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Forum Newsletter |
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Bangkok, June 14-16: Thai Medical Women Association (TMWA) organized the 4th Central Asia Regional Congress (CARC), in a joint collaboration with the Medical Women’s International Association (MWIA). The congress, with the theme “Women in Medicine: Contribution to Society”, was presided over the opening ceremony by Her Royal Highness Princess Mahachakri Sirindhorn. The main emphases of the congress were the critical appraisals of the problems of health, social situations, inequalities, and violence on women and children. Medical women from various cultural backgrounds exchanged information, shared ideas and derived recommendations to solve these problems based on their valuable experience and expertise. Ms. Malinee Sukavejworakit, Adviser of AFPPD, is the Vice-President of the Executive Committee of TMWA and an Advisory Board Member of CARC. She spoke in a session, “Recommendation of Medical Women’s Contribution to Better Societies”. AFPPD facilitated the participation of a Malaysian MP, Ms. Siti Sulaiman, and three Vietnamese MPs, namely: Ms. Truong Thi Thu Hang, Ms. Pham Thi Thanh Huong and Ms. Ma Nuoi Ta In. AFPPD was also represented by Ms. Passawee Tapasanan, Programme Associate, and Ms. Pariyaporn Sappapan, Administrative Associate. Nguyen Van Tien Selected
New MP of Vietnam
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More Than Half of the World Population Will Live in Cities |
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“If you want to increase the fertility rate in your country, you also have to recognize the value of women, as they are raising the next generation. Low fertility rate drags a country’s potential economic growth rate down.” Mr. Sultan Aziz
Mr. Sultan Aziz |
UNFPA State of the World Population Report 2007
Daeku, Korea
Recognize the value of women in the society.
Planned Population Federation of Korea (PPFK) and UNFPA organized the launch of State of the World Population report with Dr. Park Cheng Hwan, former Dean of the Medical College of Daeku University, chairing the session and Mr. Sultan Aziz, Director of the Asia and Pacific Division of UNFPA, presenting the report. According to the report, South Korea is found to have the lowest infant mortality rate in the world – recorded at 3 per 1,000 births as of the end of 2006. The figure reflects a significant improvement from 45 back in 1970, according to the South Korean Welfare Ministry.
Meanwhile, the country’s fertility rate stood at 1.19, far below from the 2.56 average of the UN. “If you want to increase the fertility rate in your country, you also have to properly recognize the value of women in the Korean society, as they are raising the next generation”, Mr. Aziz told a press briefing. South Korea’s low fertility rate, coupled with its transition into an aging society, is expected to drag the country’s potential economic growth rate down to two-percent range in the 2020s if the trend continues, according to the Korea Development Institute.
Bangkok, Thailand
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Mr. Garimella Giridhar (left), Representative of UNFPA-CST, Bangkok, and Ms. Somsook Boonyabancha, Director of Community Organizations Development Institute |
Governments should improve their policies on helping the urban poor
At the launch of the report, UNFPA urged governments of developing nations in Asia to improve their policies on helping the growing urban poor. Mr. Garimella Giridhar, Representative of UNFPA-CST, Bangkok, said that massive urban growth in Asian cities is imminent and unavoidable, and governments could do better than just trying to drive poor people out.
Thailand’s urban population jumped to 50.9 percent in 2006 said Mr. Yongtanit Pimonsathean from Thammasat University. He added that the country’s urban culture had changed in recent years and the number of foreign workers had doubled from 2002 to 2006. Ms. Somsook Boonyabancha, Director of Community Organizations Development Institute, stressed that in order to achieve good urbanization, the government needs to let communities participate in decision making.
Canberra, Australia
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Mr. Bob McMullan MP (left), Shadow Minister for Overseas Development, and Mr. Ian Howie (right), Representative of UNFPA-Vietnam |
Emphasize the positive side of urbanization
Academics, students, parliamentarians and representatives from the diplomatic community attended the launch of the report, hosted by Parliamentary Group on Population and Development (PGPD). Mr. Bob McMullan, Shadow Minister for Overseas Development, and Mr. Mal Washer, Chair of PGPD, welcomed the guests and spoke about the report. Mr. Ian Howie, Representative of UNFPA-Vietnam, launched the report emphasizing the positive side of urbanization, particularly the opportunity for the poor to lift themselves out of poverty.
