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Women Parliamentarians to Intensify Efforts for Gender Equality  Kuala Lumpur - Close to 100 women
parliamentarians and ministers, as well as
experts and representatives from NGOs
and international agencies, gathered in
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia for the 7th Asian
Women Parliamentarians’ and Ministers’
Conference to discuss parliamentarian
action on gender issues.
The Conference was hosted by the Parliament of Malaysia and organized by the Asian Forum of Parliamentarians on Population and Development (AFPPD) in collaboration with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), with support from the Government of Japan. |
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Parliamentarians and Ministers
Must Stand Up for Women and Girls  Senator Dato’ Sri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil,
Minister of Women, Family and Community
Development, delivered the Opening
Address. She said that there is formidable
responsibility with parliamentarians in
these challenging times. Parliamentarians
act as vital links between international
platforms of action and the local people.
Parliamentarians can also put resources
to implement these international policies.
She also emphasized the links between
gender and climate change, and the need
for collaboration.
Being mindful that certain cultural and traditional norms and practices are not conducive to gender equality and in some instances may even be harmful, the government of Malaysia is committed to transform oppressive gender stereotypes and patriarchal attitudes towards women and girls. Parliamentarians and ministers have a major role to play in speaking out against such stereotypes, attitudes and norms. Parliamentarians and ministers as public leaders must break this silence and validate their leadership by standing up for women and girls. Parliamentarians and ministers have an obligation to refine legislations to ensure their effective implementation and that they do not discriminate against women and girls, both on paper and in practice. Equality before the law is enshrined in Malaysia’s Federal Constitution. Parliamentarians and ministers also need to ensure that gender equality is integrated in all government programmes and projects. The Minister also emphasized that intra-governmental coordination is important, but so is cooperation with civil society. She urged parliamentarians to work closely with civil society. | |
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Gender is Central to
All MDG Goals  Senator Dato’ Sri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil,
In his welcome remarks Dr. Pinit
Kullavanijaya, Senator, Thailand and
Secretary-General, AFPPD, Bangkok
emphasized that many Asian countries
are lagging behind in achieving many of
the development goals, especially those
related to gender, and that efforts must
continue beyond 2015. Gender-sensitive
and responsive policy, implementation
and budgeting are essential to achieve
any gender-related goals. Women
parliamentarians and ministers have
been successful in crafting national policy
framework and refining legislations to
advance gender equality at all levels.
Gender equality is central to all international and national development goals. Development, equality and peace cannot be fully realized when half the world’s population are suffering from routine discrimination and violence, lacking access to resources and opportunities, and vulnerable to diseases and the vagaries of climate change. He concluded that empowerment of all women and girls strengthens us—their disenfranchisement and marginalization impoverishes us. | |
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"Greater Investment in Women and Girls Benefits Families and Communities"
 Ms Nobuko Horibe, Regional Director of
UNFPA Asia and the Pacific Regional Office,
speaking at the opening, emphasized that
despite good efforts to address population
issues, numerous barriers persist in the
economic and social domain.
Many Barriers to Overcome Progress Needed on Reproductive Health Discrimination and Violence aginast Women Must End Efforts also need to be made in advocating for improved investment in women and girls based on the evidence that this will bring multifold benefits to them, their families and communities particularly in this time of economic crisis and the negative impact of climate change. Accountability Needed |
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Gender Equality will Benefit Country  Dato’ Seri Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah,
Minister of Finance II, Chairman, AFPPD
Malaysia spoke at the Opening Session
and said that there are many women
leaders now, many at the top of their fields
of expertise and profession. However, if
we were to realise that it took each lady
at least twice the effort of a man, to be
where is she is, we would wonder - How
many more girls out there who could have
been whoever she wanted to be if she
had the benefit of a supportive family, an
enlightened community and a just and
fair legislative structure?
