INFORMATION SERVICE

September 2008

Women Parliamentarians Discuss Financing of Health and Gender MDGs

Over 80 women parliamentarians and ministers from Asia, the Pacific and Central Asia gathered in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia on 23-24 September for the 6th Asian Women Parliamentarians and Ministers Conference. This year’s theme was “Financing the Millennium Development Goals: with a focus on Health and Gender.” Women parliamentarians and ministers, as well as experts from the UN, NGOs and international agencies, shared their experience and insights in the efforts to achieve the MDGs.

The conference was opened by remarks from H.E. Mr. Nambar Enkhbayar, President of Mongolia, H.E. Mr. Yasuyoshi Ichihashi, Ambassador of Japan to Mongolia, Ms. Safiye Cagar, Director of IERD, UNFPA-New York, and Dr. Pinit Kullavanijava, Secretary-General of AFPPD. There were seven sessions covering topics such as gender MDGs, costing and financing health MDGs, and the role of women parliamentarians and ministers in achieving MDGs.

At the end of the two-day conference, the delegates unanimously adopted the Ulaanbaatar Statement of Commitment. The delegates committed themselves to take immediate actions such as mainstreaming gender in all MDGs and allocating at least 10 percent of development assistance and national development budgets to population and reproductive health programmes. Above all, the commitment renewed the promise to act now to ensure “that by 2015, there will be less poverty in the world, fewer people who are uneducated and hungry, and that through universal access to reproductive health services, no mothers will die giving life to newborns, and less people infected by HIV/AIDS. “

The conference was organized by AFPPD in collaboration with UNFPA-Mongolia, the State Great Khural of Mongolia (Parliament) and the Government of Japan.

AFPPD Alumni Become Ministers in Mongolia

Two AFPPD alumni who participated in AFPPD activities have now become ministers in the new Government of Mongolia. Ms. Tugsjargal Gandhi is now the Minister for Social Welfare and Labour. Mr. Sambuu Lambaa, who was the Chair of the Parliament Standing Committee on Social Policy, Culture, Science and Education, is now the Minister of Health in Mongolia.

AFPPD Will Conduct Media and Communication Training for Parliament Staff

AFPPD will conduct a five-day, hands-on workshop on ‘Communication and Media: A Tool for Advocacy with Parliamentarians’ from 23 – 26 November 2008, in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Participants will be staff of parliamentarians and parliamentary committees working on Population and Health. The workshop aims to equip participants with the tools to use in strategic communication;  help them acquire various methodologies and techniques when working with the media; train them with the skills to produce press releases and develop a media kit; and develop their presentation skills and ability to handle interview situations.

Parliamentarians at Drugs and AIDS Workshop

The Southeast Asian Workshop on Drugs and AIDS was held in Phnom Penh (Cambodia) on 8-9 October. This is a follow up to the International Consultation on Drugs and AIDS in which many of the parliamentarians from AFPPD’s national committees participated. The workshop was organized by SHARAN (SHELTER), a regional NGO in cooperation with the Asian Harm Reduction Network and Asia-Pacific Network of People Living with HIV-AIDS. AFPPD with UNAIDS arranged the attendance of parliamentarians from five countries.

New Parliamentarian Group Formed in Papua New Guinea

On 24 September, a group of interested parliamentarians and ministers of Papua New Guinea gathered in Port Moresby on the initiatives of UNFPA-Papua New Guinea to kick-start the formation of a parliamentary select committee on population and development. The parliamentarians who attended the conference agreed to be the founding members of the PNG Parliamentary Committee on Population and Development. They were optimistic that more MPs will join in the course of time. UNFPA has agreed to fund some of the activities.  

Parliament and the Media Workshop Held in Tonga

A three day workshop on Parliament and the Media in the Pacific was conducted from 29 September to 1 October, 2008, by the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association Secretariat and the Parliament of Tonga in Nukualofa. Participants discussed topics such as the role of the media as the ‘fourth estate,’ coverage of the National Assembly by the media, information disclosure by the National Assembly, the value of entrenching freedom of information (FOI) in Tonga, principles of FOI law-making and FOI challenges for small islands countries.