The launch was followed by a seminar on infrastructures, renewable energy options, energy efficient buildings, polycentric cities, and safety of children in cities, with speakers and experts such as Ms. Kath Wellman, Associate Professor of the Center for Developing Cities in the University of Canberra; Mr. Ray Prowse, Manager of the Center for Sustainable Energy Systems in the Australian National University; Mr. Tom Snow, Executive Director of Canberra International Airport; Mr. Chris Johnson, Executive Director of the Cities and Centers of New South Wales’ Department of Planning; and Mr. Paul Tranter, Senior Lecturer of the School of Physical, Environmental and Mathematical Sciences in the University of New South Wales – respectively.
Dhaka, Bangladesh
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UNFPA-Bangladesh officials: Mr. Pornchai Suchitta (2nd from right), Acting Representative, and Mr. Nurul Ameen (center), Assistant Representative |
Launch of the report widely covered by media
The report was launched in a press conference which was widely covered by both electronic and print media. Mr. Pornchai Suchitta, Acting Representative of UNFPA-Bangladesh, released the report. As a follow-up of the report, the Department of Population Sciences in the University of Dhaka organized a roundtable discussion on the present and future plans for Dhaka.
Tehran, Iran
Maintaining the forum of dialogue on urbanization
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Mr. Mohamed Abdel-Ahan (2nd from right) at the launch |
Considering the theme of the report on urbanization, this year’s seminar was organized by UNFPA, the Iranian government and Tehran University. The seminar was attended by around 80 participants from UN agencies, academies, NGOs, media and the government. The seminar was opened by Mr. Knut Ostby, Resident Coordinator of UN. The seminar addressed a variety of issues – including opportunities and challenges faced by the urban population; young urban population structure and their needs such as employment, housing, health and education; multi-sectoral nature of urban management; migration and environment.
Ms. Razeqi, student of Tehran University, presented the “Voice of Young People”. She talked on the pros and cons of living in big cities from a youth perspective and focused on challenges that she faced while migrating from a small provincial town to a mega-city. Mr. Mousavipour, Advisor to the Mayor and Director of Urban Development in Tehran, gave an account of the history of Tehran’s development and the challenges faced by the city. “Urbanization in Iran” was the theme of the presentation by Mr. Habibollah Zanjani from the Center for Urban Development Studies of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, followed by a presentation by Mr. Rahmatollah Seddiq from the Sociology Department of Tehran University who talked on socio-cultural challenges of living in mega-cities. Mr. Mohamed Abdel-Ahan, Representative of UNFPA-Iran, made a concrete recommendation for maintaining the forum of dialogue on urbanization.
The media widely covered the event. A live TV interview with Mr. Abdel-Ahan was aired, where he talked the importance of urbanization, the main message of the report, common misconceptions, the need for proactive measures by policymakers and the role of international organizations.
New Delhi, India
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Mr. Jaipal Reddy (center), Minister for Urban Development; Mr. Nesim Tumkaya (right), Representative of UNFPA-India; and Ms. Ena Singh (left), Assistant Representative of UNFPA-India |
Urbanization due to population growth
The report said that 28 percent of the Indian population lives in urban areas while more than half of urban residents live in slums. By 2030, the country’s urban population is projected to rise to 40 percent of the total population and its rate for urbanization will be faster than the world – 2.5 percent against the world’s 1.9 percent.
Mr. Nesim Tumkaya, Representative of UNFPA-India, dismissed the concept that rural migration is driving urbanization. “Urbanization is happening more due to the natural rate of population growth than increased migration”, he said. Mr. Tumkaya stressed that urbanization is inevitable, positive and important for development, and there should be more imaginative and pragmatic response to address the current and future challenges. Mr. Jaipal Reddy, Minister for Urban Development, said, “The process of urbanization should be considered irreversible but ample care should also be taken of the poor who migrated from the villages in search for better options”. Migration is a natural process as people move for better opportunities so planners should work to develop the small towns. He pointed that in view of the rapid rise in urban population, more emphasis should be given to the development of cities.