Indeed, the tenacity and perseverance of women in the pursuit of their goals are the hallmarks of their strength and character. But the reality is - it is still a man’s world. In this regard, parliamentarians have a crucial role to play. As representatives of the electorate, we have direct links to the hopes and aspirations of our constituents. Dato Husni gave a moving example of a Malaysian family who were hit hard by the financial crisis of 1997. It was due to the work of the whole family, including women, that the family was able to survive the crisis and prosper. He concluded that when there is gender equality, the true beneficiary will be all of us. |
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Session I: Review of Progress on Gender, ICPD +15 and Parliamentarians’ Contributions
Progressive Legislation Needed
 Dr. Raj Karim, Past Regional Director
and Special ESEAOR Consultant to the
Director-General, International Planned
Parenthood Federation presented an
Analysis of Reproductive Health Rights
and Priorities in Asia. She gave an
overview of the issue, talked about areas
where implementation of existing policies
are lacking, and urged parliamentarians
to take action on progressive legislation,
adequate resources, and to mobilize their
constituencies.
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ICPD+15 Monitoring Reportc | |
Parliamentarians Must Have Knowledge on Gender Issues She also discussed Australia’s allocations for development aid and the advocacy of groups in Australia to increase this aid. Australia’s parliamentary group works across all political groups in the parliament to make sure that parliamentarians have the information and understand the issues around reproductive rights and prioritize these issues. As Australia is a key aid giver, Australian parliamentarians make sure that the aid is efficient and targeted to address the MDGs. It takes many years of engaging parliamentarians to make sure that their voices are heard. | |
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Session II: Emerging Priority Concerns of Women
Unemployment Among Women is an Issue
 Dame Carol Anne Kidu, MP and Minister
for Community Development, Papua New
Guinea gave a presentation on Women
and the Economic Crisis. She said that
the major and most immediate concern
today is that of rising unemployment.
While such female-dominated sectors as
tourism and related services are likely to
be affected, job losses for women are
expected to be highest in labour intensive
export manufacturing, which has been hit
hard by the fall in aggregate demand in
developed countries.
In addition to falling export demand, the current global economic crisis has led to a decline in demand for migrant labour, leading to massive reversals in internal and external migration. Millions of migrant workers are being forced to return home, as more and more companies face closure and bankruptcy, and as more and more countries tighten controls on immigration. Women form nearly two thirds of the total Asian migrant population. Women make up the bulk of microfinance clients. There are indications that the credit squeeze could hurt microfinance lending in South Asia, which accounts for more than half of global demand for microfinance. Faced with tighter credit markets and higher costs of funds, commercial institutions may choose to scale back microfinance lending, staunching the flow of much-needed loans to South Asian women, who rely on them to start up small, home-based enterprises or to augment income to fund their children’s education and health needs. |
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Session III: Prevention and Response to Violence Against Women
Social Cultural Practices are Root Causes |
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Women are Agents of Change  Ms. Roohi Metcalfe, Gender and
Governance Specialist from the United
Nations Development Programme
(UNDP) discussed Women and Climate
Change. She gave a basic outline of
climate change, and discussed the
impacts on women. Women are the
agents of change and their knowledge is
very important. There are some effects
of climate change that affect women
more than men.
Women are victims in climate change and we need to talk more about this. Women are affected differently, and are underrepresented in decision making in the climate change process. It is important for women to participate in planning and process for climate change. Climate change is not gender neutral and gender is a significant dimension to take into account. At one point women were spending 4-5 hours every three days collecting wood, and now they are spending this every day because of climate change. When it comes to death as a result of climate change, the higher number of women’s deaths are directly linked to women’s economic and social rights. There is a need for an integrated approach and alternative approaches to climate change adaptation based on vulnerability reduction. There needs to be natural resource based approaches and on-the-ground livelihood activities can be linked with policy processes. The role of parliamentarians and ministers on addressing issues of women and climate change includes: to review and revise legislation to better deal with the challenges of climate change; give keynote addresses; work across party groups; and ensure that the Copenhagen deal is inclusive. |
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National Measures to Support CEDAW
 Dato’ Noraini Ahmad, MP, Malaysia also
discussed gender based violence, with
a focus on Malaysia. She talked about
Malaysia’s commitments to CEDAW and
violence against women. Describing the
government’s measures in support of
