Despite the United State's recent increase in family planning funding, a dramatic decrease in international donor funding is taking place, which threatens to unravel other humanitarian gains made in regards to issues such as poverty, hunger, and efforts to counter global warming.
In 1994 the International Conference on Population and Development took place in Cairo and alerted the world to issues of population and development, and the severe consequences for inaction. Following this highly publicized conference, countries worldwide were eager to commit funding, but after reaching a peak in 1995 with U.S.$723 million allotted, a drastic decline has occurred worldwide. The latest estimate, for 2007, shows contributions totaling only about $338 million, which according to UNFPA senior demographer Stan Bernstein, is "a hell of a decline." Furthermore, if one takes inflation into account the decrease appears even more severe.
The recent decline in funding not only hurts family planning services, but also threatens to undermine other humanitarian achievements such as advents made in the arenas of poverty and hunger. Unless their is renewed attention to issues of population and development, as well as an increase in funding for family planning, high fertility, especially in sub-Saharan Africa will simply exacerbate related humanitarian problems such as poverty. UNFPA Executive Director Thoraya A Obaid explains how "We have to protect the gains made and ensure that these gains do not slip back" in order to make any sustainable progress.
In an effort to prioritize issues of population and development, UNFPA convened 30 family planning experts in New York late this June including representatives from Bangladesh, Colombia, Guatemala, Kenya, India, Senegal, Tanzania, Uganda, the U.K. and the U.S. What they found was that countries who felt that they had made significant strides in reproductive health and effective family planning, were compelled to shift funding to other problems that seemed to require more attention. What they failed to realize however, is that such a monetary commitment must be continued if any lasting progress is to be made. Furthermore, many prior efforts were aimed at a specific age group of sexually active young men and women. Now that funding has been decreased, international programmes are having to choose what areas to focus on. This means that someone who was a child during the initial wave of family planning funding, will now find that resources and services are more limited as they become sexually active, and that the only information they will receive is that which funding will allow. One prominent example is in sub-Saharan Africa, where the limited funding has been focused almost entirely on HIV and AIDS, and has failed to address other important issues such as abortion and contraception.
Without an increase in funding, not only will family planning and reproductive health services be diminished, but an endless cycle connecting population with other humanitarian issues will relentlessly continue. If we are to make any strides regarding other issues, such as global warming or hunger, we must continue to address the core of every problem, namely , population. It is PPD's hope that a recommitment to the original goals of the ICPD will occur, and that the United State's recent increase in funding to family planning will emphasize the necessity of such a financial commitment.
Showing posts with label ICPD. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ICPD. Show all posts
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Dr. Musinguzi on World Population Day 2009
Fulfilling Our Promises to Women
Saturday, 11 July 2009
In these times of global economic crisis, our families, communities and nation face increasingly difficult decisions about how to spend scarce financial resources. We hear dismal statistics repeated in the newspapers and online: the economy of developed countries (measured by GDP) is predicted to fall 4.5% in 2009 and world trade will fall nearly 10% (The World Bank’s annual Global Development Finance (GDF) report: http://www.worldbank.org/gdf2009).
For example, in Uganda, remittances are down 47%, from $504.04 million to $267.32 million (http://news.id.msn.com/business/article.aspx?cp-documentid=3398635 and http://af.reuters.com/article/ugandaNews/idAFLM14443220090622?feedType=RSS&feedName=ugandaNews). USh2.5trn of Uganda’s budget this year (33%) is to come from donor support. Yet it is widely known that donor countries’ official development aid (ODA) is reduced when their economies face turmoil (http://ideas.repec.org/p/frd/wpaper/dp2009-01.html and Roodam, D. (2008). ‘History says Financial Crisis Will Suppress Aid’. Centre for Global Development Website, http://blogs.cgdev.org/globaldevelopment/2008/10/history_says_financial_crisis.php).
What started as a financial issue of the US and Europe is now clearly a global crisis that is hitting Africa hard. It is already affecting our progress toward reducing poverty. Uganda and other developing countries are negatively impacted in the economic crisis because of our reliance on remittances from family overseas and official development aid (ODA) for national budget support.
We know that women and children in developing countries will bear the brunt of the impact of the global financial crisis. Yet we must face this harsh reality with the knowledge we have on what works in development. We must invest in critical services to mitigate the impact on women and allow them to contribute to the economic productivity of their families, communities, and our country.
Funding for reproductive health, prevention of HIV, and preventative health care in general can be viewed by both families and policy makers as non-essential services. Yet dropping these critical services leads to increases in maternal and infant death and disability.
Investing in family planning and reproductive health services not only is good for women’s health and rights (UN resolution on "Preventable maternal mortality and morbidity and human rights", June 17, 2009), it makes economic sense—each $1 invested in contraceptive services will avoid between $1.7 and $4 in expenditures on maternal and newborn health, in addition to cost-savings in education, water sanitation, and immunization. Investing in family planning services reduces maternal mortality, improves child survival, promotes women's empowerment and contributes to poverty reduction.
On 11 July 2009, people around the world will observe the 20th World Population Day. Over the past 20 years, we have seen investments in health and education for women and girls leading to increases in productivity, agricultural yields, and national incomes in developing countries.
Yet, there is still much to be achieved. For example, at the 2009 Commission on Population and Development, the Government of Uganda recognized the high population growth rate of 3.2%, “unacceptably high levels of illiteracy (30%), high infant mortality rate (76/1000 live births), high maternal mortality ratio (435/100,000 live births); low life expectancy (average of 51 years); and a high rate of HIV/AIDS (6.4%).” Yet while a number of these indices have improved over the last 10 years, Uganda has not made a significant positive step in terms of the population growth rate, fertility rate and contraceptive usage (http://www.un.org/esa/population/cpd/cpd2009/comm2009.htm.
Every year, 265,000 mothers in sub-Saharan Africa die in childbirth from preventable causes. In Uganda alone, approximately 6,000 women die every year due to pregnancy complications. Women bleed to death, they do not have access to antibiotics to prevent simple infections; they often do not have the option of a caesarean section when it is necessary. We can prevent these tragedies by providing women with prenatal care, skilled attendance at births, and emergency obstetric care.
Maternal mortality has significant impact on women, families and our country--in terms of lost lives, rights, and national productivity (GDP) (Maternal mortality has a statistically significant negative effect on GDP http://ajol.info/index.php/ajhs/article/viewFile/30801/23132).
We have a blueprint for what we need to do, in Africa and globally—we must fund and implement the 2006 Maputo Plan of Action of the African Union Conference of Ministers of Health (later ratified by African Heads of State). This plan of action aligns with global frameworks and agreements such as the global commitment to universal access to reproductive health services by 2015 of the International Conference on Population and Development Programme of Action (ICPD PoA) agreed to by 179 countries in 1994 and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
In order to fulfill our commitments, we must use our resources wisely. This can best be done in developing countries by sharing our experiences and good practices through South-South cooperation and learning from the successes of our brothers and sisters in other developing countries. We need to look to the example set by other countries like Egypt, Malaysia, Thailand, South Africa and Sri Lanka, who have successfully lowered their rates of maternal ill-health through sustained financial and political commitment. Between 1992-93 and 2000, Egypt reduced its maternal mortality ratio (MMR) over 50% due to the focused efforts of the Ministry of Health and Population to improve access to, and quality of maternal and reproductive health services, reduce fertility rates, and improve antenatal care utilization and skilled attendance at delivery (http://www.jsi.com/JSIInternet/Projects/ListProjects.cfm?Select=Region&ID=2&ProjectStatus=Active). With concentrated efforts, significant improvements in reducing maternal mortality are achievable.
