UNFPA State of World Population Report 2005
The World Should Live Up to Its Promise
The Promise of
Equality:
Gender Equality,
Reproductive Health and
the Millennium Development Goals
The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) marked the global launch of the State of World Population 2005 Report, which reiterates that gender equality and reproductive health are vital to achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), on October 12, 2005. The Report, entitled “The Promise of Equality: Gender Equity, Reproductive Health and the Millennium Development Goals”, calls on world leaders to fulfill their promises on women’s and young people’s issues in order to meet poverty-reduction goals set at the 2000 Millennium Summit and reaffirmed at the World Summit in September.
Its central message is that, in the next decade, the world can free hundreds of millions of people from poverty, save the lives of 30 million children and two million mothers, and reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS - all by increasing strategic investments in various aspects of quality of life for women and young people, particularly education, Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH), and economic opportunities. The Report also identifies gender-based violence and lacks of women’s political participation and accountability for gender equality as a set of problems that could prevent women and young people from reaping the fruits of those investments.
Dr. Thoraya A. Obaid, Executive Director, UNFPA, launched the Report in London while UNFPA country offices had launch ceremonies on the same day. Dr. Obaid said that the world would not be able to make poverty history until we put an end to gender discrimination, violence against women and girls, and deprivations of full social, cultural, economic, and political rights for women. She noted that the world needed to close the gap between rhetoric and reality for the efforts to promote gender equality and stop poverty and the
Report would be a reality check for such endeavor. The Report features an array of indicators that demonstrated the status of the efforts to achieve the MDGs in each country.
Similar Report launches, organized by UNFPA offices and parliamentarians’ groups on population and development, also took place in several capitals across Asia and the Pacific.
Thailand
UNFPA/CST Bangkok launched the Report on the same day at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Thailand (FCCT). Mr. G. Giridhar, UNFPA Representative in Thailand, gave the welcome remarks and read the launch statement from Dr. Obaid. Mr. William Ryan, UNFPA Information Officer for Asia and the Pacific Region, gave the introduction to the Report. Dr. Siripon Kanshana, Inspector General, Thai Ministry of Public Health, said that the progress in services for reproductive health and rights was a measure of equity in the light of the MDGs.
Dr. Pawadee Tonguthai, Associate Professor, Faculty of Economics, Thammasat University, Thailand, spoke on the relationship between gender and human rights. She stressed that Goal 3 of the MDGs, on promoting gender equality and empowerment of women would be the key to achieving other seven goals in the MDGs. She also highlighted the emergence of a right-based approach in promoting gender equality and reproductive health. In the light of this approach, governments would bear a duty to establish systems that would enable individual, who are the right-holders, to exercise their rights and seek recourse for violations. Dr. Juree Vichit-Vadakan, Chair, Center for Philanthropy and Civil Society, National Institute of Development Administration, Thailand, spoke on the road map to the MDGs. Mr. Giridhar also outlined action priorities in the efforts to promote gender equity and reproductive health in achieving the MDGs.
Australia
Senator Marise Payne, Honorary Secretary of the Parliamentary Group on Population and Development (PGPD), hosted the Report launch on October 12, at the Parliament House in Canberra. Mr. Ian Howie, the UNFPA Representative to Vietnam, officially launched the Report. The launch was attended by parliamentarians, diplomats, and UN offiicials. Dame Carol Kidu, MP and Minister for Community Development from Papua New Guinea, gave the keynote address.
Cambodia
In the context of the UNFPA-assisted programme on gender mainstreaming and as part of the Report launch
this year, the Ministry of Women’s Affairs, along with the Ministries of Health and Education, Youth, and Sports held a televised roundtable discussion on the issues of reproductive health and gender equality highlighted in the Report. The discussion captured important elements surrounding the major theme of the Report this year from the national perspective. H.E. Nath Bunroeun,Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Education, Youth, and Sports, struck exactly the right note on the critical issue of women’s and girls’ empowerment through education as a means of achieving poverty reduction. H.E. Dr. Ing Kantha Phavi, Minister of Women’s Afffairs, H.E. Dr. Mam Bunheng, Secretary of State, Ministry of Health, and the civil society representatives emphasized the critical importance of continuing sustained all-out effort in improving reproductive health status of Cambodian women, men, and youth to attain the MDGs. H.E. Ing, panel chair, concluded with a plea for the needed support for the implementation of national policies with a view to transforming them into concrete action to fulfill the promise.