Beijing, China
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Left to right: Mr. William Ryan, Information Officer for Asia and Pacific of UNFPA; Ms. Hou Yan, Deputy Director General of the National Development and Reform Commission’s Social Development Department; Mr. Bernard Coquelin, Representative of UNFPA-China; Mr. Duan Chengrong, Professor in People’s University; and Mr. Zhang Bing, a migrant from Tianjin, China |
Exchange of experiences on climate change
China’s cities, growing by 18 million people a year, are leading an unprecedented demographic transformation. China will cross that threshold within the next decade, largely due to an immense tide of migration from rural areas that has dramatically changed the country. The country’s growth trend is a legacy of past efforts to restrict migration. Between 2005 and 2030, China’s urban inhabitants are projected to increase from 560 to 910 million - from 24 to 64 percent of the total population.
The report recommends integrating local, regional and national efforts to mitigate the environmental impact of urbanization in cities, and calls for an exchange of experiences on how to protect cities against impacts of climate change. China’s coastal areas that are vulnerable to rising sea levels are heavily urbanized.
Discussing these issues at a press conference were Mr. Bernard Coquelin, Representative of UNFPA-China; Mr. Duan Chengrong, Professor in People’s University; Ms. Hou Yan, Deputy Director General of National Development and Reform Commission’s Social Development Department; and Mr. Zhang Bing, a rural migrant in Tianjin whose story is featured in the report’s youth supplement.
Islamabad, Pakistan
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Left to right: Mr. Raja Javed Ikhlas, Nazim of Rawalpindi; Ms. Sarod Lashari, Additional Secretary of the Ministry of Population Welfare; and Ms. France Donnay, Representative of UNFPA-Pakistan |
Greater investment is needed to be provided for the young people
This year, the report is accompanied by a joint publication from the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE) and UNFPA. The report titled, “Life in the City: Pakistan in Focus”, focused on the country’s urban population. Mr. Ghulam Arif, Researcher and Demographer of PIDE, highlighted the key findings of the report saying that the country’s urban population will likely to equal its rural population by 2030. The level of urbanization in Pakistan is the highest in South Asia. It is said that at least one in every three city dwellers in Pakistan lives in a slum.
Mr. Raja Javed Ikhlas, Nazim of Rawalpindi; Ms. Sarod Lashari, Additional Secretary of the Ministry of Population Welfare; and Ms. France Donnay, Representative of UNFPA-Pakistan; opened the launching ceremony in the presence of representatives of international organizations, civil society, local government and media. Talking about the report findings, Ms. Donnay said that greater investment is needed to provide young people with basic services, employment and housing. Mr. Ikhlas emphasized that urbanization is a problem being faced by the metropolitan and the only solution to solve this growing trend is by providing all basic facilities to people in rural and backward areas to stop the mass migration towards the cities. Ms. Lashari said that a quick review of the report and youth supplement brings out clearly that the world is moving from rural to urban and half of the population is living now in urban areas.
Ms. Mikiko Tanaka, Deputy Representative of UN in Pakistan, underlined that women generally bear additional burdens of socio-political discrimination and vulnerability when they move to cities. She stressed that commitment and involvement of the local community and government leaders are crucial for moving ahead.
Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
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Ms. Delia Barcelona (left), Representative of UNFPA-Mongolia |
Urbanization should be addressed as early as possible
UNFPA organized a meeting to launch the report with Ms. Delia Barcelona, Representative of UNFPA-Mongolia.The Chair of the Parliament’s Standing Committee on Social Policy, Education, and Science, Ms. T. Gandhi MP, noted in her opening remarks that urbanization is inevitable process and should be addressed as early as possible. The guest speaker from the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare explained the regional development concept in relation to the development of small cities while the representative from the Mayor’s Office spoke about urban planning policy, and current and future prospects.