South-South cooperation is a tool that we must take advantage of to both share our knowledge with other developing countries and to learn from their experiences, as well. Developed countries will be increasingly focused on their own problems, leaving us as developing countries to partner and learn from each other as we all strive towards the attainment of the common ICPD goals and MDGs. We must take advantage of our knowledge of local conditions and solutions.
We have the shared knowledge to implement effective, low-cost strategies to improve the health of mothers and children. What we now need is the commitment of community and political leaders to support health progammes that work and to fund the policies and commitments they have made.
We must commit ourselves to ending the tragedy of maternal mortality. No woman should lose her life while giving life.
by Dr. Jotham Musinguzi, M.D., M.P.H.
The writer is the Regional Director of Partners in Population and Development Africa Regional Office (www.ppdafrica.org).
Saturday, 11 July 2009
In these times of global economic crisis, our families, communities and nation face increasingly difficult decisions about how to spend scarce financial resources. We hear dismal statistics repeated in the newspapers and online: the economy of developed countries (measured by GDP) is predicted to fall 4.5% in 2009 and world trade will fall nearly 10% (The World Bank’s annual Global Development Finance (GDF) report: http://www.worldbank.org/gdf2009).
For example, in Uganda, remittances are down 47%, from $504.04 million to $267.32 million (http://news.id.msn.com/business/article.aspx?cp-documentid=3398635 and http://af.reuters.com/article/ugandaNews/idAFLM14443220090622?feedType=RSS&feedName=ugandaNews). USh2.5trn of Uganda’s budget this year (33%) is to come from donor support. Yet it is widely known that donor countries’ official development aid (ODA) is reduced when their economies face turmoil (http://ideas.repec.org/p/frd/wpaper/dp2009-01.html and Roodam, D. (2008). ‘History says Financial Crisis Will Suppress Aid’. Centre for Global Development Website, http://blogs.cgdev.org/globaldevelopment/2008/10/history_says_financial_crisis.php).
What started as a financial issue of the US and Europe is now clearly a global crisis that is hitting Africa hard. It is already affecting our progress toward reducing poverty. Uganda and other developing countries are negatively impacted in the economic crisis because of our reliance on remittances from family overseas and official development aid (ODA) for national budget support.
We know that women and children in developing countries will bear the brunt of the impact of the global financial crisis. Yet we must face this harsh reality with the knowledge we have on what works in development. We must invest in critical services to mitigate the impact on women and allow them to contribute to the economic productivity of their families, communities, and our country.
Funding for reproductive health, prevention of HIV, and preventative health care in general can be viewed by both families and policy makers as non-essential services. Yet dropping these critical services leads to increases in maternal and infant death and disability.
Investing in family planning and reproductive health services not only is good for women’s health and rights (UN resolution on "Preventable maternal mortality and morbidity and human rights", June 17, 2009), it makes economic sense—each $1 invested in contraceptive services will avoid between $1.7 and $4 in expenditures on maternal and newborn health, in addition to cost-savings in education, water sanitation, and immunization. Investing in family planning services reduces maternal mortality, improves child survival, promotes women's empowerment and contributes to poverty reduction.
On 11 July 2009, people around the world will observe the 20th World Population Day. Over the past 20 years, we have seen investments in health and education for women and girls leading to increases in productivity, agricultural yields, and national incomes in developing countries.
Yet, there is still much to be achieved. For example, at the 2009 Commission on Population and Development, the Government of Uganda recognized the high population growth rate of 3.2%, “unacceptably high levels of illiteracy (30%), high infant mortality rate (76/1000 live births), high maternal mortality ratio (435/100,000 live births); low life expectancy (average of 51 years); and a high rate of HIV/AIDS (6.4%).” Yet while a number of these indices have improved over the last 10 years, Uganda has not made a significant positive step in terms of the population growth rate, fertility rate and contraceptive usage (http://www.un.org/esa/population/cpd/cpd2009/comm2009.htm.
Every year, 265,000 mothers in sub-Saharan Africa die in childbirth from preventable causes. In Uganda alone, approximately 6,000 women die every year due to pregnancy complications. Women bleed to death, they do not have access to antibiotics to prevent simple infections; they often do not have the option of a caesarean section when it is necessary. We can prevent these tragedies by providing women with prenatal care, skilled attendance at births, and emergency obstetric care.
Maternal mortality has significant impact on women, families and our country--in terms of lost lives, rights, and national productivity (GDP) (Maternal mortality has a statistically significant negative effect on GDP http://ajol.info/index.php/ajhs/article/viewFile/30801/23132).
We have a blueprint for what we need to do, in Africa and globally—we must fund and implement the 2006 Maputo Plan of Action of the African Union Conference of Ministers of Health (later ratified by African Heads of State). This plan of action aligns with global frameworks and agreements such as the global commitment to universal access to reproductive health services by 2015 of the International Conference on Population and Development Programme of Action (ICPD PoA) agreed to by 179 countries in 1994 and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
In order to fulfill our commitments, we must use our resources wisely. This can best be done in developing countries by sharing our experiences and good practices through South-South cooperation and learning from the successes of our brothers and sisters in other developing countries. We need to look to the example set by other countries like Egypt, Malaysia, Thailand, South Africa and Sri Lanka, who have successfully lowered their rates of maternal ill-health through sustained financial and political commitment. Between 1992-93 and 2000, Egypt reduced its maternal mortality ratio (MMR) over 50% due to the focused efforts of the Ministry of Health and Population to improve access to, and quality of maternal and reproductive health services, reduce fertility rates, and improve antenatal care utilization and skilled attendance at delivery (http://www.jsi.com/JSIInternet/Projects/ListProjects.cfm?Select=Region&ID=2&ProjectStatus=Active). With concentrated efforts, significant improvements in reducing maternal mortality are achievable.
South-South cooperation is a tool that we must take advantage of to both share our knowledge with other developing countries and to learn from their experiences, as well. Developed countries will be increasingly focused on their own problems, leaving us as developing countries to partner and learn from each other as we all strive towards the attainment of the common ICPD goals and MDGs. We must take advantage of our knowledge of local conditions and solutions.
We have the shared knowledge to implement effective, low-cost strategies to improve the health of mothers and children. What we now need is the commitment of community and political leaders to support health progammes that work and to fund the policies and commitments they have made.
We must commit ourselves to ending the tragedy of maternal mortality. No woman should lose her life while giving life.
by Dr. Jotham Musinguzi, M.D., M.P.H.