Iran
The UNFPA team in Iran launched the State of World Population Report, jointly with the Population Association of Iran, in a seminar at Tehran University on October 19. Representatives of the Government, Parliament, NGOs, Academia, the Media, UN agencies, and the diplomatic community participated in the seminar. A series of presentations about the Report and its implication for Iran were given by Mr. Mohamed Abdel-Ahad, UNFPA Representative to Iran, and four other experts. Mr. Abdel Ahad’s presentation examined the impact of universal access to reproductive health (RH); investments in education, especially for girls; and promoting equal economic opportunities and civil and political participation of women and protection of their human rights on achieving both gender equality and the MDGs.
Dr. Jaleh Shaditalab, Head of Gender Studies Department, University of Welfare, spoke on gender equity and equality. She highlighted the issue of GBV and feminization of poverty. Dr. Arash Azemikhah, Head of Safe Motherhood Department, Ministry of Health, talked about Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health (ASRH) and RH education. Dr. Mirzaee and Dr. Jalal Abbasi, Professors of Demography at University of Tehran, spoke on the demographic trends in Iran and the demographic dividend. The seminar was widely covered by the electronic and print media.
Kyrgyzstan
Ms. Gulnara Kadyrkulova, UNFPA Executive Representative in Kyrgyzstan, launched the Report, on October 17, 2005, in Bishkek. She said that the Report reflected both the global and local problems facing reproductive health and gender equality. The Report stated that reproductive health, women’s limited access to medical personnel, high maternal mortality, and inequality in political and financial spheres were the main problems for the state of gender equality in the country.
Laos
Ms. Nobuko Horibe (front) with participants at the Report launch in Vientiane
Over 100 senior Lao government officials, parliamentarians, embassy representatives, representatives from UN agencies and NGOs and the media attended the launch of the Report on October 12, in Vientiane. The launch ceremony was opened by H.E. Mme. Khemphet Pholsena, Vice President of Lao Women’s Union, who delivered a speech on the progress and challenges of the Lao government in meeting its gender equality and reproductive health targets. UN Resident Coordinator Mr. Finn Reske-Nielsen then spoke about the linkages between gender equality and the MDGs at a global level. It was followed by a short video on UNFPA-supported activities in Lao PDR and a presentation by young man and woman from Vientiane Youth Centre on what gender equality meant to them. UNFPA Representative Ms. Nobuko Horibe launched the Report with a talk on “The Promise of Equality and Reproductive Health”. She outlined the history of UNFPA in the field of population, gender, and reproductive health, before summarizing the Report’s key messages.
Nepal
The Report was launched in Kathmandu by Ms. Durga Shreshtha, Minister of Women, Children and Social Welfare. The Minister urged the participants to heed the key message of the Report which is that effective delivery of key services, including reproductive health and management of population, is vital as the quality of the population is more important than the quantity. She felt assured that the Report would be an important resource for policy makers to help develop appropriate strategies and plans for population management.
UNFPA Representative Ms. Junko Sazaki gave a keynote presentation that highlighted the most poignant issues and statistics detailed in the report and relayed the degree to which these same issues were highly relevant to Nepal, citing key Nepali statistics. Ms. Sazaki stated that women in Nepal continued to be deprived of economic empowerment while they constituted 43 percent of the labour force, which would imply positive financial and social integration, much of their labour is unpaid and informal. This situation resulted in little or no financial and social recognition or benefit for those women, she added. Closing remarks for the event were given by the Honorable Dr. Bijaya Shrestha, Member of the National Planning Commission, His Majesty’s Government of Nepal.
The Philippines
The Report was launched on October 12, in Manila, with a theatrical and creative presentation by the KATINIG youth community theater group. They dramatized the situation described by the Report itself. Integrated into their presentation were videotaped messages from Dr. Zahidul Huque, UNFPA Representative in the Philippines, Commissioner Myrna Yao, of the National Commission on the Role of Filipino Women, on policies and laws upholding gender equality, and Health Secretary Francisco Duque III, on Philippine Government’s population and development as well as reproductive
health programs.
Representative Nerissa Corazon Soon-Ruiz, MD, chair of the House of Representatives’ Special Committee on the MDGs, Governor Bellaflor Angara - Castillo, currently Aurora Province Governor and formerly a member of Congress and author of the Reproductive Health Care Act of 2004, Atty. Evelyn Dunuan, representing the National Commission on the Role of Filipino Women, and Atty. Rhodora Roy-Raterta of the Reproductive Health Advocacy Network (RHAN) also spoke.
Uzbekistan
Government officials, representative from UN agencies, and members of the press joined the launch of the Report, held by UNFPA office in Uzbekistan, on October 14, 2005, in Tashkent. Ms. Doina Bologa, UNFPA Representative a.i. in Uzbekistan, gave a presentation outlining the issues of reproductive health and gender equality addressed in the Report.
