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November 2006

Global Parliamentarians Mark a Milestone in Population and Development

Bangkok -   Around 300 parliamentarians and NGO representatives, and UN officials from over 100 countries assembled at the UN Conference Centre, Bangkok, on November 21 and 22, 2006 to review, discuss, and plan new initiatives in population and development, reproductive health, HIV/AIDS-related issues.

The Third International Parliamentarians’ Conference on the Implementation of the ICPD Programme of Action (IPCI/ICPD) was organized by the Asian Forum of Parliamentarians on Population and Development (AFPPD) and UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, with the cooperation of African, Arab, European and inter-American regional parliamentary groups and Parliamentarians for Global Action. The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) and the Thai National Assembly are the local co-hosts.

Adequate funding, effective policies and laws, and political commitment are all critical to success for population programme. Parliamentarians from developed and developing countries were recently asked to assess progress and obstacles in these areas; this global survey provided the basis for discussions.

Action by national lawmakers determines if countries meet global calls to sharply reduce maternal deaths, halt the spread of HIV, halve extreme poverty and provide universal access to reproductive health care by 2015.

HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, of Thailand, opened the conference. Keynote speakers were UNFPA Executive Director Thoraya Obaid, ESCAP Executive Secretary Kim Hak-su, and International Planned Parenthood Federation Director-General Gill Greer. AFPPD Chairman Yasuo Fukuda presided. Other eminent speakers were Mr. Lester Brown, President, Earth Policy Institute, and Dr. Joe Speidel, Adjunct Professor, University of California – San Francisco.

“Parliamentarians are key advocates for people’s rights and needs,” said Ms. Obaid. “This conference took stock of progress made and help them to mobilize action and resources for countries to achieve international development goals to reduce poverty, improve maternal and reproductive health, combat HIV/AIDS and advance gender equality.”  

APA Dialogue Highlights the Need for NGO-Parliamentarian Cooperation

The Asia-Pacific Alliance for the Implementation of ICPD (APA) and AFPPD organised an Asian-Pacific parliamentarians’ dialogue with NGOs on November 20, 2006.

Ms. Thoraya A. Obaid, Executive Director, UNFPA, appealed for greater efforts to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS during the dialogue session. “Everything must be approached with a focus on human rights and gender, and an understanding of the local cultural context,” she stressed.

Dr. Gill Greer, Director-General, IPPF, highlighted the significance of cooperation between parliamentarians and NGOs working on population and reproductive health. The NGOs have first-hand knowledge of the problem and experience of providing services, while the parliamentarians are the bridge between the people and the government, she said. Working together these two groups could educate the community, change public perceptions, and initiate real policy change, Dr. Greer said.

Ms. Steve Chadwick, MP (New Zealand) and Chair of the AFPPD Standing Committee on Women, stressed that NGOs could provide a platform for parliamentarians to spread their messages related to reproductive health, HIV/AIDS, and the status of women.

The dialogue focused on peer group education for young people, and ensuring it was properly resourced, and the provision of voluntary counseling and testing in its final discussions. Stigma and discrimination needed to be addressed where it was occurring.

Indian President Advises Parliamentarians on HIV/AIDS Discrimination    

Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, President of India, while addressing both houses of Parliament of India on World AIDS Day on December 1, narrated two heart-touching stories about his experiences with AIDS-affected children and other people. He advised parliamentarians to take up the issue of discrimination seriously.

He also urged them to consider taking up control and prevention of HIV/AIDS from their constituency within the next five years as an important mission. The occurrence of HIV is found to be 32 percent among youth in the age group of 15-29 years and 40 percent of them are women. Considering this situation, the parliamentarians could create an organised awareness campaign among all rural youth and women in their constituency for enabling prevention of infection among this population through a well-organised prevention programme, he said.

He added that creating a mechanism in partnership with societal organizations, medical institutions and Government for testing blood for any contamination and ensuring that contaminated blood is not stored in any blood banks in their constituency.

Events of Interest for Parliamentarians

• Asian Parliamentarians’ Workshop on HIV/AIDS on January 24 and 25, in Bangkok , organised by AFPPD and UNFPA.
• International Parliamentarians’ Conference on Water Conservation and Sustainable Development, in Lahore and Islamabad , organised by APPCED and Senate of Pakistan
• Asian Parliamentarians Meeting on Population and Development on February 22 and 23, in Tokyo , organised by APDA and AFPPD