The writer is the Regional Director of Partners in Population and Development Africa Regional Office (www.ppdafrica.org).
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
PPD ARO Newsletter 2009, Number 1
1- Editorial, by Dr Jotham Musinguzi, Regional Director
There is an increasingly broad consensus among African leaders that the region must address its family planning, population and reproductive health problems if it is to build a just and sustainable future. Indeed, the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development Cairo Programme of Action (ICPD PoA) called on developing countries and donor nations alike to meet these challenges. Achieving the ICPD PoA is a prerequisite to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
PPD ARO works from within the African continent to push the reproductive health, population and development agenda. This is a critical mission. Africa still lacks adequate political will and commitment among policymakers on the benefits of sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR). There is still a lack of adequate understanding and appreciation among policymakers of the impact of poor sexual and reproductive health and rights on poverty alleviation and their linkages to population and development. The price of policymaker inaction is also not well-known. Thus, there is urgent need for increased political will among African leaders to be accountable for the commitments they made through the ICPD, MDGs and other regional and international frameworks for addressing SRHR. This is the impetus of the work of PPD ARO.
Over the past two years, PPD ARO has continued to carry out its programme interventions that revolve around its major strategic thrusts of advocacy and policy dialogue; networking and building strategic partnerships in the region as well sharing of experiences and good practices. This newsletter brings you news of the PPD ARO’s advocacy for reproductive health. It is my great pleasure to welcome you all to read it.
2- Working with Parliamentarians
Aware of the role they play as key stockholders, PPD ARO works in close collaboration with Parliamentarians as well as other partners to address specific objectives focusing on putting SRHR high in the development agenda.
In order for reproductive health services, including family planning, to reach men, women and young people, more resources must be made available. Parliamentarians must play their legislative, representative, budget appropriation, and oversight roles to ensure that SRHR is included in development planning and funding mechanisms and engage with government in shaping, implementing and monitoring appropriate national development policies.
PPD ARO hosted a High Level regional meeting of Parliamentary Committees on Health in East Southern Africa, 16-18 September 2008, in Kampala, Uganda. The meeting was attended by members from Parliamentary committees responsible for health from twelve (12) countries in East and Southern Africa, as well as officers from government, development partner agencies and civil society organizations.
The major objective of the meeting was to increase leadership for RH, population and development within the continent. During the meeting, policymakers were informed about the existing regional enabling policy frameworks in the field of Reproductive Health (RH), Population and Development. These include Africa Union Health Strategy; Maputo Plan of Action; and Abuja Declaration. The policymakers were also exposed to and internalized international consensuses like International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) Programme of Action; Paris Declaration and Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) as well as enabling financing mechanisms like the Global Fund; PEPFAR; and SWAps. The outcome of the meeting was the Kampala Resolutions in which commitments were made to support and promote RH, population and development agenda in the region.
In the Kampala Resolutions, representatives made commitments that they will pursue for the next year. They agreed that “Parliaments must work towards national, regional and international commitments made to protect and advance the right to health and the commitment to equity in health, primary health care and sexual and reproductive heath rights (SRHR) at all levels in East and Southern Africa” including the 2000 African Union Heads of state Abuja declaration and Plan of Action and the Maputo Plan of Action (2006), which work within the framework of the commitments and plans made in relation to the Millennium Development Goals and the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD).
In particular, the group noted, “the importance of implementing the Maputo Plan of Action to enhance SRHR to enable governments to achieve population goals to provide the necessary conditions for economic and social empowerment and development” and resolved to “ensure that such comprehensive SRHR services include Reproductive Health supplies (for commodity security), government funding for antiretrovirals (ARV) for adults and children, community mobilization on SRHR that involves men, especially in vulnerable communities and for adolescents and youth and education of girl children.”
And within the coming year, the group pledged to “prepare and make budget submissions that . . . Include necessary resource allocations for SRHR and for RH supplies (for commodity security)” and “obtain national population and reproductive health policies and national action plans and request report on progress in their funding and implementation.”
Mr. Joyti Singh, PPD Permanent Observer to the UN, spoke about the ICPD and the MDGs. Mr. Singh said that there are strong linkages between the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals and universal access to reproductive health services in the ICPD Programme of Action (1994).
Hon. Dr. Mallinga also called upon African Heads of State to uphold their commitments to allocate 15% of national budgets to health made in the Abuja Declaration on HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Other Related Infectious Diseases.
Ms. Jackson also called for Parliaments to popularize the Maputo Plan of Action, as “it is Africa’s own designed framework for attaining universal access to SRH and reproductive rights in Africa.”
Read more about the meeting in an earlier blog post: http://ppdafrica.blogspot.com/2008/10/resolutions-for-regional-meeting-of.html
The full resolution document is posted on the PPD ARO website at: http://ppdafrica.org/docs/ParliamentResolutionsSEP08.pdf
The full meeting report is online at: http://ppdafrica.org/docs/parliamentreportsep08.pdf
3- Meetings with Partner Country Coordinators (PCCs)
PPD Africa Regional Office has hosted two Annual Partners Country Coordinators’ (PCC) meetings for the Africa Region. The first one was held 26-29 September 2007 in Kampala, Uganda. The second meeting was held a year later, from 23-27 September 2008, also in Kampala, Uganda.
Participation by Partner Country Coordinators (PCCs) in both meetings has been over 90 percent. In addition non-member collaborating country representatives (Ghana, Ethiopia and Tanzania) and other guests representing donors, collaborating organizations and outside partners attended these meetings. The main objectives of the meetings were to review the implementation of South-South programmes by member countries, to share experiences, strengths, lessons and good practices and to plan future efforts for South-South collaboration for reproductive health and population and development.
During the 2008 meeting, capacity-building sessions focusing on advocacy, resource mobilization and leadership for reproductive health both at country level as well as within the African region were held. PCCs found the sessions useful and acknowledged that these were crucial in enhancing their work. Recommendations made from the 2008 meeting were that a country South-South taskforce/Deputy PCC should be put in place, capacity for resource mobilization both at country, network and regional level needs to be built, a communication strategy for PCCs needs to be developed and the Southern Africa Reproductive Health Advocacy Network (SARHN) and Western Africa Reproductive Health Advocacy Network (WARHN) should be re-invigorated.
4- International Forum: ICPD @15: Progress and Prospects
PPD in collaboration with the Government of Uganda organized the International Forum on ICPD @ 15: Progress and Prospects. This forum was the first of such events to celebrate the fifteenth anniversary of the ICPD. The forum was held in Kampala, Uganda, 24-25 September 2008 and was attended by over 200 participants. The purpose of the International Forum was to critically analyze the progress made in the implementation of ICPD Program of Action.
The Forum was formally inaugurated by H.E. Mrs. Janet Museveni, Honourable First Lady of the Republic of Uganda in the presence of H.E. Dr. Stephen Malinga, the Ugandan Minister of Health, PPD Chairperson and Minister of National Population and Family Planning Commission of China H.E. Dr. Lin Bin, UNFPA Deputy Executive Director Mrs. Purnima Mane, PPD Executive Director Mr. Harry Jooseery and Regional Director PPD ARO, Dr, Jotham Musinguzi.
