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Parliamentarians Discuss Climate Change at 9th AFPPD General Assembly

The 9th General Assembly of AFPPD, a triannual meeting of parliamentarians, was held in Hanoi, Vietnam, from 13-14 December and hosted by the National Assembly of Vietnam. Over 100 parliamentarians, NGO and UN representatives participated in the assembly, which discussed “Addressing Climate Change and Food Security: Linking Population as a Factor.” Parliamentarians and other experts offered diverse perspectives and policy recommendations. There was a general consensus that population growth is strongly correlated with climate change and food security and that solution to these global problems must integrate sound population policies and implementation. The role of parliamentarians in the ongoing efforts to address climate change was emphasized. At the conclusion of the Assembly, parliamentarians wrote down personal statement of commitments and specific actions they will take to address population and climate change issues in their own countries.

2009-2011 AFPPD Office Bearers Elected

The 9th General Assembly of AFPPD elected new office bearers for 2009-2011. Mr. Yasuo Fukuda, MP and former Prime Minister of Japan, is staying on as chairman. Vice Chairs are: Dr. Sang Guowei, Deputy Speaker, NPC, China; Mr. Lakshman Singh, MP, India; Mr. Tolofuaivalelei Falemoe Leiatau, Speaker of the Legislative Assembly, Samoa; Mme. Truong Thi Mai, MP and Chair of Committee on Social Affairs, Vietnam;  and Mrs. Aitkul Baigazievna Samakova,  MP and Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Kazakhstan.

Dr. Pinit Kullavanijaya, Senator of Thailand, will serve as Secretary-General and Mr. Edcel Lagman, Member of the House of Representatives, Philippines, was ekected as Deputy Secretary-General. Ms. Tuti Indarsih Loekman Soetrisno, MP, Indonesia, will serve as treasurer whereas Dato' Haji Ahmad Husni Mohamed Hanadzlah, Deputy Minister of Finance and Chairman of AFPPD Malaysia, will be an executive member. Senator Claire Moore of Australia will succeed Ms. Steve Chadwick of New Zealand as the Chair of the Standing Committee on Women.

AFPPD 2009 Programmes Focus on ICPD+15

AFPPD’s 2009 programmes will focus on the International Conference on Population and Development 15 years on. A number of planned programmes will place an emphasis on active parliamentarian involvement and advocacy in family planning, HIV/AIDS, reproductive health and hunger. Family planning, Maternal Health, HIV/AIDS and women empowerment will be given special emphasis along with MDG achievement. AFPPD, through its small grant programme, will also conduct performance reviews, monitoring and capacity building of national parliamentary committees on population and development. AFPPD will also be an active participant in international conferences such as APCSRHR in Beijing, ICAAP in Bali and IPCI/ICPD+15 in Cairo.

AFPPD Welcomes New Members

The memberships of Maldives and the Pacific Parliamentary Assembly on Population and Development (PPAPD) were approved by delegates present at the 9th General Assembly of AFPPD. Thus, membership of AFPPD is now at 22

Parliamentarians’ Forum on Hunger to be held in Sri Lanka

In collaboration with the UN Millennium Campaign Asia, the UNDP Regional Centres in Colombo and Bangkok and Food and Agricultural Organization will jointly organise the Parliamentarian Forum on Hunger on 15-16 February 2009 in Colombo, Sri Lanka. The Forum aims to translate a number of agenda on hunger into concrete policy options for parliamentarians at the national level, including by providing participants with information from international and regional experts. It will also enable participants to contribute to a regional plan to support national efforts to reduce hunger. The Forum will involve 20-24 parliamentarians from priority countries in Asia, who have been directly engaged in policy, budget and legislative process for achieving specific targets and indicators to reduce poverty and hunger. AFPPD will support the Forum by identifying parliamentarians and arranging their participation.

Micronesia Bill To Reserve Seats for Female Lawmakers

A bill that will reserve four seats for female lawmakers has been introduced in the Federated States of Micronesia Congress, reports Radio New Zealand International. The bill is sponsored by Speaker Issac Figir and Vice Speaker Resio Moses. Some lawmakers suggested during debate on the bill that nothing but personal choice has hindered women’s participation in Congress. As such a change would constitute a constitutional amendment, it would be placed for referendum after it is passed by Congress and signed into law by the president of FSM.

Campaign to End Fistula Wins Recognition

The Campaign to End Fistula was recognized this month as a model for championing collaboration between countries in the Global South, receiving an award of excellence from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The award committee of UNDP's Special Unit for South-South Cooperation highlighted the Campaign's innovative approach in the prevention and treatment of obstetric fistula and the rehabilitation of fistula survivors. UNFPA was recognized for facilitating connections among countries to share knowledge and expertise.

AFPPD Promoting Parliamentarians Knowledge Base

AFPPD has been adopting various techniques to enhance motivation and knowledge of parliamentarians by arranging their participation this year in conferences on specific issues such as the gender-based violence conference in Mumbai, the International Harm Reduction Conference in Bangkok, and the South Asian Harm Reduction Conference in Kathmandu.

Pakistani Government Stresses Population Welfare and Poverty Alleviation as Key to Social Development

Federal Minister for Population Welfare Dr. Firdaus Ashiq Awan emphasized on formulating innovative population welfare strategies with focus on poverty alleviation to spur social development. A seminar was held on December 23 on “population and development issues for parliamentarians.” She urged the media and civil society to publicize population issues and sensitize the society about them. The objective of this seminar is to take parliamentarians on board in formulating strategies for population welfare. The suggestions of parliamentarians will be incorporated in the government policy. These issues must be made as part of party's manifesto, she said. The seminar primarily focused on family planning, reproductive health, safe motherhood, upgrading of family planning centers and community mobilization with an objective to curtail population growth rate.