INFORMATION SERVICE

Celebrating 25th year

April 2006

Indian parliament speaker opens APDA/AFPPD parliamentarians' meeting

Hon. Somnath Chatterjee, Speaker of the Indian Parliament opened "The 22nd Asian Parliamentarians' Meeting on Population and Development: Population in the Globalizing Society-Focus in Asia & Pacific" on 23rd April in New Delhi, organized by The Asian Population and Development Association (APDA), Japan in cooperation with AFPPD and hosted by Indian Association of Parliamentarians on Population and Development (IAPPD). Mr. Yasuo Fukuda, Chairman of AFPPD and former Cabinet Secretary of Japan addressed the opening ceremony. Other speakers on the occasion were Mr. Shin Sakurai, MP (Japan) and former Chairman of AFPPD, Ms. Sheila Dixit, Chief Minister of Delhi State, India, Ms. Panabaka Laxmi, Hon. Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, India, Dr. Wasim Zaman, Director, UNFPA-CST for South and West Asia.

Around 56 participants from 17 countries attended the two-day seminar. Many prominent experts including Ms. Madhu Bala Nath, Regional Director, International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF), South Asia, Mr. P.K. Hota, Secretary, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, India and Mr. Jairam Ramesh, Minister of State for Commerce, India, also addressed the seminar. Among the topics discussed in the seminar, "Globalization and Demographic transition in Asia", "Positive and Negative Aspects of Economic Growth" and "Globalization and Adolescent" were the important ones.

Asian parliamentarians discuss poverty alleviation in Hanoi

Over 55 parliament members from 12 Asian countries discussed the role of parliamentarians in poverty alleviation in Hanoi on 5th April in the "Asian Parliamentarians' Seminar on Poverty Alleviation" organized by AFPPD in cooperation with VAPPD. The seminar supported by International Fund for Agriculture and Development (IFAD) was opened by Hon. Mr. Ngyen Phuc Tha, Vice-Speaker of the National Assembly of Vietnam and was addressed by Mr. Yoshio Yatsu, MP (Japan), President of Global Legislators Organization For a Balanced Environment (GLOBE Japan), and former Chairman of AFPPD, and by Mme. Nguyen Thi Hoai Thu, Chair of Social Affairs Committees of the National Assembly of Vietnam, Chair of VAPPD, and Vice-Chairperson of AFPPD.

On 6th April, the parliamentarians also visited the IFAD-supported project sites in Tuyen Quang, some 300 km. north of Hanoi, where beneficiaries and participants of the IFAD-supported project discussed how they participated in planning the project and how they are benefiting from its results.

AFPPD sponsored IEPFPD South Eastern Europe parliamentarians meeting

AFPPD sponsored IEPFPD South Eastern Europe Parliamentarians meeting in Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina. On 25th April, Members of Parliament from Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo and Turkey met in Sarajevo for the first regional conference of South Eastern Europe Parliamentarians. The conference was organized by Inter-European Parliamentary Forum on Population and Development (IEPFPD) and the Bosnia-Herzegovina Parliamentary Group. The President of IEPFPD, Honourable Ruth Genner (Switzerland) also participated, as did representatives from UNFPA, IPPF-European Network and the Bosnia-Herzegovina NGO "XY".

The conference participants discussed ways that Parliamentarians could play a key role in protecting the sexual and reproductive health of youths. Also discussed were practical methods for Parliamentarians to help implement the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD), and help formulate their own country's MDG plans. In addition, participants discussed the different mechanisms of the Implementation Programme of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Malaria, and Tuberculosis with regard to HIV/AIDS in the Balkan region.

NZ parliamentarians' study tour to PNG

A week-long study tour to Papua New Guinea (PNG) focused on issues relating to poverty, including HIV/AIDS, gender inequality, maternal and child health, and environment, was made by New Zealand parliamentarians and journalists from 8-15th April. The delegation headed by New Zealand Parliamentarians' Group on Population and Development (NZPPD) Chair, Ms. Steve Chadwick, MP, also included NZPPD Vice-Chair, Dr. Paul Hutchinson, MP, Mr. Tim Barnett, MP, Mr. Duncan Kar, Australian MP and journalists. Through collaboration with Australian APA partners SH & FPA, ARHA and CAFNEC, Australian Federal Labour MP Duncan Kerr also took part. The study tour aimed to raise awareness among participants on the importance of good sexual and reproductive health in achieving the MDG in the Pacific. The delegation also met PNG Ministers and Parliamentarians. Asia-Pacific Alliance (APA) supported the visit.

AFPPD executives provide full support for IPCI in Bangkok

The 58th Executive Committee of AFPPD held on 23rd April in New Delhi under the chairmanship of Mr. Yasuo Fukuda, MP and former Cabinet Secretary (Japan), reviewed the progress of the preparation of the 2006 International Parliamentarians' Conference on the Implementation of the ICPD Programme of Action (IPCI/ICPD) to be held in Bangkok on 21st and 22nd November 2006. Around 250 Parliamentarians from around the world are expected to attend the IPCI/ICPD conference.

Prof. Jeffrey Sachs advises India to curb its population growth

Indo-Asian News Service reported April 18 that during the CII National Conference and Annual Session in India, Prof. Jeffrey Sachs, Director of Earth Institute, Columbia University, cautioned, "India needs to grow but not in terms of population." Sachs added, "At this rate the country's population would reach a whopping 1.6 billion by 2050," which would hamper the country's overall growth and development. According to Sachs, efforts to lower the fertility rate by using women's empowerment and other social approaches could help stabilize population growth and contribute to environmental sustainability in India in the long run.