1. AFPPD-UNDP Forum Addresses Inequality and Hunger

Over 30 parliamentarians from Asia-Pacific countries gathered in Colombo, Sri Lanka, from 16-17 February, for a regional Parliamentarians’ Forum on Hunger and Inequality. The forum was organized by UNDP Regional Centres in cooperation with AFPPD and the Millennium Campaign. The objective of the forum is to provide a unique opportunity for parliamentarians from the government and opposition sides to exchange lessons and experience among their peers from across the region; enhance connection between parliamentarians and electorates on the issues related to hunger and poverty; and formulate and implement national and regional strategies for action.

The outcome of the gathering includes individual action plans and commitments formulated by participants. In particular, parliamentarians recognized and right to food and reaffirmed their commitment to enforce that right by supporting appropriate legislations and promoting empowerment of women and sound population policies. They also highlighted the linkages between HIV/AIDS, poverty and population dynamics.

2. Parliamentarians Panel on Gender-Based Violence

AFPPD organized a parliamentarians panel on “monitoring gender-based violence and programme implementation” at the International Conference on “Gender-Based Violence and Sexual and Reproductive Health,” held in Mumbai, India, on 16 February 2009. The panel was addressed by Mrs. Jaya Bachchan, MP and well-known film actress in India. The discussion was moderated by Mr. Manmohan Sharma, Executive Secretary of IAPPD, on behalf of AFPPD. Panelists included Hon. Sen. Dr. Anusak Kongmalai, Thailand and Hon. Ms. Hajah Nancy Shukri, MP, Malaysia.

3. UNESCAP Expert Group Meeting in Bangkok Discusses Population & Development

Addressing reproductive health and gender equality remains remain central to reducing poverty in Asia and the Pacific, regional specialists agreed in Bangkok. They met during the first week of February at the Expert Group Meeting to assess the progress in the implementation of the Plan of Action on Population and Poverty adopted at the Fifth Asian Pacific and Population Conference, which took place in Bangkok in 2002. The three-day experts meeting concluded that the steps proposed in the Fifth APPC Plan of Action on Population and Poverty were needed more than ever in light of the global economic crisis and its likely impact on the poor.

In a panel session chaired by Dr. Raj Karim, Regional Director for IPPF, AFPPD Executive Director Shiv Khare gave a presentation on AFPPD's experience in fostering effective partnerships with parliamentarians in the pursuit of the 5th APPC/ICPD goals.  Mr. Wasin Zaman, Executive Director of ICOMP and Mr. Harry Jooseery, Executive Director of Partners in Population and Development, also spoke. Convened by the UNESCAP in cooperation with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the meeting was attended by representatives from governments in Asia and the Pacific, civil society organizations and UN bodies.

For details, please visit http://www.unescap.org/esid/psis/meetings/EGM_PIPA_2009/index.asp  

4. Parliamentarians Panel on Decriminalisation of Drug Use

AFPPD is supporting ‘Harm Reduction 2009’ – the latest in a long-running series of international harm reduction conferences which will take place in April in Bangkok, Thailand. The conference theme for 2009 is ‘Harm Reduction and Human Rights,’ and the event is expected to attract around 1,000 people from 80 different countries. These conferences are the key fora for the dissemination of harm reduction ideas, research, projects and practice, and have helped to put harm reduction on the map over the last two decades.

In cooperation with UNAIDS, AFPPD is organizing a parliamentarians panel on “the decriminalisation of drug use” featuring members of parliament from the Asia-Pacific region.

For more information – including online registration and the programme - please visit www.ihraconferences.net.

5. AFPPD Joins CONGO’s New Regional Committee for Asia-Pacific

The Conference of NGOs in Consultative Relationship with the United Nations (CONGO) launched its Regional Committee for Asia-Pacific  at its board meeting in Bangkok. AFPPD, which holds the highest General Consultative Status with ECOSOC, has joined the Committee with other international and regional NGOs as its inaugural members. The RCAP aims to facilitate Asian or Asia-related NGOs’ participation in all UN and CONGO activities globally and regionally, in particular, UNESCAP, UNFPA and other UN agencies in Asia and promote better cooperation among CONGO members as well as other civil society organisations in Asia. 

6. Australia Debates Abortion Aid Ban

ABC (Australia) reported 5 February that members of the country’s Green Party are seeking to repeal a ban on foreign aid funding for organisations that perform or offer counseling on abortion. “The bulk of what we’re talking about is giving people and organisations the ability to talk [about] contraceptive options, sexual health, ensuring that families understand the link between chronic maternal health issues and the health of their children,” said Senator Sarah Hanson-Young. All Party Parliamentary Group on Population and Development (PGPD) and the Australia Reproductive Health Alliance (ARHA), affiliates of AFPPD, are constantly working to repeal the ban.

7. State Legislators in India Pledge to Advance Universal Access to HIV Services

In a milestone in the political response to HIV in India, more than a 100 elected state legislators from all major political parties in the south Indian state of Andhra Pradesh have pledged to incorporate the goal of universal access to HIV services in their political manifestos. Legislators from 15 major political parties in the state met at a special all-party function organized by the Legislators Forum on AIDS on 21 February. (UNAIDS)

8. Laotian Parliamentarian at OECD Conference on Financial Crisis

The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) convened a High Level Parliamentary Seminar on the Financial and Economic crisis at its headquarters in Paris on Thursday 19 February. This seminar provided an opportunity for parliamentarians and legislators to exchange views with their colleagues and OECD expert on the OECD’ʼs strategic response to the financial and economic crisis with particular reference to corporate governance, taxation, open markets for trade and investment, and the employment and social impact of the crisis.
AFPPD arranged the participation of Hon. Dr. Souvanpheng Boupphanouvong, Member of the National Assembly of Lao PDR. Dr. Boupphanouvong is the Vice Chair of both the Economic Planning and Finance Committee in the National Assembly and the National Secretariat Committee for Women’s Progress. 

