1. Philippine RH Bill Approved by Committee

Manila – The Reproductive Health Bill in the Philippines passed another hurdle at the committee level in the House of Representatives on January 31, in spite of efforts to delay its approval. The House of Representatives Committee on Population and Family Relations unanimously approved the consolidated version of the proposed Reproductive Health bills today.  Supportive legislators who attended the meeting included AFPPD Deputy Secretary General Hon. Edcel C. Lagman, Hon.  Janette Garin, Hon. Luzviminda Ilagan, Hon. Kaka Bag-ao and Hon. Walden Bello, Committee Vice Chairs Hon. David Kho and Hon. Rosenda Ocampo, and Committee Members Hon. Catalina Leonen-Pizarro, Hon. Antonio Tinio, Hon. Mark Sambar, Hon. Salvador Escudero, Hon. Teddy Casino, Hon. Reena Obillo, Hon. Imelda Dimaporo, Hon. Walden Bello,Hon.  Joey Zubiri, Hon. Teddy Baguilat, Hon. Orlando Fua and Hon. Marc Douglas Cagas IV.

The approved consolidated bill is now being forwarded to the Committee on Rules for its endorsement for plenary debates and approval on second reading. Hon. Rogelio Espina, Chairman of the Committee on Population and Family Relations, said he expects the bill to be brought to plenary for debates by the middle of February. 

 2. AFPPD Promotes Strong National Women’s Machineries

Bangkok – Government officials from 10 Asian nations were joined by representatives from UN and international organizations for the Workshop-cum-Expert Group Meeting on the Institutional Strengthening of National Women’s Machineries in South and South-West Asia, organized by United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) in cooperation with UN WOMEN from January 17-20.  AFPPD was represented by Mr. Shiv Khare, Executive Director, who spoke about the role and contribution of male involvement in the elimination of violence against women and techniques for enhancing political commitment.

 3. Parliamentarians Placing Comprehensive Abortion Care on the Regional Agenda

Kuala Lumpur - A meeting on comprehensive abortion care was organized by International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF), from 17-18 January in Malaysia.  AFPPD was represented by Hon. Assoc. Prof. Songsak Srianugata from Thailand.  This “Regional Dissemination Meeting for the Global Comprehensive Abortion Care Project” (GCACP) aimed to highlight the Region’s abortion initiatives through sharing of experiences, by identifying cross-cutting challenges experienced through the implementation of Global Comprehensive Abortion Care Project and enhancing commitment and awareness with relevant stakeholders on issues related to abortion. 

 4. European Parliamentarians Visit AFPPD

Bangkok - A three member parliamentary delegation sponsored by the European Parliamentary Forum on Population and Development (EPF) visited the AFPPD Secretariat in Bangkok on January 25. Hon. Danielle Bousquet, Senator Dr. Serban Radulescu, Senator Elvira Velasco along with Mr. Vincent Villeneuve, Project Officer at EPF, to discuss AFPPD programming and the potential for future cooperation between AFPPD and the EPF. Hailing from Spain, Romania and France, the parliamentarians also took part in the second Global Health Workers Alliance Forum, and were joined by Hon. Mrs. Dhiana Anwar, MP from Indonesia. Under the theme "Reviewing progress, renewing commitments to health workers towards MDGs and beyond" the forum was convened by the Global Health Workforce Alliance, the Prince Mahidol Award Conference, the World Health Organization and the Japan International Cooperation Agency, supported by other organizations including the Rockefeller Foundation, the China Medical Board and the World Bank.

The European parliamentarians also visited a TB/HIV-AIDS project on the Thai border with Myanmar and Lao PDR.

 5. South Asian Parliamentarians Form Food Sovereignty Forum

Islamabad - A Parliamentary Round Table Caucus was held on the topic of food sovereignty by the Pakistan Kisan Rabita Committee in cooperation with the South Asia Alliance for Poverty Eradication (SAAPE) thematic group on Food Sovereignty, Climate Change, Livelihood and Employment, from 23 to 24 January.  Pakistani parliamentarians were joined by South Asian parliamentarians from four countries in the region - Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, and Nepal - as well as agricultural experts and civil society members.

Participants of the Caucus agreed to form a South Asian Parliamentarian Forum on Food Sovereignty. There are 630 million people in these five countries facing food scarcity and urgent actions are needed to prevent further sufferings. 

 Announcements

• The AFPPD Policy Tracking and Monitoring Unit has created a population and development policy database, which is being continuously maintained.  Population policy developments are sent out electronically to parliamentarians, UN representatives and other interested professionals in the field of population and development to keep them informed and up-to-date on current issues. If you wish to be added to this list, please email the afppdpolicytrackingunit@afppd.org with the words “AFPPD Population Policy Tracking” in the header.   The AFPPD Policy Tracking website is also available at http://www.afppd-populationpolicies.org/

• AFPPD is proud to announce a new initiative, the Indigenous Parliamentarians website, which can be accessed at http://www.indigenousparliamentarians.org.  As an affiliate of AFPPD, the website can also be accessed through the AFPPD homepage. 

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