearers are:

Mongolian Parliamentarians Committee on Population and Development

Ulan Bator – The new Mongolian Parliament have initiated and established the National Committee of Mongolian Parliamentarians on Population and Development. The Committee is comprised of the following members of parliament: