INFORMATION SERVICE

Celebrating 25th year

Feb 2006

AFPPD Statement to 50th session of CSW

Ms. Steve Chadwick, MP (New Zealand) and Chairwoman of the AFPPD Standing Committee on Women, issued a statement on behalf of AFPPD to the 50th Session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women, to be held from February 27 to March 10, 2006, at the UN headquarters in New York.

In the statement, she says that AFPPD is pleased to endorse the themes for the 50th session of the Commission on the Status of Women and, in particular, urges strong support for the second theme of “equal participation of women and men in decision-making processes at all levels”. The AFPPD believes that the time has come to go beyond a focus on enhancing participation of women in development, and so welcomes the Commission's call for their participation in all levels of decision-making. The current situation of poverty and HIV/AIDS in Asia and the Pacific are also highlighted in the statement. The full statement can be obtained from AFPPD.

Australian Parliament passes RU486 bill

Both lower and upper houses of the Australian Parliament have passed a bill that removes the Minister of Health's veto power over the registration and importation of abortion pill, RU486, paving the way for the drug's availability in Australia. The Australian Reproductive Health Alliance (ARHA) and the Parliamentary Group on Population and Development (PGPD), which have long advocated for repeal of the Minister's veto power, welcomed the passing of the Therapeutic Goods Amendment (Repeal of Ministerial Responsibility for Approval of RU486) Bill 2005 in the Parliament on February 16, 2006. They have made a case for the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), which assesses every drug in Australia for its safety and efficacy, to be the appropriate body to oversee the regulation of RU486. Abortifacients were the only drugs subject to ministerial approval for registration. An ARHA statement says that the passing of this bill has ensured that evidence-based scientific evaluation remains the basis of Australia's drug evaluation process. Several PGPD parliamentarians narrated their personal experiences about abortion. The RU486 pill, also known as Mifepristone, is an alternative to surgical abortion for early stages of pregnancy.

NZPPD study tour to PNG

Ms. Steve Chadwick, MP (New Zealand) and Chair of New Zealand Parliamentarians' Group on Population and Development (NZPPD), and NZPPD members Mr. Tim Barnett, MP, and Dr. Paul Hutchison, MP, will participate in an eight-day study tour to Papua New Guinea from April 7 – 15, 2006. Funded by the Asia Pacific Alliance (APA) and organized by the Development Resource Centre (DRC), which is an FPAID and APA partner, the study tour is for MPs and journalists, and aims to raise awareness among participants of the linkages between the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD), the UN Special Session (UNGASS) on HIV/AIDS and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). In particular, the study tour will focus on the importance of good sexual and reproductive health in achieving the MDGs in the Pacific. Other participants include New Zealand media, an Australian MP, FPAID celebrity spokesperson Ms. Stacey Daniels, and FPAID and DRC staff members.

Rev. Rodney Shaw, world's population-programme champion, passes away at 88

Rev. William Rodney Shaw, 88, a United Methodist Church minister whose work over five decades helped advance advocacy for population and development issues both in the United States and the developing world, passed away on February 5, 2006, in Washington, D.C. Mr. Shaw was a founder of Population Institute and was associated with Population Communications International and the Population Media Center. He was also a board member of WAY USA Inc. He will be dearly remembered for his invaluable contribution to the world's population movement. AFPPD sends its deep condolences to his family.

Asia-Pacific AIDS Society head visits AFPPD

Prof. Myung-Hwan Cho, President of AIDS Society of Asia and the Pacific (ASAP), and Mr. Scott Hearnden, ASAP Executive Officer, visited AFPPD Office in Bangkok, Thailand, on February 9, 2006, to discuss future cooperation between the two organizations.