Tokyo, Japan
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Ms. Kiyoko Ikegami (left), Director of UNFPA-Japan, at the launch |
Many of the new urbanites will be poor
Forty local journalists and NGOs attended the launch of the report with Ms. Kiyoko Ikegami, Director of UNFPA-Japan, opening the event. She said that in 2008, for the first time in history, more than half of the human population, 3.3 billion people, will be living in urban areas. “By 2030, this is expected to swell to almost 5 billion, and the towns and cities of the developing countries will make up 80 per cent of the urban humanity. Many of the new urbanites will be poor”, she added. Currently, Japan has 66 percent out of the total population of 128 million living in urban areas.
Half of the urban population is under the age of 25. The youth supplement, “Growing Up Urban”, was also distributed to the attendees. It focuses on the huge challenges and opportunities of urbanization as seen through the eyes of young people; and highlights the special needs of young people for education, healthcare, protection from violence, employment and integration into the wider society.
Jakarta, Indonesia
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Ms. Martha Santoso Ismail (left), Assistant Representative of UNFPA-Indonesia, and Mr. Erman Suparno (right), Minister of Manpower and Transmigration |
Urbanization is a population challenge for big cities
Rapid urbanization in Jakarta and other big cities is a serious population challenge, resulting from uneven development progress in the country. “Big cities always attract people to come with the hope of making a better living. But even when opportunities become scarce, these urbanites prefer to stay than to return to their hometowns. This will create problems caused by lack of access to clean water, health care, education, environment degradation, and unemployment; and all this can lead to increase violence”, explained by the Indonesian Demographers Association (IPADI).
The event was jointly held by IPADI, Ministry for Manpower and Transmigration, and UNFPA to mark the launching of the report. Ms. Martha Santoso Ismail, Assistant Representative of UNFPA-Indonesia, underlined that the response to population challenge would not be effective without promoting gender equality and women’s empowerment, improving reproductive health services, and ensuring reliable population data.
Wellington, New Zealand
Linkages between urbanization and environmental issues
The launch of the report was organized by International Development Unit of the New Zealand Family Planning Association (FPAID), with Ms. Steve Chadwick, Chair of the Standing Committee on Women of AFPPD and Chair of New Zealand Parliamentarians’ Group on Population and Development (NZPPD). It was attended by around 50 people – including MPs and representatives from development community, NGOs and New Zealand Agency for International Development (NZAID).
Mr. Najib Assifi, Representative of UNFPA-Fiji, presented the report to Mr. David Parker, Minister of Energy. Mr. Parker highlighted the link between urbanization and environmental issues, and how these concerns the global population as a whole. He noted that well-managed urbanization can bring many benefits; but if left unfettered, it can bring hardship, suffering, instability and environmental degradation. He also stressed the importance of working in partnership with organizations like UNFPA.
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| Ms. Silvia Cartwright (left), former Governor-General of New Zealand, and Mr. Jimmie Rodgers (right), Director General of SPC |
Noumea, May 27-June 1: More than 150 ministers, civil servants, academics and civil society representatives jointly examined ways of advancing gender equality in the Pacific during the 10th Triennial Conference of Pacific Women held on May 27-31. The conference was followed by the 3rd Pacific Ministers’ Meeting on Women held on June 1. A total of 23 Pacific countries were represented.
The six-day event led to the following recommendations and resolutions of the 21 Pacific ministers during the ministerial meeting – improve the status of women through partnership with men; ensure the participation of marginalized groups of women; allocate money and staff to national gender equality programmes; boost national statistics offices to facilitate collection of better statistics on the status of women; acknowledge the contributions of women movements and NGOs in building the social fabric of Pacific societies; and establish better links between the Pacific and bodies such as the UN.
Phnom Penh: June 15: Ms. Bettina Maas, former Representative of UNFPA-Cambodia and now Deputy Chief of the Division of Arab States, Europe and Central Asia (DASECA)-UNFPA, received a medal from the Cambodian Government for UNFPA’s significant achievements in contributing to the formulation of the National Strategic Development Plan.