World Bank President Meets AFPPD Parliamentarians at PNoWB Meeting
6th PNoWB Annual Conference in Helsinki, Finland
More than 200 parliamentarians from around the world assembled, from October 21 to 23, at the Parliament of Finland in Helsinki for the 6th Annual Conference of the Parliamentary Network on the World Bank (PNoWB), which was chaired by Mr. Bert Koenders, MP from the Netherlands.
The conference, entitled “Beyond the Year of Development: What Now?”, discussed what parliamentarians could do to promote action on pressing development issues and to help strengthen the accountability and transparency of international financial institutions.
The special features of the conference were the discussions with the World Bank President Mr. Paul Wolfowitz, the World Trade Organization (WTO) Director General Mr. Pascal Lamy, via direct video link, and Indonesian President H.E. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, via direct video link.
Mr. Wolfowitz stressed the significance of parliamentarians’ roles in the fight against poverty as well as their partnership with the Bank. “As World Bank President, I intend to build on the partnerships that the Bank has already established with parliaments around the world,” Mr. Wolfowitz said. “Their oversight role has an important bearing on the mission to fight poverty. Across the world, parliamentarians monitor public resources and provide a crucial link between the World Bank and the local communities in both developing and developed countries.”
The Indonesian President told the parliamentarians that
the MDGs were “our best hope for humanity.” He went on, “You could argue all night along about what ‘justice’ or ‘world peace’ means, but no one can argue about the need to reduce maternal deaths by 75 percent or infant mortality. No one is against universal primary education.
No one would be against reducing by 50 percent the number of people living on less that a dollar a day.”
Ensuring accountability to reach the MDGs emerged as major theme during the PNoWB conference. Mr. Koenders said that the parliamentarians’ duty was to create necessary political will for development goals and they also need to hold governments and inter-governmental agencies accountable.
Three AFPPD alumni on PNoWB board
Parliamentarians from Asia, namely Mr. Suresh Prabhu, MP, India, Mr. Hideki Wakabayashi, MP, Japan, and Ms. Janette Garin, MP, The Philippines, were elected to the PNoWB Board on October 23. All of them are AFPPD alumni.
Population issues raised
Asian parliamentarians’ caucus at the PNoWB Annual Conference, which had met earlier on October 21, informed Mr. Wolfowitz on October 22 that population and migration were two burning issues in Asia, apart from corruption and lack of transparency in development projects. Dr. Malinee Sukavejworakit, Senator of Thailand and Secretary General of AFPPD, who led the Asian caucus, asked these questions.
AFPPD leads discussion with World Bank President
On October 22, Mr. Shiv Khare, Executive Director of AFPPD, led the discussion with Mr. Wolfowitz, on behalf of representatives of international and regional parliamentary groups and agencies working with parliamentarians who are part of the World Bank’s Vienna Initiative. Mr. Wolfowitz, during his discussion, recognized the need of parliamentarians’ involvement in the World Bank’s programmes.
NZPPD Report Launch
New Zealand Parliamentarians’ Group Launches Two Significant Reports
The New Zealand Parliamentarians’ Group on Population and Development (NZPPD) hosted a function on October 12 to launch the UNFPA State of World Population 2005 report and an NZPPD report on violence against women and children in New Zealand. More than 70 people, including MPs and government and NGO representatives attended the launch, which was held at Parliament in Wellington. The UNFPA State of World Population Report, The Promise of Equality: Gender Equity, Reproductive Health and the Millennium Development Goals, highlights the critical importance of the empowerment of women - through education, access to reproductive health services, and ending gender-based violence - in achieving the overarching Millennium Development Goal of reducing world poverty by 2015. The UNFPA Report was presented by UNFPA Representative for the Pacific Mr. Najib M. Assifi to the Minister of Social Development and Youth Affairs Hon. Steve Maharey. Receiving the report, the Minister noted the critical linkages between peace, human rights and development, and the importance of gender equality in reducing poverty. He said that the integration of the goal of universal access to reproductive rights into agreed development goals, including the Millennium Development Goals by 2015, at the recent UN World Summit 2005, was a great achievement.
Supported by AFPPD, the NZPPD report, Creating a Culture of Non Violence, focuses on violence against women and children closer to home, highlighting the fact that, even with strong strategies and support for laws, violence against women and children in New Zealand continues at an alarmingly high rate. Creating a Culture of Non-Violence is the outcome of an open hearing into the prevention of violence against women and children, held by the NZPPD in March, and funded by AFPPD as part of a regional initiative. The report provides a ‘snapshot’ of the situation presented to MPs at the March hearing, and outlines a plan of action to guide activities in the lead-up to the New Zealand government’s report to the Convention for the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) Committee in 2006.
