Welcome to Asian Forum of Parliamentarians on Population and Development

Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda of Japan, Chair of AFPPD, has sent a letter to the National People's Congress of China expressing his sympathy and offer of support for the earthquake-affected people of China. He wrote in capacity as Chair of AFPPD and said:

"The AFPPD and the Asian Population and Development Association (APDA) are disheartened to learn of the earthquake in Sichuan which has resulted in vast devastation and loss of human lives. On behalf of fellow parliamentarians in Asia and the Pacific, we send our heartfelt condolences to the people of China, especially to families who have lost their dear ones.

We in Japan can feel the loss of your people and the severity of the disaster as we have had similar encounters. If you feel AFPPD and APDA can be of any assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Please be informed that thoughts of parliamentarians from the Asia and Pacific region are with you at this time of disaster. We once again express our deepest empathy".

Kuala Lumpur, April 26-27: The Asian Population and Development Association (APDA) and AFPPD-Malaysia organized the 24th Asian Parliamentarians' Meeting on "Population, Climate Change and Infectious Diseases" - with 70 parliamentarians and policymakers from the region - to educate on climate change, population and health. The key speakers of the meeting included Mr. Garimella Giridhar, Representative of UNFPA-CST, Bangkok; Mr. Ahmad Husni Mohamad Hanadziah, Deputy Minister of Finance and Chair of AFPPD-Malaysia; Mr. Liow Tiong Lai, MInister of Health in Malaysia; Ms. Kayoko Shimizu, acting Chair of APDA; Ms. Wakako Hironaka, acting Chair of Japan Parliamentarians' Federation for Population (JPFP); and Mr. Jose Rimon, Senior Programme Officer of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. In addition, messages from Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda of Japan, Chair of AFPPD, APDA and JPFP; and Mr. Prat Boonyawongvirot, Secretary-General of AFPPD and Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Public Health in Thailand, were delivered at the meeting.

Mr. Tolofuaivalelei Falemoe Leiatau, Speaker of Samoa and Chair of the Pacific Parliamentary Assembly on Population and Development (PPAPD), a Pacific arm of AFPPD - was elected as the new Vice-Chair of AFPPD during its Executive Committee Meeting on April 27 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

West Nusa Tenggara, April 30: The Indonesian Forum of Parliamentarians on Population and Development (IFPPD) organized a state-level elected representatives' meeting, funded by AFPPD's small grant, in preparation of a state-level legislation on HIV/AIDS prevention and care. The meeting was chaired by Mr. Hakim Sorimuda Pohan, MP (Indonesia) and Vice-Chair of IFPPD, and Mr. H. Muharrar - attended by state legislators, health officers, representatives of NGOs and the media. The meeting aimed to provide knowledge and understanding on HIV/AIDS; and to educate state parliamentarians on their role on the HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment and care.

Wellington, April 30: The New Zealand Parliamentarians' Group on Population and Development (NZPPD) organized a session and a debate on population and development issues - participated by officials, advisors and representatives of the Inter-Parliamentary Unit of parliament. Ms. Naomi Williams, Information and Parliamentary Coordinator, discussed the background information of NZPPD, and provided some overview of the population and development challenges in the Pacific region.

Philippine Legislators' Committee Urged Government to Use Contraceptive Budget

Reproductive health and family planning advocates, including the Philippine Legislators' Committee on Population and Development (PLCPD), urged all government health offices to mobilize and request fund to continue with the family planning efforts in the Philippines. "The budget for family planning is the money allocated for the people and government health offices must take the initiative to use it where it is really targeted. It is a huge opportunity that they must immediately grab", said Mr. Ramon San Pascual, Executive Director of PLCPD. In 2008, 50 million USD was allotted for the procurement of contraceptives but remains unused.

Stockholm, April 28-30: The European Parliamentary Forum on Population and Development (EPF) and the Swedish All-Party Parliamentary Group organized a conference to discuss public health policies and attitudes toward reproductive health and women rights in Europe. With 70 participants from parliaments and NGOs, the conference discussed the underlying issues that drive toward restrictions in reproductive health and women right policies. In addition, EPF launched the "Political Party Mapping" that helps to influence the sexual and reproductive health and rights' positions of political parties.

New York, April 7-11: The 41st session of the UN Commission on Population and Development (CPD) adopted a resolution on "Population Distribution, Urbanization, Internal Migration and Development", in which the importance of implementation of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD), particularly the access to reproductive health and family planning, was underlined. The commission addressed the benefits of urbanization, and underscored the links between the implementation of ICPD's Programme of Action and the achievement of internationally agreed development goals. In a final resolution, it recalled the commitment to achieve universal access to reproductive health by 2015, acknowledged the lack of funding for ICPD, and urged the international community to mobilize resources.

Mr. M. S. Swaminathan, father of the Green Revolution of India, in an interview with the International Herald Tribune's May 13 issue, said that the current crisis is still far from that of 1966, when China was engulfed in deadly famine and India barely got by a hand to mouth impost, reviving the Malthusian view that the world population was expanding too quickly to feed itself.

India has the largest number of births per year, 27 million, in the world; and about 75,000 to 150,000 maternal deaths occur every year in India. Why is India's maternal mortality high in spite of its rapid economic growth? It is believed that the key reasons are political, administrative and managerial rather than the lack of technical knowledge. As per editorial article in WHO Bulletin of April 2008.

Bangkok, April 17-19: Experts and stakeholders who have specific competency and stronghold on the current strategic focus areas attended a 3-day consultative meeting on Strategic Programme Development, organized by Partners in Population and Development (PPD), an inter-governmental South-South collaboration based in Dhaka, Bangladesh - to discuss PPD strategic directions, and to identify specific areas of programme interventions and avenues for their implementation. Dr. Sopon Mekthon, Deputy Director General of the Ministry of Public Health, spoke at the meeting. AFPPD was represented by its Executive Director.

April 2008

Mr. Fukuda's Letter of Sympathy to the Chinese Parliament