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| Mr. Zhang Weiqing (5th from left), Minister of the Chinese Population and Family Planning Commission; and Ms. Steve Chadwick, (6th from left), Chair of the Standing Committee on Women of AFPPD and Chair of NZPPD |
Wellington, May 29: Ms. Steve Chadwick, Chair of the Standing Committee on Women of AFPPD and Chair of New Zealand Parliamentarians’ Group on Population and Development (NZPPD), met Mr. Zhang Weiqing, Minister of the Chinese Population and Family Planning Commission.
Mr. Weiqing was accompanied by Chinese officials: Ms. Hao Linna, Director-General of the Department of International Cooperation, Ms. Zhang Shikun, Director-General of the Department of Science and Technology, and Mr. Zhang Feng, Director-General of the Commission of Population and Family Planning. Mr. John Classen, Programme Manager of New Zealand Agency for International Development (NZAID), and Ms. Jackie Edmond, Chief Executive of New Zealand Family Planning Association (NZFPA), were also present at the meeting.
A wide range of issues were discussed including China’s aging population, environmental sustainability and HIV/AIDS. Mr. Weiqing was reported saying that he admires New Zealand’s family planning services and would like to see them emulated in his homeland.
40th Asian Development Bank Meeting
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| Left to right: Mr. Koji Omi, Chair of ADB Board of Governors; Mr. Keiji Yamada, Kyoto Prefecture Governor; and Mr. Haruhiko Kuroda, President of ADB |
Mr. Haruhiko Kuroda, President of ADB, opened the meeting saying that abundant opportunity and prosperity in Asia-Pacific is achievable. He also mentioned on three major strengths of ADB in helping to create a sustainable future of prosperity – to provide finance and expertise that intensifies regional cooperation and integration to enhance connectivity in the region; to deepen partnerships for investment with development partners and the private sector while rationalizing, harmonizing and simplifying multi-partner projects; and to support knowledge products and networks to build capacity to tackle future challenges. ADB also had a meeting with NGO representatives.
Mr. Masanori Takemoto, Researcher of Asian Population and Development Association (APDA), and other NGOs attended the meeting and explored the avenues of collaboration.
Copenhagen, June 6: The Danish Parliamentary Network for Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights hosted a conference titled, “How Universal Access to Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights is a Necessity in Order to Fulfill the MDGs”. Several renown speakers provided their input to the event. Among them were Ms. Ulla Tornaes, Minister for International Development Cooperation; Ms. Gill Greer, Director General of International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF), Mr. Stan Bernstein, Senior Policy Advisor of UNFPA; and Ms. Indu Capoor, founder of the Center for Health, Education, Training and Nutrition Awareness (CHETNA) - an Indian NGO working for young people and women’s health.
All the speakers stressed the important roles of politicians in legislating and securing funds for the integration of SRHR in the MDGs, and the need for a strong civil society to hold governments accountable to their commitments. The attendees consisted of MPs, youth politicians, NGOs and UN agencies.
Istanbul, June 27-30: Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s (OECD) 2nd World Forum on Statistics, Knowledge and Policy brought together 900 people, from the highest levels of public, private and civil sectors comprising of ministers, parliamentarians, public servants, academics, leaders of civil society, business leaders and media. The conference was a unique opportunity for the participants to learn more about the key facts and policies surrounding the most important economic, social and environmental issues.
The conference provided opportunities for an in-depth discussion about the measurement of progress, as well as some of the most important concerns facing the world – such as climate change, health and economic globalization. It stimulated an international dialogue based on available evidence, exposed gaps in knowledge, and discussed new and widely-applicable indicators to measure progress.
AFPPD was represented by Malaysian MPs, namely: Mr. Shaari Hassan, Mr. James Mamit and Mr. Loh Seng Kok.
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| UNFPA officials. From left: Ms. Kae Ishikawa (4th person), Resource Mobilization Officer of IERD; Mr. Sultan Aziz (5th person), Director of Asia and Pacific Division; and Ms. Safiye Cagar (6th person), Director of IERD. Ms. Ahn Myoung Ock, MP (Korea), at the right side of Ms. Cagar. |
Seoul, May 11: UNFPA officials – Mr. Sultan Aziz, Director of Asia and the Pacific Division; Ms. Safiye Cagar, Director of Information, Executive Board and Resource Mobilization Division (IERD); and Ms. Kae Ishikawa, Resource Mobilization Officer of IERD – visited the South Korean National Assembly for the briefing of UNFPA’s activities and discussion on the project of the population census in North Korea. Planned Parenthood Federation of Korea (PPFK) and Korean Parliamentary League on Children, Population and Environment (CPE), a member of AFPPD, organized the meeting.
