INFORMATION SERVICE

April 2005

Dr. Thoraya Obaid addresses parliamentarians Canberra, Australia

Dr. Thorya Obaid, Executive Director, UNFPA visited Australia from March 15-18 2005 during which she addressed parliamentarians on population and development at the Parliament House in Canberra. She was accompanied by Ms. Safiye Cagar, Director, IRD, UNFPA, and Ms. Kae Ishikawa, Resource Mobilisation officer, UNFPA. Her visit included a meeting with the All Party Parliamentary Group on Population and Development (APPGPD) Chairman, Mr. Micheal Johnson, MP Australia and Ms. Margaret May, MP Australia.

Mr. Yoshio Yatsu, MP Japan and Chairman of AFPPD addressed the European Medical Parliamentarians Conference held at the Ireland Parliament in Dublin on 31 st March and 1st April 2005. He called upon medical parliamentarians of Europe to integrate sexual and reproductive health in their work plan and mobilize resources. He took this opportunity to remind Europeans to be focused in the important issue of adolescent reproductive and sexual health, including teenage pregnancy, which remains a concern in Europe. The conference was organized by AFPPD and IEPFPD.

UNFPA & AFPPD on Future Cooperation on HIV/AIDS

Mr. Steve Kraus, Chief, HIV/AIDS Branch, UNFPA visited AFPPD secretariat selected to have discussion about future cooperation to enhance political will amongst parliamentarians on HIV & AIDS. He emphasized the need to establish close linkages between reproductive health and HIV/AIDS in order to achieve a more comprehensive and conclusive solution to sexual and reproductive health problems faced by people.

The 7 th East Asia & Pacific Ministerial Consultation on Children was held at Siem Reap, Cambodia on 23-25 March 2005. Dr. Virapong Skolkitivat, Chair of the Senate Standing Committee on Public Health, Thailand represented AFPPD at this meeting.

Mr. J.C. Bas, Manager, Dialogue, World Bank in Paris and in-charge of the Parliamentarians Network of World Bank (PNoWB) met Sen. Dr. Malinee Sukavejworakit, Secretary General, AFPPD and Mr. Shiv Khare, Executive Director, AFPPD to discuss parliamentarians' participation at the World Bank in activities and study visit.

Asian Parliamentarians Meet Dr. Thorya Obaid in New York

Parliamentarians and ministers from Asia attended the 49 th Session of the Commission on Women in UN Headquarters in New York where they also met with Dr. Thoraya Obaid, Executive Director, UNFPA and Mrs. Imelda Henkins, Deputy Executive Director on March 4, 2005. The parliamentarians including Hon. Adi Asenaca Caucau, Minister for Women, Social Welfare and Poverty Alleviation, Fiji, Dr. Souvanpheng Boupphanouvong, Director of the Lao National Commission for Advancement of Women (LaoNCAW), and Chansoda Phonethip, Deputy Director of LaoNCAW, discussed with Dr. Obaid and Mrs. Henkins about the importance of women in developing societies and on gender equity and gender equality especially in the Asian context.

NZPPD meets international leaders in SRH

Members of the New Zealand Parliamentarians' Group on Population and Development (NZPPD) met with two international leaders in sexual and reproductive health who were visiting Wellington in March.

Ms. Thoraya Obaid also visited New Zealand between 19 and 22 March. Family Planning's international unit, FPAID, played a key role in organising meetings with NZPPD members, and hosting an NGO forum and media interviews. A weeks later, FPAID hosted a visit by Director-General of the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF), Dr. Steven Sinding. During his visit Dr. Sinding also met with Ministers, parliamentarians, government officials and NGOs working on sexual and reproductive health in developing countries, and spoke to the media.