CEDAW, Dato’ Noraini gave details on
legislations that have been passed in
Malaysia. The role of parliamentarians
includes raising awareness through public
education initiatives on VAW, supporting
the adoption of appropriate legislative,
judicial and financial measures to eradicate
VAW, to launch campaigns against VAW
and help to fund projects at national and
regional levels. | |
Steps to Curb VAW Signaled
In 2001 a National Action Plan on Elimination of Violence against Women was elaborated by the Ministry of Women’s Empowerment that was a result of a multi-stakeholder collaboration. The aim of this plan was to implement the concept of “zero tolerance” for violence against women. The plan also called for the adoption of a law on the elimination of domestic violence and as a result the Law on Elimination of Domestic Violence was enacted in 2004. The presentation outlined various discrepancies in the laws and listed priorities for future action such as the enforcement of the zero tolerance law against VAW. She said that immediate action should be taken to ensure that the revised Criminal Code takes into account the existing Law on Domestic Violence (Law no 7/84) with regard to marital rape. The domestic violence law and New Heath Law and its implementation should be socialized to all, with special attention to law enforcers. This includes the socialization of the existing policy on Zero Tolerance on violence against women which should be reinforced at all levels of the bureaucracy. | |
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Session IV: Taking Forward the Beijing Agenda
Male Involvement in Preventing VAW a Must
She talked about the inclusion of gender issues in Malaysia’s National Development Plan and various other national plans, and the impact of these documents on the enhancement of women’s rights. In the future, some pressing challenges include: low representation of women in political activities; VAW needs to be given new attention; participation of men and boys in gender related programs is crucial. | |
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Guarantee Women’s Right to
Education
 Ms. Fang Xin, Member of the National
People’s Congress outlined China’s efforts
to promote gender equality. She discussed
the laws and policies promoting gender
equality, such as the guarantee of women’s
right to education and the program of social
and economic development for women.
The fields in which these programs are
implemented include women’s right to
education, family planning and social and
economic development.
Although it has achieved some progress in promoting gender equality, China is still facing many challenges. China has similar problems with other countries in women’s development. Therefore, strengthening exchanges and cooperation is conducive to promote gender equality. |
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Session V: Women, HIV/AIDS and Harm Reduction
Parliamentarians Need to Promote Harm Reduction  Ms. Geeta Sethi, Manager, Asia Pacific
Leadership Forum on HIV/AIDS, UNAIDS
in Bangkok gave an overview of a harm
reduction approach to reduce women
drug users’ vulnerabilities to HIV/AIDS.
There are about 4.5 million injecting drug users in Asia, 4% of whom are female. About 40% of these drug users have regular intimate partner. Most often women are initiated into drug use by their male partners. Barriers faced by women drug users include: HIV testing without counselling/ confidentiality, barriers to STI and HIV treatment, weak link to women’s health and support services, low awareness, lack of protection for victims of domestic violence and police abuse, and sexual vulnerability. Harm reduction recognizes that some people are unable or unwilling to stop their harmful behavior, and that drug dependence is not just a matter of making a choice, but a medical problem that needs treatment. Harm reduction approaches are cost-effective and encourage people to stay within the family and to be gainfully employed. Parliamentarians need to promote harm reduction by ensuring care and treatment facilities are in place, addressing stigma and discrimination, and revising laws. Parliamentarians should advocate for including the needs of women in drug treatment centres, provide child-care, goods and services at treatment sites, address violence by law enforcers, and include partners in treatment for male drug users. | |
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Session VI: Gender Responsive Budgeting and Mobilization of Resources
Women’s Political Participation Important
In the Philippines, there is the Republic Act 7192 which requires every government agency, national and local, to allocate at least 5 % of its budget for gender and development (GAD) programs, mainly to support women’s economic empowerment, women’s human rights and gender responsive governance. Some of the on-going challenges to promoting gender responsive budgeting include: lack of sex-disaggregated data, monitoring of GAD budget, male dominated government bureaucracy, cultural beliefs, and lack of transparency and accountability. She concluded that gender responsive budgeting is not only about how much is allocated for women’s agenda but about how women participated in the planning and budgeting and how government ensures that women are consulted in budget approval and utilization. | |
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Gender Blind and Responsive Budget
 Mdm. Fuziah Salleh, MP, Malaysia
discussed the difference between gender
blind budgets and gender responsive
budgets, emphasizing the strengthening
of resource allocations for increasing
population health services and women’s
political participation.