Other participants included Ministers, PPD Board Members, and senior officials including PCCs, Members of Parliament, high level Representatives from donor agencies including Packard Foundation, Hewlett Foundation, Venture Strategies and representatives of international and national non–governmental organizations, resource persons and members of the academic community.
The participants at the International Forum reviewed, discussed and made recommendation on the salient issues such as reproductive health and population; HIV/AIDs; reproductive health commodity security; new and challenging issues such as climate change. After two days of intense deliberations, the forum adopted the Kampala Declaration. The declaration included recommendations to further population and reproductive health programmes and reposition family planning in the development agenda through active advocacy. In addition, the declaration called upon PPD and its members to strengthen national level support structures for planning and implementing South-South cooperation programmes and to improve networking among member countries and partner institutions.
More information is available at: http://www.partners-popdev.org/np_publications.asp
5- Additional Information:
5.1 About the Accra Agenda for Action
From September 2-4, 2008, donor countries, recipient countries, and civil society organizations met for a High Level Forum (HLF3) in Accra, Ghana to assess progress on the implementation of the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness and to agree to an agenda for action. The Accra High Level Forum ended with the adoption of the Accra Agenda for Action (AAA) through which the international community reaffirmed its commitment to achieve progress in the implementation of the Paris Declaration and intensify efforts to attain the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
At the end of the meeting the endorsed statement to accelerate and deepen implementation of the Paris declaration on Aid Effectiveness (2 March 2005) focused on the following:
Ownership: Development will be successful and sustained, and aid fully effective only when the recipient country takes the lead in determining its own development goals and priorities and sets the agenda for how they are to be achieved. Developing countries will set their own strategies for development, improve institutions and tackle corruption.
Alignment: For aid to be effective, partners must develop credible national development strategies, and donors must support and use strengthened local systems.
Harmonization: Donor aid will be more effective if all donors would adopt common procedures to harmonize aid delivery, including coordinating their actions, simplifying procedures, using common approaches and rationalizing the division of labour to reduce fragmentation and duplication.
Managing for Development Results: Donors and partner countries must manage and implement aid in a way that focuses on achieving results; this entails a shift in focus from inputs to the achievement of measurable outcomes. Both developing countries and donors need to focus on producing and measuring results.
Mutual Accountability: Donors and partners must be equally responsible for development results and work together to establish mutually agreed frameworks that provide reliable assessments of performance, transparency and accountability of country systems.
For more information, please refer to:
English: http://www.ppdafrica.org/docs/accra.pdf
French: http://www.ppdafrica.org/docs/accraf.pdf
6-About PPD ARO
Partners in Population and Development, Africa Regional Office (PPD ARO) was established in 2006 by the Board of Partners in Population and Development to intensify its activities in Africa by establishing a regional presence. The Africa Regional Office opened in February 2007 in Kampala, Uganda with the mandate to coordinate a renewed and concerted effort to realize the Vision of ―a continent that meets its reproductive health needs promotes the population and development agenda and thereby addresses poverty, through South-South cooperation.
PPD ARO, as part of the global South-South inter-governmental alliance, provides a platform for the promotion of and resource mobilization for Reproductive Health, Population and Development in Africa through three mission elements: 1) Policy dialogue; 2) Networking and building strategic partnerships in the region; and 3) Sharing of experiences and good practices.
An illustrated version of this newsletter is available in pdf format at: http://www.ppdafrica.org/docs/newsletter-june09.pdf Please read the version most suitable to your bandwidth.
There is an increasingly broad consensus among African leaders that the region must address its family planning, population and reproductive health problems if it is to build a just and sustainable future. Indeed, the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development Cairo Programme of Action (ICPD PoA) called on developing countries and donor nations alike to meet these challenges. Achieving the ICPD PoA is a prerequisite to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
PPD ARO works from within the African continent to push the reproductive health, population and development agenda. This is a critical mission. Africa still lacks adequate political will and commitment among policymakers on the benefits of sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR). There is still a lack of adequate understanding and appreciation among policymakers of the impact of poor sexual and reproductive health and rights on poverty alleviation and their linkages to population and development. The price of policymaker inaction is also not well-known. Thus, there is urgent need for increased political will among African leaders to be accountable for the commitments they made through the ICPD, MDGs and other regional and international frameworks for addressing SRHR. This is the impetus of the work of PPD ARO.
Over the past two years, PPD ARO has continued to carry out its programme interventions that revolve around its major strategic thrusts of advocacy and policy dialogue; networking and building strategic partnerships in the region as well sharing of experiences and good practices. This newsletter brings you news of the PPD ARO’s advocacy for reproductive health. It is my great pleasure to welcome you all to read it.
2- Working with Parliamentarians
Aware of the role they play as key stockholders, PPD ARO works in close collaboration with Parliamentarians as well as other partners to address specific objectives focusing on putting SRHR high in the development agenda.
In order for reproductive health services, including family planning, to reach men, women and young people, more resources must be made available. Parliamentarians must play their legislative, representative, budget appropriation, and oversight roles to ensure that SRHR is included in development planning and funding mechanisms and engage with government in shaping, implementing and monitoring appropriate national development policies.
PPD ARO hosted a High Level regional meeting of Parliamentary Committees on Health in East Southern Africa, 16-18 September 2008, in Kampala, Uganda. The meeting was attended by members from Parliamentary committees responsible for health from twelve (12) countries in East and Southern Africa, as well as officers from government, development partner agencies and civil society organizations.
The major objective of the meeting was to increase leadership for RH, population and development within the continent. During the meeting, policymakers were informed about the existing regional enabling policy frameworks in the field of Reproductive Health (RH), Population and Development. These include Africa Union Health Strategy; Maputo Plan of Action; and Abuja Declaration. The policymakers were also exposed to and internalized international consensuses like International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) Programme of Action; Paris Declaration and Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) as well as enabling financing mechanisms like the Global Fund; PEPFAR; and SWAps. The outcome of the meeting was the Kampala Resolutions in which commitments were made to support and promote RH, population and development agenda in the region.
In the Kampala Resolutions, representatives made commitments that they will pursue for the next year. They agreed that “Parliaments must work towards national, regional and international commitments made to protect and advance the right to health and the commitment to equity in health, primary health care and sexual and reproductive heath rights (SRHR) at all levels in East and Southern Africa” including the 2000 African Union Heads of state Abuja declaration and Plan of Action and the Maputo Plan of Action (2006), which work within the framework of the commitments and plans made in relation to the Millennium Development Goals and the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD).
In particular, the group noted, “the importance of implementing the Maputo Plan of Action to enhance SRHR to enable governments to achieve population goals to provide the necessary conditions for economic and social empowerment and development” and resolved to “ensure that such comprehensive SRHR services include Reproductive Health supplies (for commodity security), government funding for antiretrovirals (ARV) for adults and children, community mobilization on SRHR that involves men, especially in vulnerable communities and for adolescents and youth and education of girl children.”
