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INFORMATION SERVICE

 

The AFPPD E-mail Information Service is issued every month to subscribers in order to provide information and news on AFPPD members' and other parliamentarians' activities around the world. If you are interested in subscribing to AFPPD's e-mail information service, please contact AFPPD's Secretariat 

2010 No. 1 - January

In This Issue

1. Parliamentarians pursue legal and health policy reform on drugs

2. RH Bill faces obstacles in Philippine Congress

3. Ms. Obaid appreciates Australian parliamentarians’ work

4. Family planning reduces poverty – evidence from Bangladesh

5. Draft law in Azerbaijan sparks debate on selective abortion

6. 173 questions on population in Indian Parliament

7. UK parliamentary group releases activity report

8. US Secretary of State Clinton commemorates ICPD+15

9. 2010-11 is International Year of Youth

 

1. Parliamentarians pursue legal and health policy reform on drugs

Bangkok – Close to 20 parliamentarians from twelve countries participated in the Parliamentarians’ Session on Harm Reduction at the Second Asian Consultation on the Prevention of HIV related to Drug Use to discuss policies and practices on the prevention of HIV among drug users and harm reduction. The consultation was attended by over 250 participants and organized by Response beyond Borders (RBB) in collaboration with AFPPD, UNAIDS, UNODC, WHO, USAID and other development agencies on 21-23 January in Bangkok. The three – day consultation saw useful discussions and policy recommendations to improve laws and policies conductive to health and rights of injecting drug users. The consultation concluded with an initiative of parliamentarians to form a committee of parliamentarians to pursue parliamentary advocacy.

2. RH Bill faces obstacles in Philippine Congress

As the election in the Philippines nears, the debate surrounding the Reproductive Health Bill intensifies. Some of the sponsors and supporters of the Bill are distancing themselves while other supporters remain steadfast in their position. Presidential candidate Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino, having put his signature on the pending bill, is an easy target of the Catholic Church, which is calling the bill a pro-abortion proposal whereas in fact it is not.

Mr Aquino himself said that 2.5 million Filipinos are born each year and a third of them are due to unplanned pregnancies. Proponents of the bill are eagerly waiting for the next move (PLCPD News).

3. Ms. Obaid appreciates Australian parliamentarians’ work

Ms. Thoraya Ahmed Obaid, UNFPA Executive Director, who was recently in Australia, met members of the Australian Parliamentary Group on Population and Development and also the Chairwoman of AFPPD Standing Committee on Women, Senator Clair Moore. Ms. Obaid appreciated parliamentarians’ efforts in mobilizing resource in support of UNFPA. She also met with Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith who formally announced Australia’s $42.5 million support over four-years to UNFPA for programs in the Pacific.

Australia’s support will help advance UNFPA’s work on improving reproductive health, safe motherhood, reducing HIV, eliminating gender-based violence and promoting gender equality in the developing world. It will also assist in integrating sexual and reproductive health programs into emergency responses, so that when disasters strike there is still access to family planning services, assisted delivery and emergency obstetric care.

4. Family planning reduces poverty – evidence from Bangladesh

On 28 January, the Population Reference Bureau is hosting an online discussion with Shareen Joshi, visiting professor, School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University, who will discuss how family planning programs can reduce poverty, with evidence from Bangladesh. Family planning is one of the most cost-effective health interventions in the developing world. For a relatively modest investment, family planning saves lives and improves maternal and child health. Professor will review a new study of Bangladesh’s Matlab project which provides some of the first evidence that family planning and maternal and child health programs also help lift families out of poverty—which makes these programs even more valuable. You may submit questions to Professor Joshi or read transcript of the discussion afterwards at http://discuss.prb.org/.

5. Draft law in Azerbaijan sparks debate on selective abortion

A provision in a draft law that would be Azerbaijan’s first comprehensive piece of reproductive rights legislation has sparked a debate about the need for a ban on fetal gender information to stop the practice of selective abortions of female fetuses. The bill, titled Law on Reproductive Health and Family Planning, explicitly protects a woman’s "right of reproductive choice" and includes provisions that aim to make it easier for women to obtain information about reproductive health and planning.

It does not ban doctors from releasing information about the gender of fetuses or from performing selective abortions, a practice that is currently legal. A measure that prohibits couples from requesting a male or female embryo during in vitro fertilization, however, has been cast as a move toward such a ban. The measure is part of proposed regulations on infertility clinics and restrictions on artificial insemination and sperm donation. (Eurasia Net)

6. 173 questions on population in Indian Parliament

72 questions in the Upper House and 101 questions in the Lower House of the Parliament of India were asked on national population policy and population growth from 2004 to 2008. Out of 72 questions in the Upper House 19 were on national policy, 37 on population growth and 17 were related to health policy. In the Lower House, out of 101 questions, 37 were on national population policy, 46 were on population growth, and 18 on health policy.

There have also been questions on reproductive health and child health in the parliament. A total of 167 questions in the Upper House and 190 in the Lower House were asked, out of which 14 and 34 were on family planning, and 18 and 41 on contraceptives, respectively. A question on adolescent reproductive health policy was also asked. A detailed study of parliamentarians’ questions was conducted by the Indian Association of Parliamentarians on Population and Development (IAPPD) with AFPPD support.

7. UK parliamentary group releases activity report

The UK All Party Parliamentary Group on Population, Development and Reproductive Health recently released its Annual Activity Report of 2008-09. The Group has had yet another active and successful year, with increased UK political and financial support to Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights. The UK government announced a £6 billion investment in strengthening health systems in developing countries up to 2015 and funding of over £11 million for safe abortion in Africa. In 2008, the UK approved core funding for UNFPA for a four year period, increasing from £20 million in 2008/09 to £23.74 million in 2010/11. A new five-year core funding commitment to the IPPF was also announced, of £8.5 million per annum, for the next five years. Direct bilateral funding to reproductive health is also increasing.

8. US Secretary of State Clinton commemorates ICPD+15

On 8 January, US Secretary of State Hillary R. Clinton gave a major speech commemorating the 15th anniversary of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD). She said the US is “proud to once again to support the work of the UN Population Fund.” “Investing in the health of women, adolescents, and girls,” she stressed, “is not only the right thing to do; it is also the smart thing to do.” Secretary Clinton pledged American support for family planning and other reproductive health programs around the world with the largest funding allocation in more than a decade.

9. 2010-11 is International Year of Youth

From 12 August 2010 to 11 August 2011, the United Nations will observe International Year of Youth with the theme ‘Dialogue and Mutual Understanding.” More information can be found at www.un.org/youth.