She advocated for strengthening governance through showing commitment to transparency and accountability through the application of gender analysis in government budget reports. All parliaments will have to approve budget proposals, but most parliaments do not have a say in how the resources are allocated, and few parliaments have a say in reallocation of resources. | |
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Oversight and Accountability Mechanisms Need to Involve Women  Dr. Jean D’Cunha, Regional Programme
Director, UNIFEM gave an overview
of the CEDAW platform of action,
and linked it to the Beijing goals. She
stressed that national ownership over the
review process for the Beijing agenda is
important and governments need to scale
up the strategies that have worked well,
to see that women are present on all
oversight and accountability mechanisms,
and that gender equality is a key standard
in evaluating the performance of duty
bearers in society.
Positive Factors in the Region
In this sub-region, there is a mixed landscape. On the positive side, there are some
countries in our region committed to gender equality and women’s empowerment.
There are policy directives at the highest level to mainstream women’s empowerment
into national strategic plans. There are also sex disaggregated data on gender
responsive policy formations for all countries in our region. Sectoral gender equality
plans and programs have been adopted and 8 out of 10 ASEAN countries have laws
on domestic violence. A vast array of tools on gender analysis, training, audits and
indicators have been introduced. Moreover, there are institutional mechanisms such
as women’s ministries.
Many countries in the sub-region have participated in the CEDAW review process. The optional protocol is also being used in the region. Lastly, we have seen in the context of globalization, there are some categories of women who are becoming upwardly mobile.
Challenges to Implementation and Gender Mainstreaming
However, there are a range of challenges. CEDAW and Beijing platform is still not
embedded in national systems. Gender equality provisions in the constitution are not
actionable immediately. There needs to be additional legislation to claim rights and
entitlements. Very often our policies and legislations give mixed signals, which leads to
the disempowerment of women. Policies and legislations treat men and women to the
same standard, without taking into account the historical discriminations that women
have suffered.
Many of our policies focus on practical needs rather than transformational relationships. When we talk about gender mainstreaming, we need a critical mass of women in decision making positions and legislations that are positive towards women. Gender mainstreaming is a means towards gender equality. | |
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Session VII: Gender, Culture and Politics
Safe Abortion Services Needed
The UN Human Rights Council in 2009 adopted a landmark resolution and expresses grave concern for the unacceptably high rates of maternal mortality and morbidity, acknowledge that this is a human rights issue. | |
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Gender Mainstreaming a Political Process
She also made recommendations to parliamentarians, including the need to understand gender mainstreaming and the on-the-ground realities of women’s lives, to challenge culture which is oppressive, to be aware of the politics of culture and religion, to bring CEDAW and the human rights framework back into the agenda of mainstreaming, and for States to be accountable for their duty to protect, respect, and fulfill rights. | |
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The Kuala Lumpur Statement of Commitment
The participants discussed and adopted a
Kuala Lumpur Statement of Commitment
which was presented by Hajah Nancy
bt Haji Shukri, MP and Chairwoman
for Women Parliamentary Caucus in
Malaysia. Follwoing a vote of thanks by
AFPPD Executive Director Shiv Khare,
the conference was closed by Dato’ Seri
Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah.
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 Ms. Nicky Wagner, MP of New Zealand presented the findings of an Open Hearing
on Maternal Health in the Pacific conducted by NZPPD. The open hearing process
allowed submissions on the issue of maternal health, and was a valuable process for
learning and genrating actions. It can act as a bridge for parliamentarians to move
from discussion to action on the ground. Open hearings are an excellent way to bring
excellent knowledge from stakeholders to parliamentarians. There have been three
open hearings on: prevention of violence against women, youth sexual health, and
maternal health in the Pacific. The submissions on maternal health were very powerful
and highlighted key perspectives. The core issues addressed were: the need to increase
political commitment to maternal health; more funding for maternal health; increased
access to family planning; and improved health systems.
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Appropriate Measures on Population and Climate Change Will Ensure Survival of Humankind
 The participants discussed and adopted a
On 23 November, Mr. Yasuo Fukuda, MP and former prime minister of Japan and Chairman
of AFPPD, delivered this year’s Rafael M. Salas Memorial Lecture at the UN Headquarters
in New York City. The lecture focused on “Challenges for Sustainable Development in a
New Era: Population, Climate Change and Global Security.” Ms. Thoraya Ahmed Obaid,
UNFPA Executive Director, and Dr. Nafis Sadik, former UNFPA Executive Director and UN
Special Envoy on AIDS in Asia-Pacific, as well as family members of the late Rafael M.