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| At the launch of the report |
Canberra, May 30: Following hearings held in August and September last year, All-Party Parliamentary Group on Population and Development (PGPD) issued a report recommending the abolition of Australian Agency for International Development’s (AusAID) family planning guidelines. Mr. Mal Washer, Chair of PGPD, launched the report, “Sexual and Reproductive Health and the Millennium Development Goals in the Australian Aid Program - the Way Forward”. Parliamentarians from PGPD held a press conference, and the issue received wide media coverage on both radio and television.
Mr. Washer strongly supports the report’s central recommendation that AusAID should follow the accepted family planning protocols of most other nations, rather than to observe a special set of guidelines. The guidelines, a legacy of former Senator Brian Harradine, ban the use of aid funds for some types of contraceptives, and the information and services about abortion. The report said that the guidelines were ‘cruel and illogical’, and had the effect of encouraging unsafe and illegal abortions, which are responsible for 13 percent of all maternal deaths globally. These restrictions deny women the same access to reproductive health choices, education and health services.
The report also recommended that family planning, contraception, and sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services be integrated with HIV/AIDS programs; and that the proportion of Australia’s overseas aid budget devoted to SRH be increased to at least 10 percent.
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| MPs from Japan. Left to right: Ms. Kayoko Shimizu (1st person), Secretary General of JPFP; Mr. Shin Sakurai (3rd person), Vice-Chair of JPFP and former Chair of AFPPD; and Mr. Kenya Akiba (4th person) |
Islamabad, April 30-May 5: Japanese parliamentary delegation visited Pakistan for the Asian Population and Development Association’s (APDA) project, “Study Visit Programme”, which has been annually organized by APDA, Japan Parliamentarians Federation for Population (JPFP) and AFPPD, under the sponsorship of International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) and UNFPA
The delegation observed local projects implemented by UNFPA, IPPF and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in the areas of population and development, water safety, poverty, HIV/AIDS, public health, and sexual and reproductive health. The programme aimed also to have a dialogue with local MPs to reactivate Pakistan’s National Committee on Population and Development, as it has been inactive for years.
The delegation consisted of Mr. Shin Sakurai, MP, Vice Chair of JPFP and former Chair of AFPPD; Ms. Kayoko Shimizu, MP, Secretary General of JPFP; Mr. Kenya Akiba, MP; Mr. Osamu Kusumoto, Secretary General of APDA; and Ms. Ryoko Kimura, Manager of APDA. UNFPA and the Senate of Pakistan facilitated the visit.
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| Left to right: Mr. Kim Hak-Su, Executive Secretary of UNESCAP; Ms. Thelma Kay, Director of the Division of Emerging Social Issues of UNESCAP; and Mr. Bulat Sultanov, Director of the Kazakhstan Institute of Strategic Studies |
Almaty, May 17-23: The Asia-Pacific region faces a severe shortfall on investment in health, which threatens to undermine its long-term development. A study by UNESCAP estimated that for around 20 developing countries which spend less than USD 20 per person per year in health, an extra USD 25 billion a year is needed to enable them to meet the minimum requirements for basic health services. The health issues were taken up by the 62-member governments of the UNESCAP at its 63rd annual session. More than 400 delegates, including heads and ministers of governments, attended the meeting. President Nursultan Nazarbayev of Kazakhstan addressed the opening of the Ministerial Meeting, which was preceded by a two-day Senior Officials’ Meeting.
