1. Hon. Yasuo Fukuda Welcomes New UNFPA Executive Director

Tokyo – “We heartily welcome the appointment of Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin, former minister of Health and Director General of the National Agency of Nigeria for the Control of HIV and AIDS, to the position of UNFPA Executive Director” stated Hon. Yasuo Fukuda, Former Prime Minister of Japan and Chairman of the Asian Forum of Parliamentarians on Population and Development (AFPPD), recipient of the 2010 UN Population Award.  Hon. Fukuda expressed the hope that under the new leadership of Dr. Osotimehin, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) will continue its strong service and commitment to the issues of population growth, reproductive and sexual health as well as their linkage to other emerging development issues such as environment, climate, water and food security. 

 2. Parliament Staff Increase Policy Tracking Competency

Bangkok – 25 staff members of national parliamentary committees and parliaments from 14 Asia-Pacific countries attended the ‘Parliament staff training on Population Policy Tracking and Monitoring’ in Bangkok from November 7 to 10, 2010.  This regional training was organized by AFPPD in cooperation with the Institute for Population and Social Research (IPSR), Mahidol University in Thailand, and supported by UNFPA and the Government of Japan. The training was conducted to improve the capacity of staff of national parliamentary committees and parliaments in Asia-Pacific countries in tracking policies related to population and reproductive health in the region.

 3. Parliamentarians at first ever conference for Population Scientists under Asian
     Population   Association

New Delhi - A newly formed association of population scientists and demographers met in India on 16-20 November.  The approximately 200 population scientists were joined by parliamentarians, experts, and civil society members working on population issues met for the first ever conference on population issues under the banner of the Asian Population Association (APA).   AFPPD organized a panel on the topic “Moving From Evidence To Dialogue” to create synergy between politicians and population scientist.. The panel was composed of  Hon. Ms. Sumarjati Arjoso from Indonesia; Hon. Mr. Teruhiko Mashiko from Japan;  Hon. Ms. Janette Garin, Member of the House of Representatives , the Philippines; Hon. Dr. Pinit Kullavanjaya, Senator from Thailand and AFPPD Secretary-General; and chaired by  Ms. Purnima Mane, Deputy Director (Programme) and UN Assistant Secretary-General UNFPA. 

 4. Young Parliamentarians in Asia Pacific Vow to Fight for Population Issues

Bangkok - Young parliamentarians from the Asia Pacific region have committed to fight for reproductive health rights, HIV/AIDS, mother and child rights and other contemporary population challenges.  Hailing from 14 different countries in the region, approximately 40 young parliamentarians (defined as 35 years of age or younger) were joined by UN representatives and experts from the field of population and development for the “Young Parliamentarians’ Consultation on ICPD Issues,” organized by AFPPD in cooperation with UNFPA and the Government of Japan, from November 27-28.

 5. Parliamentarians at IPPF Exchange Visit

Manila - Parliamentarians from Malaysia, Mongolia, Laos, Indonesia, Cambodia, and the Philippines participated in an exchange visit, organized by the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) in cooperation with the AFPPD and with the support from the Family Planning Organisation of the Philippines from November 23-26.  The participants, who included media and representatives from family planning organizations, were taken to the Parliament House where co-authors of the Reproductive Health Bill in the Philippines spoke and to the Philippine Legislators’ Committee on Population and Development (PLCPD), as well as site visits to local councils and health clinics.  The purpose of the visit was to explain the importance of investing resources in sexual and reproductive health programs, and identify concrete actions to be taken within the next year. 

For more information see http://www.ippf.org/NR/exeres/9FB2B0A6-6DD0-4D93-A5FE-77769B2B670B.htm

 6. Asia Pacific Launch for UNiTE : Campaign to End Violence Against Women

Bangkok - Over 600 participants, including AFPPD representatives, were present at the Asia-Pacific Regional Launch of the Secretary General’s UNiTE Campaign to End Violence Against Women, held in celebration of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women on 25 November. The event was attended by H.E. Abhisit Vejjajiva, Prime Minister of Thailand, and HRH Princess Bajrakitiyabha, UNIFEM Goodwill Ambassador for the Say no to violence campaign in Thailand, who both made strong statements in support of the urgent need to address the issue; a global pandemic of gender-based violence which affects up to 70 % of women throughout their lifetime.