The report points out that violence against women and children is a serious global issue – violating their basic human rights and preventing them from living fulfilling and healthy lives. New Zealand, says the report, is no exception. “All New Zealanders have an important role to play in addressing violence in New Zealand communities,” said Ms. Steve Chadwick, MP and Chair of the NZPPD, at the launch. “Many of us in government and civil society also have a role in helping developing countries address these and other gender equality issues”, she said. The event was organised by New Zealand Family Planning International Development (FPAID).
Erratum
In the article, NZPPD Report on “Creating a Culture of Non-violence”, on page 14 of our June-August newsletter, we misstated the title of the NZPPD Chair. The correct title should have been Ms. Steve Chadwick. Our apologies for any inconvenience caused by this error.
In the caption below the photo for the article, Empowering Societies to Cope with Pitfalls in Migration, on page 8 of our June-August newsletter, we misstated the chairperson’s name. The seminar’s chairperson, the forth person from the left, is H.E. Dr. Ing Katha Phavi, Minister of Women’s Affairs, Cambodia. Our apologies for any inconvenience caused by this error. IPCI-ICPD Steering Committee Meeting IPCI-ICPD to Meet in Bangkok on November 21-22, 2006
The Steering Committee Meeting of International Parliamentarians Conference on the Implementation of ICPD Programme of Action (IPCI-ICPD) was held in Tokyo, Japan, on October 17, 2005, at the Akasaka Prince Hotel. It decided that November 21 and 22, 2006, would be the dates of the conference which would be held in Bangkok. The UNFPA in 2002 decided to revive the organizing of international parliamentarians’ conferences which UNFPA used to organize with AFPPD and other existing regional parliamentary groups such as IAPG. From Bucharest to the Hague, seven international parliamentarians’ conferences were organized, resulting in the development of global parliamentarians’ movement on population and
development. In 2002, UNFPA decided to initiate a new series of parliamentarians’ conferences on ICPD. The 2002 conference in Ottawa was attended by 103 elected representatives from 73 countries and the 2004 Strasbourg conference was attended by over 150 parliamentarians. IPCI-ICPD was held in Ottawa in 2002 and in Strasbourg in 2004, organized by a steering committee comprising population and development-related regional and international parliamentary organizations and United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). With the 2006 IPCI-ICPD Bangkok one year away, the Asian Population and Development Association
(APDA), in close collaboration with AFPPD and UNFPA, hosted the Steering Committee meeting, which served as a platform for international parliamentarians to discuss the achievements since the 2004 Strasbourg conference and the priorities for the 2006 Bangkok conference. The Meeting was chaired by the Honorable Speaker of Fiji, Hon. Ratu Epeli Nailatikau, MP. Opening remarks were given by Ms. Safiye Cagar, Director, IERD, UNFPA followed by self-introductions by the participants. Participants were representatives from UNFPA HQ, UNFPA Tokyo, AFPPD, FAAPPD, IAPG, IEPFPD, PGA and APDA. A review of the purposes and proposed outline of the IPCI conference was given by Ms. Harumi Kodama, Parliamentary/NGO Public Affairs Officer, Information,
Executive Board and Resource Mobilization Division, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).
Reports were given by the Executive Directors of the five parliamentary networks on follow-up activities since Strasbourg. Discussion then followed, regarding identification of priorities of IPCI 2006 and a tentative agenda for IPCI-ICPD 2006 was distributed and reviewed. The venue and the date were also discussed along with what areas to focus. A draft timeline was then presented by the AFPPD. Following the Steering Committee meeting, Ms. Kodama also visited Bangkok for logistic arrangement for the conference. Miscellaneous
JPFP-APDA Public Symposium on Aftermath of MDG Summit
A public symposium, on “Aftermath of MDG Summit and Population Issues”, was held immediately after the IPCI-ICPD Steering Committee’s meeting, on October 17, 2005, in Tokyo. It was organised by Japan Parliamentarians Federation for Population (JPFP) and the Asian Population and Developmentk Association (APDA).