9. Philippines House of Representatives Debates Contraception

CNN reported 8 February on a bill pending in the Philippines House of Representatives that would allow government funds to be used to promote contraceptives. “The bill is not about religion. It is not about morality,” said Congressman Mr. Edcel Lagman, a member of PLCPD and one of the original proposers of the bill (also an Executive Member of AFPPD). “It’s about rights, health and sustainable human development,” he stressed.

10. German Minister Highlights Maternal Health in Parliament

The German Development Minister, Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul, held a 20 minutes long government declaration in the German Parliament on the current status of the MDGs and the consequences of the world financial and economical crisis for developing countries. In the first sentence of her speech, Minister Wieczorek-Zeul referred to the fact that daily 1,500 mothers die because of complications during pregnancy and birth. In this context, she emphasized the great importance of supporting mothers' health in order to achieve the MDGs by 2015. She stressed that developing countries are hit hardest by the impacts of the financial crisis which results in, among other things, a shortage of health workers such as midwives who are urgently needed to take care of pregnant women. Moreover, she called for the provision of access to family planning services for women.

On financing for development, the Minister confirmed that Germany will fulfill the ODA commitments of 0.51% GNI by 2010 and 0.7% GNI by 2015 as they have also been reaffirmed during the International Conference on Financing for Development in Doha last November. In order to achieve these targets, Germany will concentrate on innovative financing mechanisms to generate fresh money. In a later speech in the Parliament, Sibylle Pfeiffer, Chair of DSW's Parliamentary Advisory Committee (PAC) and Vice-Chair of the Parliaments' Development Committee, highlighted the need of supporting women's rights and called for increased funding for UNFPA and IPPF. (DSW)

11. Quota for Women in Tonga Parliament

The Tongan Women’s National Congress has made a formal submission for 30% of the seats in Parliament and 30% of the Cabinet positions to be reserved for women, reports Radio New Zealand International. It has recommended this to the Constitutional and Electoral Commission which is now considering the nature of political reform that should be put in place in Tonga. Earlier the Women’s Congress had discussed how to increase political participation and raise the influence of women in order to alleviate the problems they face. Women’s voices are rarely heard in the Tongan parliament, where only five women have entered the House in the last 35 years.

In a statement the Congress said nearly 700 women signed the submission. It said what it calls Temporary Affirmative Measures need only be in place for four terms. It also calls for a Ministry of Women, Youth & Sports be formed to strengthen the government’s linkages with women groups in the community. (PPAPD)

12. UAE Hosts Conference on Reproductive Health

The Yasmin Forum on Reproductive Healthy Women was held in Dubai, UAE recently. It focused on the importance of empowering women in reproductive health decisions. “Even in countries with a lot of birth control options, there are many unintended pregnancies and abortions. This is either because women are not part of the decision [on birth control] or they are not well informed and counseled about the best options for them,” said Johannes Bitzer, Head of the Department of Social Medicine at the University Clinic and Women’s Hospital in Basel, Switzerland.

13. Egyptian Doctor and Nicaraguan NGO Win 2009 United Nations Population Award

An Egyptian doctor, Mahmoud Fathalla, and a Nicaraguan non-governmental organization, Movimiento Comunal Nicaragüense (MCN), have won this year’s United Nations Population Award. The Award is given to individuals and institutions for outstanding work in population and in improving the health of individuals.

14. ICPD at 15 on UNFPA Website

This year marks the 15th anniversary of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) and reminds us of the five years remaining to fulfill the commitments made in Cairo in 1994. 

To mark this important anniversary, a number of ICPD at 15 events are being organized and a series of publications being developed. UNFPA has created a website with information on upcoming ICPD at 15 events, activities and products:  http://www.unfpa.org/icpd/15/index.cfm

15. DSW Develops Handbook on RH

Designed by DSW (German Foundation for World Population) to help EC delegations easily integrate reproductive health into their existing portfolios including general budget support and sector development programmes, the guidebook “What about Reproductive Health?” also aims to assist with financing proposals and agreements, calls for proposals, tenders and other documents. The entire document is publicly available for download, use and dissemination from the Euroresources website:

http://www.euroresources.org/what_about_reproductive_health.html

16. WHO and UN Agencies Appoint Regional Directors

The World Health Organisation Executive Board has appointed Dr. Shin Young-Soon (Korea) as Regional Director for the Western Pacific region, and reappointed Dr. Samlee Plianbangchang of Thailand for a second term as Regional Director for the Southeast Asia Region. The new regional director for UNEP is Dr. Young-Woo Park (Korea). Dr. Gwang-Jo Kim (Korea) has been appointed to head UNESCO’s Asia-Pacific regional office in Bangkok.

17. Upcoming Activities and Participation

• A parliamentarians session at the South Asia Regional Workshop on the Prevention of HIV related to Drug Use in Kathmandu, Nepal, on 17-18 March
• Participation in U.N. Commission on Population and Development meeting in UN Headquarters in New York City, USA, from 30 March--3 April
• A parliamentarians session at the International Harm Reduction Conference in Bangkok, Thailand, from 20-23 April
• Asian parliamentarians to participate at the European Parliamentary Forum (EPF) on Climate Change in Oslo, Norway, from 23-24 March
• APDA/AFPPD Asian Regional Seminar and AFPPD Executive Committee meeting in Jakarta, Indonesia,  from 2-3 May

This and previous editions of our E-News can be viewed on our website at http://www.afppd.org/information.html.