 7. Lao Parliamentarian Association Fighting Gender Based Violence

Vientiane - The Lao Association of Parliamentarians on Population and Development (LAPPD), member of AFPPD, organized a first National Parliamentarians Conference on Gender Based Violence (GBV) for regional lawmakers on November 25.  Approximately 100 parliamentarians from Lao PDR and the neighbouring countries of Cambodia, Thailand, Viet Nam and Myanmar attended the event, which was organized in cooperation with the Lao Women Parliamentarians Caucus, with the support of the United Nations in Lao PDR.  The topics addressed included the economic cost of violence, the situation and responses in the region and the role of parliamentarians in fighting gender-based violence.  According to Hon. Douangdy Outhachak, Chairman of the Social and Cultural Committee, President of LAPPD,   despite recent legislative developments “laws have not translated into better protection” in Laos.

 8. Asian Parliamentarians Urge for National Funding for Disaster Risk Reduction

Manila - Parliamentarians from 10 Asian countries attended a consultative meeting “Disaster Risk Reduction: An Instrument for Achieving the MDGs” from 25-27 November. Organized by the Philippine Senate  and the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR),with AFPPD; parliamentarians from the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Maldives, Pakistan, Philippines, and Thailand called on their national governments to enhance political commitment, adopt a national strategy and allocate at least 1% of the national budget and development funding at the national and local levels for reducing disaster risk, in their statement of commitment.  AFPPD Executive Director, Mr. Shiv Khare, spoke at the opening ceremony.

 9. Person-to-Person Advocacy Techniques for Parliament Staff

Bali - A  ‘Regional Training-Workshop on Person-to-Person Advocacy With Parliamentarians’ was conducted from 25-28 November in Indonesia, organized by the Indonesian Forum of Parliamentarians on Population and Development (IFPPD) with support from AFPPD and UNFPA. The training aimed to equip the 22 participants, all staff from national level parliament in Indonesia and neighbouring countries, with the key knowledge, concepts, tools and techniques necessary to successfully execute a national advocacy project with parliamentarians and/or locally elected representatives.

 10.  AFPPD Standing Committee on Women

Bangkok – 27 members of the AFPPD Standing Committee on Women met on 29 November in Thailand.  Under Hon. Sen. Claire Moore from Australia, Chair of the Committee, results were shared from the  Regional Women Ministers and Parliamentarians conference in Kula Lumpur, Malaysia; the  Regional Women Ministers and Parliamentarians conference on Eliminating Violence against Women in Yogyakarta, Indonesia;  as well as reports by individual Committee members on progress of their national efforts towards the issue of gender.  The Committee also provided a plan for the AFPPD gender program for 2011.

 11.  Australian Male Parliamentarians Fight Violence Against Women

Sidney - The Parliamentary Group on Population and Development in Australia and the Australia Reproductive Health alliance (ARHA) launched the sub-committee ‘Male Parliamentarians for the Elimination of Violence against Women’ (MPEVAW) on 24 November. The launch was preceded by an inaugural meeting of the group, which is convened jointly by Dr. Mal Washer and Hon. Mr. Rob Oakeshott, MP and member of the AFPPD Standing Committee of Male Parliamentarians on Prevention of Violence against Women and Girls.  The launch event included a communique signing ceremony in which the participants committed to a number of time-bound and targeted actions towards the elimination of violence against women.

 12.  AFPPD Executive Committee Meeting

Bangkok – the 68th AFPPD Executive Committee meeting took place on November 27 in Thailand.  Under Hon. Yasuo Fukuda, Former Prime Minister of Japan and AFPPD Chairman, AFPPD progress was reviewed for the year of 2010 and direction provided for 2011, and various aspects of AFPPD management were considered. 

 13.  EPF Parliamentary Network Retreat

Croatia – A parliamentary retreat organized by the European Parliamentary Forum on Population and Development (EPF) was joined by the All Party Parliamentary Groups (APPG) Secretariats, UNFPA Representatives, and regional parliamentary networks from 17-20 November in Dubrovnik.  European CSO network representatives and other partners with a stake in Parliamentary advocacy on ICPD and the MDGs were present to discuss strategies for the future. Topics included SRHR Advocacy co-operation in parliamentary advocacy, mapping stakeholder mapping, communication and advocacy techniques.

 14.  Euro-Mapping Initiative

London - EPF Secretary Neil Datta, DSW Vice Executive Director Karen Hoehn, and Baroness Tonge, Chair of the UK All-Party Parliamentary Group on Population, Development and Reproductive Health launched EuroMapping 2010 on 10th November in the House of Commons. The event was attended by representatives from both the House of Commons and the House of Lords, as well as attendees from 15 embassies and a number of organizations involved in development issues. The Euromapping initiative provided an overview of comparative Official Development Assistance, including detailed information about the UK’s record on population assistance.

For more information see http://www.iepfpd.org/