Ms. Wakako Hironaka, Vice-Chairperson, JPFP, was the symposium’s coordinator. The panelists were Ratu Epeli Nailatikau, AFPPD Vice-Chairperson, Ms. Ndo Engolo Evina Angeline, Forum of African and Arab Parliamentarians on Population and Development (FAAPPD), Dr. Joaquin Monasterio, Inter-American Parliamentary Group on Population and Development (IAPG), Ms. Ruth Genner, President, Inter-European Parliamentary Forum on Population and Development (IEPFPD), and Mr. Bassey Ewa-Henshaw, Parliamentarians for Global Action (PGA). The symposium discussed a wide range of topics related to the MDGs and population, parliamentarians’ roles for population and poverty reduction, and the tasks for the 2006 IPCI-ICPD in Bangkok. Mr. Taro Nakayama, MP, Japan, JPFP Chairperson, Mr. Shin Sakurai, MP, JPFP Vice-Chairperson, and former AFPPD Chairman, as well as Ms. Kayoko Shimizu, JPFP Secretary-General, addressed the symposium. Ms. Safiye Cagar, Director, IERD, UNFPA, also spoke at the symposium. Parliamentarians Discuss Population and RH Issues in Seoul
Parliamentarians from Mongolia, Pakistan, the Philippines, South Korea, and Thailand, including Dr. Virapong Skolkitivat, Senator of Thailand and Chairman of the Senate Committee on Public Health, exchanged their perspectives on the issues of population and reproductive health in Asia at the seminar that marked the 10th anniversary of the release of the State of the World Population Report, on October 12, at the National Assembly in Seoul, South Korea. The seminar was hosted by the Planned Parenthood Federation of Korea (PPFK) and the UNFPA.
CAPPD Puts Forward Training Programmes on Gender Analysis
Cambodian Association of Parliamentarians on Population and Development (CAPPD) conducted training courses on gender analysis in October. In cooperation with Ministry of Women Affairs and with the support of the UNFPA office in Cambodia, CAPPD organized the Gender Analysis Training Course with Chief and Vice-Chief of the National Assembly Secretariat on Gender Analysis and Advocacy, from October 26 to 28, 2005. It will also conduct a similar training course on gender mainstreaming and advocacy with Assistant to the Experts Commission of the National Assembly in late November.
AFPPD at WHO General Programme of Work Discussion
For the first time, the World Health Organization (WHO) discussed the direction of its General Programme of Work with a select group of NGOs and UN agencies from South-East Asia and Western Pacific, from September 27 to 28, in Bangkok. The meeting, entitled “South-East Asia/Western Pacific-based Partner’s Consultation on WHO’s 11th General Programme of Work”, also discussed the recommendation, on stronger “political commitment and political will” for health-related issues, from the International Medical Parliamentarians Organization (IMPO).
Mrs. Pascale Brudon, General Programme of Work Task Manager, WHO Headquarters, convened the meeting, which was also attended by senior officials from the WHO headquarters, WHO Regional Office for the Western Pacific (WHO-WPRO), and WHO Regional Office for South-East Asia (SEARO), including Dr. Bjorn Melgaard, Director, Programme Management, WHO SEARO, Dr. Richard Andrew Nesbit, Director, Programme Management, WHO WPRO, Dr. William L. Aldis, WHO Representative to Thailand, Dr. Diego Buriot, Special Adviser to the Assistant Director General for Communicable Diseases, WHO Headquarters, Dr Winnie K. Mpanju-Shumbusho, Senior Adviser to the Assistant Director General for HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria , (HTM) Cluster, WHO Headquarters. Mr. Shiv Khare, Executive Director of AFPPD, represented the IMPO and AFPPD at the forum. PGPD Discussions on Australia’s Future Direction of the Aid Programme
On October 11, the Parliamentary Group on Population and Development (PGPD) had a successful meeting with Hon. Bruce Billson, MP, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Mr. Bruce Davis, the Director General for AusAID, to discuss the future direction of the Australian Aid programme. As a consequence, Mr. Billson invited the group to make a submission of the White Paper, a review paper providing a medium-term blueprint for Australia’s future aid. The submission is available on the PGPD website – www.pgpd.asn.au. Mr. Billson also issued a press release supporting the issues raised by the State of World Population Report and outlining Australia’s future direction
“Gender and health policy issues impact on development and security and the current AusAID White Paper process is examining how we can better work with partner governments to address serious health and gender challenges,” Mr. Billson said. “Australia is committed to helping people in need in the region and we have almost doubled our support this year for the UNFPA to $4 million and are investing $600 million in the fight against HIV/AIDS in the decade to 2010,” he added. Upcoming AFPPD Events
- The 8th triennial General Assembly of the AFPPD, November 12-13, 2005, Jakarta, Indonesia
- Asia-Pacific Reproductive and Sexual Health Conference
(AFPPD Panel of Parliamentarians), November 17-21, 2005,
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
- The 2nd and 3rd Focus Group Meetings, December 17-18,
2005, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, and December 27-28, 2005,
New Delhi, India
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