And within the coming year, the group pledged to “prepare and make budget submissions that . . . Include necessary resource allocations for SRHR and for RH supplies (for commodity security)” and “obtain national population and reproductive health policies and national action plans and request report on progress in their funding and implementation.”
Mr. Joyti Singh, PPD Permanent Observer to the UN, spoke about the ICPD and the MDGs. Mr. Singh said that there are strong linkages between the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals and universal access to reproductive health services in the ICPD Programme of Action (1994).
Hon. Dr. Mallinga also called upon African Heads of State to uphold their commitments to allocate 15% of national budgets to health made in the Abuja Declaration on HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Other Related Infectious Diseases.
Ms. Jackson also called for Parliaments to popularize the Maputo Plan of Action, as “it is Africa’s own designed framework for attaining universal access to SRH and reproductive rights in Africa.”
Read more about the meeting in an earlier blog post: http://ppdafrica.blogspot.com/2008/10/resolutions-for-regional-meeting-of.html
The full resolution document is posted on the PPD ARO website at: http://ppdafrica.org/docs/ParliamentResolutionsSEP08.pdf
The full meeting report is online at: http://ppdafrica.org/docs/parliamentreportsep08.pdf
3- Meetings with Partner Country Coordinators (PCCs)
PPD Africa Regional Office has hosted two Annual Partners Country Coordinators’ (PCC) meetings for the Africa Region. The first one was held 26-29 September 2007 in Kampala, Uganda. The second meeting was held a year later, from 23-27 September 2008, also in Kampala, Uganda.
Participation by Partner Country Coordinators (PCCs) in both meetings has been over 90 percent. In addition non-member collaborating country representatives (Ghana, Ethiopia and Tanzania) and other guests representing donors, collaborating organizations and outside partners attended these meetings. The main objectives of the meetings were to review the implementation of South-South programmes by member countries, to share experiences, strengths, lessons and good practices and to plan future efforts for South-South collaboration for reproductive health and population and development.
During the 2008 meeting, capacity-building sessions focusing on advocacy, resource mobilization and leadership for reproductive health both at country level as well as within the African region were held. PCCs found the sessions useful and acknowledged that these were crucial in enhancing their work. Recommendations made from the 2008 meeting were that a country South-South taskforce/Deputy PCC should be put in place, capacity for resource mobilization both at country, network and regional level needs to be built, a communication strategy for PCCs needs to be developed and the Southern Africa Reproductive Health Advocacy Network (SARHN) and Western Africa Reproductive Health Advocacy Network (WARHN) should be re-invigorated.
4- International Forum: ICPD @15: Progress and Prospects
PPD in collaboration with the Government of Uganda organized the International Forum on ICPD @ 15: Progress and Prospects. This forum was the first of such events to celebrate the fifteenth anniversary of the ICPD. The forum was held in Kampala, Uganda, 24-25 September 2008 and was attended by over 200 participants. The purpose of the International Forum was to critically analyze the progress made in the implementation of ICPD Program of Action.
The Forum was formally inaugurated by H.E. Mrs. Janet Museveni, Honourable First Lady of the Republic of Uganda in the presence of H.E. Dr. Stephen Malinga, the Ugandan Minister of Health, PPD Chairperson and Minister of National Population and Family Planning Commission of China H.E. Dr. Lin Bin, UNFPA Deputy Executive Director Mrs. Purnima Mane, PPD Executive Director Mr. Harry Jooseery and Regional Director PPD ARO, Dr, Jotham Musinguzi.
Other participants included Ministers, PPD Board Members, and senior officials including PCCs, Members of Parliament, high level Representatives from donor agencies including Packard Foundation, Hewlett Foundation, Venture Strategies and representatives of international and national non–governmental organizations, resource persons and members of the academic community.
The participants at the International Forum reviewed, discussed and made recommendation on the salient issues such as reproductive health and population; HIV/AIDs; reproductive health commodity security; new and challenging issues such as climate change. After two days of intense deliberations, the forum adopted the Kampala Declaration. The declaration included recommendations to further population and reproductive health programmes and reposition family planning in the development agenda through active advocacy. In addition, the declaration called upon PPD and its members to strengthen national level support structures for planning and implementing South-South cooperation programmes and to improve networking among member countries and partner institutions.
More information is available at: http://www.partners-popdev.org/np_publications.asp
5- Additional Information:
5.1 About the Accra Agenda for Action
From September 2-4, 2008, donor countries, recipient countries, and civil society organizations met for a High Level Forum (HLF3) in Accra, Ghana to assess progress on the implementation of the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness and to agree to an agenda for action. The Accra High Level Forum ended with the adoption of the Accra Agenda for Action (AAA) through which the international community reaffirmed its commitment to achieve progress in the implementation of the Paris Declaration and intensify efforts to attain the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
At the end of the meeting the endorsed statement to accelerate and deepen implementation of the Paris declaration on Aid Effectiveness (2 March 2005) focused on the following:
- Commitment to eradicating poverty and promoting peace and prosperity by building stronger, more effective partnerships that enable developing countries to realize their development goals;
- Strengthening Country Ownership over Development by supporting developing countries to determine and implement their development policies to achieve their own economic, social and environmental goals as agreed as a priority in the Paris Declaration;
- Building More Effective and Inclusive Partnerships for Development including all actors. Such partnerships are most effective when they fully harness the energy, skills and experience of all development actors—bilateral and multilateral donors, global funds, CSOs, and the private sector. To reduce costly fragmentation of aid, donors and developing countries will work together with the Working Party on Aid Effectiveness to complete good practice principles under a country‐led division of labor.
- Delivering and Accounting for Development Results. The focus on delivering results should focus on strengthening the quality of policy design, improving information systems to assess the impact of development policy and making necessary adjustments.
- Transparency and accountability are essential for development results. Developing countries have to facilitate parliamentary oversight by implementing greater transparency in public financial management, including public disclosure of revenues, budgets, expenditures, procurement and audits.
Ownership: Development will be successful and sustained, and aid fully effective only when the recipient country takes the lead in determining its own development goals and priorities and sets the agenda for how they are to be achieved. Developing countries will set their own strategies for development, improve institutions and tackle corruption.
Alignment: For aid to be effective, partners must develop credible national development strategies, and donors must support and use strengthened local systems.
Harmonization: Donor aid will be more effective if all donors would adopt common procedures to harmonize aid delivery, including coordinating their actions, simplifying procedures, using common approaches and rationalizing the division of labour to reduce fragmentation and duplication.
Managing for Development Results: Donors and partner countries must manage and implement aid in a way that focuses on achieving results; this entails a shift in focus from inputs to the achievement of measurable outcomes. Both developing countries and donors need to focus on producing and measuring results.
Mutual Accountability: Donors and partners must be equally responsible for development results and work together to establish mutually agreed frameworks that provide reliable assessments of performance, transparency and accountability of country systems.
