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Upcoming Activities

• 13-14 December: AFPPD General Assembly in Hanoi, Vietnam.
• 23-26 November: AFPPD Regional Training on “Communication and Media: a Tool for Parliamentarians Advocacy” for staff of parliaments and parliamentary committees on population and development in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
• 20-22 November: Annual Conference of the Parliamentary Network on the World Bank on “Navigating Climate Change, Food Crisis and Financial Crisis to ensure growth and the delivery of effective aid,” in Paris, France. AFPPD will hold a parallel session on population growth and climate change, featuring a panel of experts on the topic.
• 14-15 November: Steering Committee Meeting for the 4th International Conference of Parliamentarians on ICPD, in Tunis, Tunisia.
• 12 November: Launch of the State of World Population Report 2008, “Reaching Common Ground: Culture Gender and Human Rights,” in Bangkok, Thailand.

Asia Pacific Alliance for ICPD Conference

The Annual Conference of Asia Pacific Alliance for ICPD was held in Chiang Mai, Thailand, on 5-10 October. APA is a network of NGOs, overseas development agencies (ODAs), philanthropic foundations and governments from donor countries. It promotes effective implementation of and financial support for the Programme of Action adopted by the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) in 1994 at Cairo. A programme of action was adopted. AFPPD was represented by Mr. Shiv Khare, Executive Director, and Mr. Phutthachat Pluemprem, Administrative Associate.

Global Video Conferencing on Effectiveness of Aid in Reproductive Health

A global video conferencing with stake holders from the UN, World Health Organization (WHO), NGOs and other organizations on “Reproductive Health (RH) in the New Aid Architecture” was held on 29 October. The purposes of the conferencing were 1) to link reproductive health professionals, policy makers and civil society organizations around the globe; 2) to share knowledge, experience and personal insights on the new development aid architecture and its impact on reproductive health funding; and 3) to inform and improve policy and advocacy for reproductive health. The video conference was organized by the German Foundation for World Population (DSW) in Brussels, in collaboration with WHO. It connected Addis (Ethiopia), Kampala (Uganda), Geneva (Switzerland) and London (UK) for about one hour and thirty minutes with Bangkok (Thailand). AFPPD coordinated the video conference in Bangkok at the WHO office, which was attended by 12 representatives from WHO, UNFPA, UNAIDS, IOM, Planned Parenthood Association of Thailand and Planned Parenthood Federation of America.

South Asian Regional Conference on Medical Abortions

“Medical Abortion in South Asia: What is New? What is Next?” was the topic of a conference organized by the Gynuity Health Project in Kathmandu, Nepal, on 23-34 October. It was attended by organizations working in the field of abortion and those who are involved in related research on medical abortion. Ms. Suchitra Dalvie, Senior Consultant and Gynuity Health Projects Coordinator, Asia Safe Abortion Partnership, was the organizer.

One of the sessions was moderated by AFPPD Executive Director Shiv Khare and discussed policy perspectives. Dr. Shalini Verma of IPPF South Asia Regional Office, Dr. Reen Yasmin of Bangladesh, Dr. Sher Shad Syed of Pakistan, Dr. Dinesh Agarwal of UNFPA-India, Dr. Meera Ojha of Nepal and Dr. Najia Tariq of Afghanistan spoke about various outstanding policy issues related to Safe Abortion in South Asia.

Asian Parliamentarians Workshop on Climate Change and Early Warning

The Korean parliament’s Committee on Children, Population and Environment (CPE) (a member of AFPPD) organized the 2nd Asia-Pacific Parliamentarians Conference on Environment and Development (APPCED) Parliamentarians Workshop in Gyeong Ju, Korea, on 1-2 November 2008. The workshop was on “Climate Change and Early Warning.” The statement adopted mentioned that population growth is a factor in climate change and its implications need to be taken into account in policy development. AFPPD Executive Director Shiv Khare spoke on international and regional cooperation and several AFPPD parliamentarians attended.

Conference on The Future of Parliamentary Involvement in Global Health and Development

The Belgian All Party Parliamentary Group on the MDG’s, in collaboration with the European Parliamentary Forum on Population and Development (EPF) and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFATM), organized an International High Level Conference on “The Future of Parliamentary Involvement in Global Health and Development” on 20 October in Brussels, Belgium. The conference was opened by Mr. Charles Michel, the Belgian Minister for Development Cooperation. It brought together approximately 100 participants, including more than 30 leading Parliamentarians from 19 European Countries with health experts and representatives of leading global health actors such as the GFATM, UNFPA, UNAIDS, the WHO as well as selected representatives.

Family Planning Progresses Despite Church Opposition

On 8 October, the Manila Standard reported that the Catholic church in the Philippines is increasingly isolated for its opposition to a national family planning bill. The bill is garnering overwhelming support from Catholic lawmakers and constituents, despite the church’s official opposition to artificial birth control.

US Congressional Leaders Oppose Health and Human Services Regulation

On 2 October, National Journal’s Congress Daily reported that members of Congress are opposing the proposed regulation of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that would permit all health care workers to refuse to perform services that they find morally objectionable. The lawmakers wrote HHS saying the proposed regulation could limit women’s access to reproductive healthcare because it provides such a broad definition of abortion that health care workers could interpret it to include contraception. “The proposed rule is damaging to the health care needs of women, their families, and all Americans, and will only serve to cause havoc, not clarity, among employers and employees in the health care field,” the letter said.

Family Planning the Solution to Population Growth in Jordan

On 30 September, The National (Jordan) reported that Jordan’s government will institute a national family planning program in response to rapid population growth. If current growth rates continue, the population of Jordan will double by 2030, straining the country’s resources. “We need to seize the missed opportunities to provide family planning information, whether at the premarital exam, during the antenatal care, postnatal care or delivery,” said Issa Masarweh, a professor of demography at the University of Jordan.

UNFPA Expands Campaign to End Fistula

On 13 October, the U.N. News Centre reported that the Campaign to End Fistula, a program run by UNFPA, has quadrupled the number of countries it is serving, to 45. Fistula is an opening in the birth canal usually caused by obstructed labor, and can result in death, the inability to walk, incontinence and social stigma. “The consequences of fistula are life-shattering,” said Ms. Thoraya Obaid, UNFPA’s executive director. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has recently submitted the report “Supporting Efforts to End Obstetric Fistula” to the General Assembly, which highlights fistula as a stark example of continued poor maternal and reproductive health services. The report outlines efforts and recommendations to end obstetric fistula at international, regional and national levels.

World e-Parliament Conference

The World e-Parliament Conference 2008 will take place at the European Parliament in Brussels on 25-26 November. The Conference is co-organized by the European Parliament and the Global Centre for ICT in Parliament, a joint initiative of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) and the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and a core group of partners, established in 2006 to promote the role of parliaments in advancing the Information Society goals as well as the effective use of ICT for the modernization of parliamentary processes. The World e-Parliament Conference 2008 represents a unique opportunity for leaders and members of parliaments, parliamentary officials and experts to exchange views at a global level on new technologies and innovation as tools to strengthen the representative, legislative and oversight functions of regional and national assemblies.

Parliaments Active in Guaranteeing the Right to Water

Council of Europe Press reported that a conference to prepare for the “parliamentarian process” of the 5th World Water Forum, jointly organized by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), the Grand National Assembly of Turkey and the World Water Council, is to take place at the Council of Europe in Strasbourg on 6 November. The main aim of this preparatory conference is to start work on parliamentarians’ contribution to the political process of the 5th World Water Forum, which is scheduled to take place in Istanbul from 16-22 March, 2009, under the aegis of the Turkish Government and the World Water Council.