Salas, the first Executive Director of UNFPA, were also present.
Mr. Fukuda credited Mr. Salas for laying a strong foundation for UNFPA’s success today and appreciated the close collaboration between Japanese parliamentarians, including his late father, the former Prime Minister Takeo Fukuda, and UNFPA in advancing population and development. He pointed to the pioneering role Japan played in the parliamentarians’ movement and in setting a successful example of managing demographic transition. The AFPPD Chairman stressed that in a limited ecosystem such as the Earth’s, “population dynamics is a fundamental factor in global issues such as environment and poverty, and has a profound impact on human security.” Mr. Fukuda said that population dynamism has not been fully taken into consideration in dealing with the problem of climate change. “Only by adopting appropriate measures on population issues,” he stressed, “can we realize a decent life with dignity for every person, and ensure the survival of humankind in this finite environment.  Mr. Fukuda traced the history of the parliamentarians’ movement and credited its success to important regional parliamentary networks such as AFPPD which has been successful in engaging and facilitating communications among parliamentarians in the Asia-Pacific region. Fora like AFPPD are crucial to parliamentarians’ efforts to rise up to the new challenges of the 21st Century. Human rights will need to assume a central place in policy on population issue, which are growing in complexity. Climate change is also increasingly understood to be intricately linked with population and development. “As population issues assume a greater complexity,” Mr. Fukuda said, “population stabilisation measures, once uniformly implemented without respecting human rights, became unacceptable. At the same time, as globalisation continues to evolve, population issues have become global challenges that require all of us to be engaged since no one can escape their impact.” He highlighted two major international conferences held in Japan during his tenure as Prime Minister in 2008. One was the Fourth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD IV) where he stressed that if Africa was to enjoy the fruits of development, the population issue must urgently be grappled with. The other was the G8 Hokkaido Toyako Summit during which a common understanding was formed at an international level on the importance of the MDGs on the reduction of child mortality and the improvement of maternal health, and the need for strengthening health systems. The G8 Summit also discussed the interrelationship between population issues and climate change. As we consider the future of humankind as the population continues to grow there are other pressing issues such as shortage of fresh water resources, food security, and the environment that must be addressed. Mr. Fukuda believed that by strengthening measures in the areas of population and sustainable development, UNFPA will play a central role in promoting the much-desired comprehensive and integrated approach. Japan’s ODA policy is based on a commitment to human security – of ensuring dignity and a decent life for every person. “The foundation of true global security,” he stressed, “is anchored in guaranteeing human security and by building a society in which the rights to a better life for all are protected.” Mr. Fukuda was convinced that “parliamentarian activities in the field of population and development will become ever more important as we strive for the welfare of all people, and for democratisation and good governance to ensure individual dignity as the foundation and benchmark of global security.” He expressed confidence that UN agencies and parliamentarians will continue to collaborate to achieve sustainable development, reduce poverty, and improve health conditions for the people of the world. | |
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Eastern European and Central Asian Parliamentarians Strategize on How to Further Advance ICPD Agenda Turkey, Istanbul - The regional meeting “Parliamentarians on ICPD +15: Eastern Europe and Central Asia” took place on 14 November. It was organized by Asian Forum of Parliamentarians on Population and Development (AFPPD) in cooperation with European Parliamentary Forum on Population and Development (EPF) with the support of UNFPA and Japan Trust Fund (JTF). The meeting brought together regional parliamentarians with the objectives of reviewing national situation in relation to the ICPD Programme of Action (PoA) and developing strategies aimed at strengthening and enhancing parliamentary support for the ICPD PoA. | |
 After the welcome address by AFPPD
Vice-Chair, Mrs. Aitkul Samakova MP
(Kazakhstan) and EPF President Mr.
George Tsereteli, MP (Georgia), Ms.Thea
Fierens, Regional Director of UNFPA
Eastern Europe and Central Asia Regional
Office addressed the participants in a
keynote address on UNFPA priorities in
the Eastern Europe and Central Asian
region and the role of parliamentarians in
advancing the ICPD Programme of Action.