A ministerial roundtable themed, “Development of Health Systems in the Context of Enhancing Economic Growth Towards Achieving the MDGs in Asia and the Pacific”, was paneled by Mr. Kim Hak-Su, Executive Secretary of UNESCAP, and Ms. Thelma Kay, Director of the Division of Emerging Social Issues of UNESCAP. The panelists shared their experiences on ways to strengthen health systems and to provide affordable health care for all sections of the population. The roundtable provided guidelines on further implementation of recommendations of the theme study. Senator Beksultan Tutkushev, Deputy Secretary-General of AFPPD, attended the meeting
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| Left to right: Ms. Raaga Said, Public Affairs Associate of UNFPA-IERD; Mr. Neil Datta, Secretary of EPF; and Mr. Hedi Jemiai, Representative of UNFPA-Belgium |
Istanbul, June 14-15: Secretariats of All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG), NGOs working with parliamentarians and partners in parliamentary advocacy such as UNFPA and International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF), gathered for the European Parliamentary Forum’s (EPF) APPG Secretariats’ Meeting to exchange experiences learned from each other and discuss possibilities for collaborative events involving parliamentarians. The meeting provided essential information of EPF’s future plans and activities. UNFPA and IPPF also gave their own perspectives.
Mr. Shiv Khare, Executive Director of AFPPD, presented the programme and its impact in Asia. Ms. Ragaa Said, Public Affairs Associate of the Information, Executive Board and Resource Mobilization Division (IERD) of UNFPA; Ms. Fatimata Deme, Executive Director of the Forum of African and Arab Parliamentarians on Population and Development (FAAPPD); and Ms. Carla Rivera-Avni, Executive Director of Inter-American Parliamentary Group on Population and Development (IAPG), were also present.
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Canberra, June 29: Ms. Jane Singleton, was appointed as the new CEO of Australian Reproductive Health Alliance (ARHA) and Secretariat Chair of All-Party Parliamentary Group on Population and Development (APPGPD), succeeding Ms. Christina Richards, who held the post for the past three years. Ms. Singleton was well-known as a journalist and a public campaigner. She was the former Manager of Communications and Public Affairs in the Family Planning NSW, and Director of ChildFund-Australia.
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Too many people are burning too many fossil fuels, IPCC said. “With global warming, we have been able to create this problem in the first place because we have virtually free energy in forms of fuels. Climate change is a sign that we are exceeding the number of people Earth can sustain. Right now, Earth’s carrying capacity is thought to be somewhere in the range of 4 billion to 5 billion people. However, there are 6.5 billion of us and we grow by 240,000 every 24 hours”, said Ohio State University’s ecologist, Mr. Tom Waite.
Other ecologists increasingly think of the idea of carrying capacity in terms of an ecological ‘footprint’-the amount of land that it takes to support a group of people. Carrying capacity and ‘footprint’ are tied to the global economy. “That leads to a fear that slowing population growth might not curb greenhouse gas production if more people achieve Western-style lifestyles”, said Mr. Barry Rabe, a University of Michigan political scientist.
Mr. Lester Brown, President of Earth Policy Institute, said that the sustainability question is a loaded one. “People ask me how many people the Earth can sustain. I usually respond that it depends on whether you want to live like an Indian or an American. For example, farmers worldwide grow about 2 billion tons of grain every year. Each American consumes an average of 1,760 pounds annually. If everyone consumes that much grain, Earth could support about 2.5 billion people. But in India, people consume about 440 pounds each year. If everyone else did likewise, the world’s grain could support about 10 billion people”, he said.
Mr. Shiv Khare Mr. Shiv Khare, Executive Director of AFPPD, shared AFPPD’s experiences in working with parliamentarians in supporting youth programmes and he provided guidance for parliamentarian advocacy in the Pacific. The role of parliamentarians in supporting youth development was further discussed by Mr. Peter Kenilorea, Speaker of Solomon Islands.
It is a proud moment for AFPPD that one of its colleagues, Mr. Nguyen Van Tien, Executive Director of the Vietnamese Association of Parliamentarians on Population and Development (VAPPD), who worked shoulder-to-shoulder with AFPPD and UNFPA-Vietnam, had been selected to be a Member of Parliament in Vietnam. Mr. Tien recently attended on 9 July the AFPPD’s National Committee Strategy Meeting in Chiang Mai, Thailand.