For more information, please refer to:
English: http://www.ppdafrica.org/docs/accra.pdf
French: http://www.ppdafrica.org/docs/accraf.pdf
6-About PPD ARO
Partners in Population and Development, Africa Regional Office (PPD ARO) was established in 2006 by the Board of Partners in Population and Development to intensify its activities in Africa by establishing a regional presence. The Africa Regional Office opened in February 2007 in Kampala, Uganda with the mandate to coordinate a renewed and concerted effort to realize the Vision of ―a continent that meets its reproductive health needs promotes the population and development agenda and thereby addresses poverty, through South-South cooperation.
PPD ARO, as part of the global South-South inter-governmental alliance, provides a platform for the promotion of and resource mobilization for Reproductive Health, Population and Development in Africa through three mission elements: 1) Policy dialogue; 2) Networking and building strategic partnerships in the region; and 3) Sharing of experiences and good practices.
An illustrated version of this newsletter is available in pdf format at: http://www.ppdafrica.org/docs/newsletter-june09.pdf Please read the version most suitable to your bandwidth.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
15 and Counting: New Campaign for ICPD +15
15 and Counting is a new campaign developed by the International Planned Parenthood Foundation (IPPF), a federation of non-governmental organizations working in 176 countries worldwide and a global leader in providing and advocating for the right to improved sexual and reproductive health. With a strategic focus to work with and deliver for young people, 15 and Counting aims to break the silence surrounding the issue of sexuality and reproduction, in order to improve the health and well being of the youth, worldwide.
Created in response to the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD, 1994) 15 and Counting’s aims include:
- Calling on governments to meet their commitments on sexual and reproductive health,
- campaigning to achieve better access to sexual and reproductive health services and education,
- working with young people around the world to highlight their specific needs,
- advocate for change and
- share positive experiences.
The 15 and Counting website is set up as a way to learn more about the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) as well as a platform for getting involved and making your voice heard.
There are multiple resources that help readers understand the background and motivation for 15 and Counting, as well as templates for letters to stakeholders and press releases.
Additionally, the website provides a petition, which over 1,216 people have signed thus far, that declares support for sexual rights for all. Eventually the petition will be submitted to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, reinforcing the necessity to help governments promote, protect and fulfill their promises to provide better access to sexual and reproductive health services for all.
To get involved, visit the 15 and Counting website at http://www.15andcounting.org/
Tell your co-workers, affiliated organizations (particularly, youth-serving organizations) about the campaign and refer them to the campaign website.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
September 2009 NGO Forum on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Development
Global Partners in Action: "NGO Forum on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Development: Invest in Health, Rights and the Future" in Berlin, Germany; 2-4 September 2009
In recognition of the 15 yesr anniversary of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD), Global Partners in Action: NGO Forum for Sexual and Reproductive Health and Development aims to strengthen NGOs working in partnership to advance sexual and reproductive health and rights for sustainable development in an uncertain and interdependent world.
The Government of Germany and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) are the co-hosts of this forum. A website with more information on the Forum is at: http://www.globalngoforum.org
Global Partners in Action is led by NGOs and is for NGOs, with considerable emphasis placed on ensuring significant participation from the Global South and of young people. Global Partners in Action will be a highly interactive working meeting, where participants will be able to contribute to approximately 30 breakout sessions, as participants, facilitators, resource persons or rapporteurs. In addition, orientation sessions and regional meetings are being planned for the first day. Participants will furthermore have the opportunity to network and share their work and experiences in a marketplace and at a global café. Plenaries featuring high level speakers will also inspire Global Partners in Action. Finally, all participants will be welcome to assist in the drafting process for the Call to Action throughout the duration of the Forum and outcomes from discussions in various sessions will feed into the Call to Action and an NGO Action Plan.
The Call to Action is envisioned as an advocacy tool for NGOs to share with government and parliamentarians immediately following Global Partners in Action. The NGO Action Plan is foreseen as a medium term road map to ensure that Global Partners in Action charts a way forward for enhanced efforts toward the achievement of the ICPD Programme of Action in synergy with the MDGs by 2015 and beyond.
There will be 400 participants at Global Partners in Action. Out of these, 225 will come from the Global South and will, as far as possible, be fully funded to attend. There are 100 spots for Northern NGOs, these will not generally be funded to attend. However, there will be no registration fee.
The forum steering group aims to ensure diverse representation from as many countries, regions and NGO's working in different fields of health and development as possible. Youth participation is also a priority and a commitment has been made to have at least 25% of participants under the age of 30.
The Global Partners in Action NGO Forum is inviting applications from individuals representing NGO's around the world that:
The deadline for applications is Monday May 25, 2009. Applications will be reviewed by a Selection Committee, which has established several measures to ensure a transparent and objective process. For example, an external consultant will remove all personal and organizational information from initial applications to make them anonymous. They will also be assigned a code that identifies their region, country and age group. The anonymous applications which fill all of the selection criteria will then be analyzed for content and relevance to the ICPD agenda and the objectives of the forum.
Finally, national discussions leading up to the Forum are being planned where possible. The objective is to promote discussion among NGOs on key questions related to the assessment of ongoing progress and needs, successful approaches, remaining barriers, ways forward and additional needs realting to the ICPD agenda. These discussions aspire to have broad participation and to inform the Forum and any subsequent follow-up efforts and to promote intensified discussion of how to implement the ICPD Programme of Action.
Global Partners in Action thanks you for your interest and invites you to visit the web site at: http://www.globalngoforum.org/
In recognition of the 15 yesr anniversary of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD), Global Partners in Action: NGO Forum for Sexual and Reproductive Health and Development aims to strengthen NGOs working in partnership to advance sexual and reproductive health and rights for sustainable development in an uncertain and interdependent world.
The Government of Germany and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) are the co-hosts of this forum. A website with more information on the Forum is at: http://www.globalngoforum.org
Global Partners in Action is led by NGOs and is for NGOs, with considerable emphasis placed on ensuring significant participation from the Global South and of young people. Global Partners in Action will be a highly interactive working meeting, where participants will be able to contribute to approximately 30 breakout sessions, as participants, facilitators, resource persons or rapporteurs. In addition, orientation sessions and regional meetings are being planned for the first day. Participants will furthermore have the opportunity to network and share their work and experiences in a marketplace and at a global café. Plenaries featuring high level speakers will also inspire Global Partners in Action. Finally, all participants will be welcome to assist in the drafting process for the Call to Action throughout the duration of the Forum and outcomes from discussions in various sessions will feed into the Call to Action and an NGO Action Plan.
The Call to Action is envisioned as an advocacy tool for NGOs to share with government and parliamentarians immediately following Global Partners in Action. The NGO Action Plan is foreseen as a medium term road map to ensure that Global Partners in Action charts a way forward for enhanced efforts toward the achievement of the ICPD Programme of Action in synergy with the MDGs by 2015 and beyond.
There will be 400 participants at Global Partners in Action. Out of these, 225 will come from the Global South and will, as far as possible, be fully funded to attend. There are 100 spots for Northern NGOs, these will not generally be funded to attend. However, there will be no registration fee.