Mr. Nikolai Botev, Sub-regional Director of UNFPA Eastern Europe and Central Asia Regional Office offered a review of regional development in relation to ICPD agenda since 1994. Prof. Hakan Satiroglu, President of the Family Planning Association of Turkey spoke to parliamentarians and other invited guests on the role of NGOs in the implementation of the Programme of Action. In three Panels, parliamentarians reviewed the regional progress in achieving universal access to reproductive health, discussed how to enhance their involvement in advancing ICPD in the region and to mobilize political commitment and elaborated Action Points for the next 2 years of their work, focusing in three main directions:
 There were 35 participants with 22
Parliamentarians representing 13
countries (Albania, Armenia, Bosnia and
Herzegovina, Bulgaria (EP), Finland,
Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan,
Lithuania, Moldova, Romania, Russia,
and Tajikistan) and NGO representatives
(namely, FPAT and IPPFEN).
The meeting showed that there is an established political will in advancing ICPD PoA in the region. However, for their successful work, parliamentarians need additional tools, such as various surveys, information and statistics, for better argumentation and policy advance. The regional knowledge and best practices sharing were raised as one of the most important points, as the countries in the region do share the same past and similar challenges. Regional parliamentary networks, UNFPA and civil society should explore the possibilities to assist parliamentarians in providing these tools.  The parliamentary meeting followed the
two regional UNFPA events which took
place in Istanbul: the High-Level Meeting
on Maternal Health and Universal Access
to Reproductive Health on 11 November
and the High-Level Regional Forum on
the 15th Anniversary of ICPD on 12-13
November.
The two events brought together Members of Government, Members of Parliament, representatives of UN agencies, civil society organizations, faith-based organizations, researchers and academicians, young activists to take stock of regional achievements and to renew their commitment to improving maternal and reproductive health as well as to formulate key strategic actions to further accelerate the implementation of the ICPD PoA in the region. | |
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UNFPA and IPPF Chiefs Meet with Japanese Parliamentarians
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During her October visit to Japan, UNFPA Executive Director, Dr. Thoraya Ahmed Obaid, attended the Japan Parliamentarians
Federation for Population (JPFP) Executive Committee Members meeting and addressed JPFP members preceding the IPCI events,
expressing her expectations of Japanese MPs’ role within the field of population and development. Dr. Obaid additionally stressed
that the Japanese Government’s financial contributions are imperative to UNFPA activities. Among the JPFP participants were: Mr.
Yasuo Fukuda, JPFP/APDA/AFPPD Chair; Ms. Wakako Hironaka, JPFP Senior Vice Chair; Ms. Nohno Chieko, JPFP Secretary-General;
Mr. Teruhiko Mashiko, JPFP Director/Senior Vice Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI); Mr. Chiaki Takahashi, JPFP Deputy
Secretary-General/Parliamentary Secretary for METI; Mr. Shuichi Kato, JPFP Director; Mr. Ichiro Aizawa, JPFP Executive Director; Mr. Ichiro Tsukada.
In November, IPPF Director-General, Dr. Gill Greer, was in Japan and met with JPFP members, some of whom were also present at the meeting with Dr. Obaid. She asked for MPs’ understanding of the need to not only recommit to their contributions, but also maintain Japanese funding for IPPF. Dr. Greer highlighted that IPPF’s invaluable service in over 180 countries at the grassroots level cannot be fulfilled if funding is cut, and the figure of 200 million women with an unmet need for family planning will increase. A letter regarding the matters discussed at these meetings was drafted by the Asian Population and Development Association (APDA) and JPFP members, and personally delivered to Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama; it was followed by an acknowledgement of receipt and consideration. The letter called for an increase in the Japanese Government’s funding for population and development issues, especially to organizations such as UNFPA and IPPF. (APDA) | |
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Thai Senate Forms Sub-committee on Population and Development
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Parliamentarians Visit Burkina Faso to Discuss Financial Crisis and Investments Sixteen Parliamentarians led by Ms. Ndèye Fatou
Touré, MP, Sénégal, PNoWB Board Member and Mr.
François Loncle, MP, France, visited Burkina Faso from
29 November to 4 December. The delegation’s visit
focused on the following four themes: the impact of
the global financial crisis; decentralization and social
accountability; mining/extractive industries revenue
management and the investment climate. The
delegation had the opportunity to visit World Bank
supported projects in Ouagadougou, Ziga and Zignaré.