Abortion Law Reform Bill Passed in Victoria, Australia

Abortion has been legalized in the Australian State of Victoria after a 35-year campaign to remove it from the Crimes Act. On 12 September 2008, the Lower House of the Victorian Parliament passed the third and final reading of the Victorian Abortion Law Reform Bill, 49 – 32. The bill also passed the Upper House of the Victorian Parliament 23 – 17 on 13 October where a conscience vote ended a long parliamentary debate. All proposed amendments to the Bill, which would have weakened the Bill, were debated and rejected in both Houses. The passing of the bill, which decriminalizes abortion, revamps abortion laws and makes terminations more accessible for Victorian women, has been deemed a historic event.

European Parliamentary Forum Fact Finding Mission to Georgia on Reproductive Health Needs

The European Parliamentary Forum on Population and Development (EPF) led a Fact Finding Mission of European Parliamentarians to Georgia on 19-20 September to assess the situation of reproductive health of internally displaced persons and to evaluate the health infrastructure needs of the country in the aftermath of the conflict between Georgia and Russia. The mission has been organized on the invitation of Hon. George Tsereteli, MP, Vice Chairperson of the Georgian Parliament and member of EPF Executive Committee with the cooperation of the United Nations Population Fund in Georgia.

Dr. Allan Rosenfield Passed Away

Dr. Allan Rosenfield passed away on Sunday, 12 October, at his home in New York from complications of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. Dr. Rosenfield, a legend in maternal and reproductive health, stepped down as the dean of the Mailman School of Public Health and DeLamar Professor of Public Health at Columbia University in New York City earlier this year after 22 years of service. He received his B.A. from Harvard College and M.D. from Columbia University. Following completion of residency training in obstetrics and gynecology, Dr. Rosenfield began a career spanning nearly four decades dedicated to improving reproductive health services in the developing world. He spent a year as an instructor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Lagos Teaching Hospital in Nigeria, and then joined the Population Council, serving for six years in Thailand as the council's representative and as medical advisor to the Ministry of Public Health for Family Planning and Maternal and Child Health. His experience made him a lifelong passionate advocate for women’s health and women’s rights.

USAID Bans Contraceptive Supplies to Leading Family Planning Group

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has instructed its staff to force governments in several African countries to discontinue the provision of US-funded contraceptive commodities to Marie Stopes International (MSI), one of the world’s leading family planning organizations. The USAID instruction, issued by Assistant Administrator for Global Health Kent Hill, said the action was necessary because MSI works with the Chinese government, whom the US State Department accuses of “coercive abortion and involuntary sterilizations.”
MSI chief executive Dana Hovig stated emphatically today that MSI does not support coercive abortion or involuntary sterilization in China or elsewhere. “To the contrary, MSI is one of the few organizations that have worked over the past decade to increase the availability of voluntary, client-centered family planning services in China,” said Hovig. He blasted the USAID decision as “purely political and dangerous to the lives of women.”

Nominations for Parliamentarians Who Champion ICPD

The Asian Forum will initiate a program to identify and recognize parliamentarians from Asia-Pacific who have dedicated themselves to the promotion and implementation of ICPD at the national level.

2nd APPCED Parliamentarians Workshop

The Korean Parliamentary League on Children, Population and Environment, a member of AFPPD, will host the 2nd Asia-Pacific Parliamentarians Conference on Environment and Development (APPCED) Parliamentarians Workshop in Gyeong Ju on 1-2 November 2008.  This year’s theme is “Climate Change and Early Warning,” with specific focus on early warning system for natural phenomena, current practice and future direction in early warning technology, and international/regional cooperation and coordination. The workshop will bring together the parliamentarians from Asia-Pacific member countries, including researchers, policy advisors and international agencies. AFPPD will also be represented.