The forum steering group aims to ensure diverse representation from as many countries, regions and NGO's working in different fields of health and development as possible. Youth participation is also a priority and a commitment has been made to have at least 25% of participants under the age of 30.
The Global Partners in Action NGO Forum is inviting applications from individuals representing NGO's around the world that:
- Are committed to the principles of the ICPD Programme of Action;
- Focus on activities that address key aspects of the ICPD Programme of Action (for example: sexual and reproductive health and rights, women's rights, HIV and AIDS, youth participation, gender equity, etc.);
- Work at either a local, national, regional or international level;
- Are interested and able to share best practices, lessons learned and areas for capacity building;
- Can commit to collaborative follow-up to the Global Partners in Action NGO Forum, guided by the NGO Action Plan and Call to Action that will be produced during the Forum.
The deadline for applications is Monday May 25, 2009. Applications will be reviewed by a Selection Committee, which has established several measures to ensure a transparent and objective process. For example, an external consultant will remove all personal and organizational information from initial applications to make them anonymous. They will also be assigned a code that identifies their region, country and age group. The anonymous applications which fill all of the selection criteria will then be analyzed for content and relevance to the ICPD agenda and the objectives of the forum.
Finally, national discussions leading up to the Forum are being planned where possible. The objective is to promote discussion among NGOs on key questions related to the assessment of ongoing progress and needs, successful approaches, remaining barriers, ways forward and additional needs realting to the ICPD agenda. These discussions aspire to have broad participation and to inform the Forum and any subsequent follow-up efforts and to promote intensified discussion of how to implement the ICPD Programme of Action.
Global Partners in Action thanks you for your interest and invites you to visit the web site at: http://www.globalngoforum.org/
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Governments Declare Maternal Mortality a Human Rights Violation
In March this year, 83 Governments issued a joint statement to the United Nations Human Rights Council. Expressing concern over the unacceptably high number of women who die each year due to pregnancy related complications, the delegation urged the Human Rights Council to declare maternal mortality a human rights violation.
Each year more than 500,000 women die from pregnancy or childbirth. Most of these deaths could be prevented, and by not doing so, such inaction clearly constitutes a human rights violation. A women's right to health, life, education, dignity, access to information and appropriate healthcare are violated each and every time a preventable death occurs, and this is completely unacceptable. Reaffirming the importance of The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, Millennium Development Goal 5, The Beijing Declaration and The International Conference on Population and Development, the delegation demanded a recommitment to such global obligations.
MDG 5 aims to reduce the maternal mortality ratio by three quarters, however, between 1990 and 2005 the global rate decreased by less than 1%. Governments and international organizations must recommit themselves to decreasing maternal mortality by 5.5% annually in order to meet set targets. Maternal mortality is an issue that affects women worldwide, and must not be looked at as a concentrated regional problem, but rather a sector of health in which continuous improvement is required.
The delegation laid out 4 keys actions that the Human Rights Council should undertake to contribute to existing efforts. Identifying the human rights dimensions of preventable maternal mortality and morbidity, reviewing and considering information on discrimination in the provision of and access to healthcare for women and discrimination against women in respect of their right to decide freely and responsibly on the number and spacing of their children, talking about the human rights implications of maternal mortality and morbidity in the universal periodic review and in treaty body dialogues, including the exchange of programmes and policies that have successfully reversed the trend of maternal deaths and injuries, and finally, requesting states to include women in decision-making about maternal health, including decisions on the design of local health care mechanisms, and to recognize women’s right to skilled professional care before, during and after pregnancy and childbirth. Goal 3 highlights the importance of South-South cooperation and sharing of good practices as an excellent tool of progression.
The Council will meet next in June of this year and it is PPD's hope that the suggestions provided by one of the largest joint-intergovernmental statements delivered to the Council will have taken effect, and that maternal mortality will be declared a human rights violation. Urgent action is needed in order to meet Millennium Development Goal 5 and to prevent thousands of unnecessary deaths, and the Human Rights Council has the ability to spur such action.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Bongaarts and Sinding on International Family Planning Programs: Myths v. Facts
Bongaarts and Sinding (a "founding father" of PPD) published "A response to critics of family planning programs" in the recent issue of International Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health.
In this article, the authors argue that funding for international family planning programs in developing countries has declined by 30% since the mid-1990s. Decisions by policymakers and donors to reduce investments in contraceptive services and supplies were based on plausible-sounding—but misguided—arguments. “Donor fatigue” and persistent opposition from conservative governments and institutions, in particular the Bush administration and the Vatican, contributed to this decline. Family planning programs were placed on the back burner as other pressing problems, such as the AIDS epidemic, rose in prominence.
The journal International Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health can be read online for free at: http://www.guttmacher.org/journals/toc/ipsrh3501toc.html
In this article, the authors argue that funding for international family planning programs in developing countries has declined by 30% since the mid-1990s. Decisions by policymakers and donors to reduce investments in contraceptive services and supplies were based on plausible-sounding—but misguided—arguments. “Donor fatigue” and persistent opposition from conservative governments and institutions, in particular the Bush administration and the Vatican, contributed to this decline. Family planning programs were placed on the back burner as other pressing problems, such as the AIDS epidemic, rose in prominence.
Myth: Family planning programs have little or no effect on fertility.
Fact: Decades of research show that comprehensive family planning and reproductive health services lead to sharp rises in contraceptive use that help women avoid unwanted pregnancies. Over a thirty-year period (1960–1990), fertility declined in the developing world from more than six to fewer than four births per woman, and almost half of that decline—43%—is attributable to family planning programs.
Myth: Fertility declines are under way everywhere, so the population problem has largely been solved and family planning programs are no longer needed.
Fact: Population will keep growing even if fertility could immediately be reduced to the replacement level of 2.1 births per woman, because:
- Current birthrates still leave fertility above the level needed to bring about population stabilization.
- People live longer as higher standards of living, better nutrition, expanded health services, and greater investments in public health measures have reduced death rates, and further improvements are likely.
- The large number of young people entering their childbearing years will result in population growth for decades to come. For example, in sub-Saharan Africa, 43% of the total female population was younger than 15 years in 2005.
Myth: The death toll of the AIDS epidemic makes family planning undesirable and unnecessary.
Fact: Despite the substantial mortality from AIDS, UN projections for all developing regions predict further large population increases. Despite a severe epidemic in sub-Saharan Africa, the region’s population is expected to grow by at least one billion between 2005 and 2050. This is because the annual number of AIDS deaths (two million) is equivalent to just 10 days’ growth in the population of the developing world.
Myth: Family planning programs are not cost-effective.
Fact: The World Bank estimates the cost of family planning at $100 per life-year saved. This is of the same order of magnitude as other health interventions, such as basic sanitation for diarrheal disease, a short course of chemotherapy for tuberculosis, and condom distribution for HIV prevention. All these interventions, including those for family planning, are much more cost-effective than antiretroviral treatment of AIDS, which currently receives a large proportion of health-related development aid.
Myth: Family planning programs at best have made women the instruments of population control policies and, at worst, have been coercive.