They had several meetings with key stakeholders:
private sector representatives, civil society as well
as working sessions with the Parliament’s finance
committee and the PNoWB local chapter. The
delegates also paid a courtesy visit to the Speaker of
the National Assembly Rock Marc Kaboré and on the
final day of the visit, they had a unique opportunity to
share their impressions on the country’s development
efforts with Burkina’s Prime Minister Tertius Zongo.
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AFPPD Deputy Secretary-General Works to Create Congressional Panel to Address Gender-based Violence The House of Representatives of the Philippine Congress is forming a special
committee that will address violence against women and children, Rep.
Edcel Lagman said in an announcement following the recent observance of
the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.
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Parliamentarians Discuss Climate Change and Alternative Energy
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 Dear fellow parliamentarians and colleagues,
In my mind I think population and development is everything in life. In this topic everybody talks about topics such as MDGs but I think the most important thing is human development. As I mentioned in the previous issue a person is the smallest unit of population and we must start from this. We talked out education, poverty, hunger, child and maternal health, gender equality, HIV/AIDS, sustainable development, global partnership, but I think one of the most (if not the most) important issues is the human itself. We talked about needing more aid from national or international level but I feel the character of human being is very important and necessary to achieve the MDGs. We must first develop ourselves into good, ethical, moral, hard working, transparent, responsible, reasonable persons, as otherwise all aid given will go down the drain! We also must try to help ourselves first and as much as we can before we ask others to help us. This is why I demand that all my medical residents and fellows to have 4 characteristics - good character, good work ethics, all round knowledge and a healthy mind and body. If we all are good persons the world will be a much better place to live in. Being good does not cost money! You just have to be hard working, do your work, whatever it is, to the best of your ability, you have to be honest, responsible, ethical, moral, be nice, have good human relationship with everyone. You should not cheat, lie, steal, or take advantage of other people, and have zero tolerance for corruption and think only of the benefit to the society and not for yourself. For example, as a doctor you should work hard, come to work on time, be nice to your patients, talk and explain to them in a simple way, and give them time. Being good at your job means you have to study hard, to know everything about your job, the advantages and the disadvantages. You must have continuing education, keep up to date. In this section to be a good worker, administrator or whatever you must have seven qualities: have good vision, good at people and human relationship, good at work, good in financing, good at managing time, good at presenting yourself (selling your ideas) and good at listening. If you have these 7 qualities you should be a good worker or leader at all level. To have all round knowledge you must have friends in all walks of life. You must be widely read and travel (if you can). You must know a little of everything, politics, social science, investment, etc. And lastly one must have healthy body and mind. In short to be healthy you must 1) know how to eat for health 2) exercise for health 3) do not smoke 4) do not drink 5) have safe sex, 6) no drugs 7) no gambling 8) be moderate in everything in life and lastly even if you are well go and see a doctor regularly for check up and for screening for diseases. In the future I shall go into more details on the above. Dr. Pinit Kullavanijaya | |
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At the initiative of Senator Dr. Pinit Kullavanijaya, Secretary-General of
AFPPD, the Sub-committee on Population and Development has been
formed as a part of the Senate Committee on Public Health of the Senate
of Thailand. This sub-committee aims to study the issues of population
and development in order to enhance the health-care system and living
standard of the Thai population. It is expected to produce a report for
recommendations to the Senate Committee on Public Health.
A meeting of the Sub-committee was convened on
19 November at the Thai Parliament. UNFPA Asia-
Pacific Regional Office in Bangkok was represented
byMs. Galanne Deressa, Programme Specialist, who
shared her agency’s experience in advancing the
Millennium Development Goals. In a later follow-
up meeting, Senator Dr. Pinit led a delegation of
parliament staff to attend a briefing session at the
UNFPA Regional Office at the UN office in Bangkok
where he met with Ms. Nobuko Horibe, Regional Director, and Mr. Najib
Assifi, Deputy Director, and other UNFPA experts and advisors.
The 14th Asia Pacific Parliamentarians’
Conference on Environment and
Development (APPCED) General Assembly
was held on the theme of ‘Climate Change
and Alternative Energy Development’ from
17-19 November in the Republic of Palau.