Fact: Today, nearly all programs around the world respect the right of couples to make informed reproductive choices, free from undue persuasion or coercion. An important exception is China, however, where the one-child policy continues to violate reproductive rights standards.
Population growth and what to do about it has been the subject of controversy since the 1700s. Perhaps because at its most fundamental level the subject deals with sex, it has been a peculiarly incendiary topic of public policy debate. Yet much of today’s discussion about family planning programs, a principal instrument through which population policies have been implemented over the past 50 years, is based on faulty perceptions and misinformation. Large-scale national family planning programs have, for the most part, been remarkably successful.
Why does this matter? Because women and children continue to suffer and die as a consequence of unwanted and unintended childbearing. Beyond that are renewed concerns about a variety of environmental issues and about the security of nations and the stability of governments, as well as deepening worries about food security and pervasive poverty.
“In the face of declining political and financial commitment to family planning programs, we must address head-on the faulty criticisms that have held back efforts to satisfy the unmet demand for family planning services,” say Bongaarts and Sinding. “High fertility and rapid population growth remain real problems that merit our attention and action.”
Read the entire article online at: http://www.popcouncil.org/pdfs/JournalArticles/IPSRH_35_1.pdfThe journal International Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health can be read online for free at: http://www.guttmacher.org/journals/toc/ipsrh3501toc.html
Friday, April 17, 2009
Film on Abortion in Ethiopia: Not Yet Rain
In 2004, Ethiopia enacted one of the most progressive abortion laws in Africa. A woman may now seek an abortion if her life or health is threatened. Abortion is also permitted in cases of rape, incest, fetal impairment, or if the woman is a minor or physically or mentally injured or disabled. Before 2004, abortion abortion was permitted only to save a woman’s life and protect her health and in cases of rape.
However, many women still continue to perform self-induced abortions for multiple reasons: the stigma of sex outside of marriage, the cost of abortion, an inability to travel to safe clinics, and late term abortion restrictions. The new film Not Yet Rain examines the topic of abortion in Ethiopia through the voices of women who have faced the challenge of accessing safe abortion care within their communities.
Each year, 68,000 women around the world die from unsafe abortions. After hearing some of the techniques described in the twenty-three minute documentary Not Yet Rain, this comes as no surprise. One woman describes how a catheter and an umbrella were used to terminate her daughter's pregnancy, ultimately resulting in her death. Others resort to using sticks, plastic objects, and roots to attempt self-induced abortions. Whatever the reason behind being unable to access safe abortion services, the decision to turn to self-remedies is an extremely unsafe option, and it is vital that education is improved in the most remote communities, in order to ensure that women know their options and rights.
As a result of Ethiopia's revised law and 2006 guidelines for safe abortion services, abortion services are some of the safest in all of Africa. At a clinic in the documentary, the midwife/nurse explains that abortion services are now free, allowing women of all economic levels to receive proper care. Furthermore, the use of a manual vacuum aspirator (MVA) to perform the procedure is extremely safe and does not require the use of anesthesia, thus allowing clinics in the poorest and more remote areas of the community to provide such services. Regardless, the system is still full of problems. Due to a lack of education about reproductive health in Ethiopia, late term abortions are still one of the biggest factors leading to self inducement or use of traditional medicines.
Unintended pregnancy is a root cause of induced abortion and maternal mortality. An estimated 108 million married women in developing countries have an unmet need for contraception. Thus, meeting the need for contraception is a critical step toward reducing the incidence of unintended pregnancy.
In light of the mandates of intergovernmental agreements (ICPD, MDGs, Maputo) the prevention of unsafe abortion and death in all countries is an imperative goal for women’s health and rights.
To view the entire film Not Yet Rain online, visit http://www.notyetrain.org/
For useful resources on maternal mortality and MDG 5, check out the Women Deliver Resources at: http://www.womendeliver.org/resources/womendeliver.htm
For more information on the legal status of abortion, read the Center for Reproductive Rights 2007 briefing, “Abortion Worldwide: Twelve Years of Reform” http://reproductiverights.org/sites/default/files/documents/pub_bp_abortionlaws10.pdf
Related articles from The Lancet on global abortion rates and trends are available online at:
However, many women still continue to perform self-induced abortions for multiple reasons: the stigma of sex outside of marriage, the cost of abortion, an inability to travel to safe clinics, and late term abortion restrictions. The new film Not Yet Rain examines the topic of abortion in Ethiopia through the voices of women who have faced the challenge of accessing safe abortion care within their communities.
Each year, 68,000 women around the world die from unsafe abortions. After hearing some of the techniques described in the twenty-three minute documentary Not Yet Rain, this comes as no surprise. One woman describes how a catheter and an umbrella were used to terminate her daughter's pregnancy, ultimately resulting in her death. Others resort to using sticks, plastic objects, and roots to attempt self-induced abortions. Whatever the reason behind being unable to access safe abortion services, the decision to turn to self-remedies is an extremely unsafe option, and it is vital that education is improved in the most remote communities, in order to ensure that women know their options and rights.
As a result of Ethiopia's revised law and 2006 guidelines for safe abortion services, abortion services are some of the safest in all of Africa. At a clinic in the documentary, the midwife/nurse explains that abortion services are now free, allowing women of all economic levels to receive proper care. Furthermore, the use of a manual vacuum aspirator (MVA) to perform the procedure is extremely safe and does not require the use of anesthesia, thus allowing clinics in the poorest and more remote areas of the community to provide such services. Regardless, the system is still full of problems. Due to a lack of education about reproductive health in Ethiopia, late term abortions are still one of the biggest factors leading to self inducement or use of traditional medicines.
Unintended pregnancy is a root cause of induced abortion and maternal mortality. An estimated 108 million married women in developing countries have an unmet need for contraception. Thus, meeting the need for contraception is a critical step toward reducing the incidence of unintended pregnancy.
In light of the mandates of intergovernmental agreements (ICPD, MDGs, Maputo) the prevention of unsafe abortion and death in all countries is an imperative goal for women’s health and rights.
To view the entire film Not Yet Rain online, visit http://www.notyetrain.org/
For useful resources on maternal mortality and MDG 5, check out the Women Deliver Resources at: http://www.womendeliver.org/resources/womendeliver.htm
For more information on the legal status of abortion, read the Center for Reproductive Rights 2007 briefing, “Abortion Worldwide: Twelve Years of Reform” http://reproductiverights.org/sites/default/files/documents/pub_bp_abortionlaws10.pdf
Related articles from The Lancet on global abortion rates and trends are available online at:
- David A Grimes, Janie Benson, Susheela Singh, Mariana Romero, Bela Ganatra, Friday E Okonofua, Iqbal H Shah. Unsafe abortion: the preventable pandemic. The Lancet Sexual and Reproductive Health Series, October 2006: http://wwwlive.who.ch/reproductive-health/publications/articles/article4.pdf
- Gilda Sedgh, Stanley Henshaw, Susheela Singh, Elisabeth Åhman, Iqbal H Shah. Induced abortion: estimated rates and trends worldwide. The Lancet 2007; 370: 1338–45: http://media.mcclatchydc.com/smedia/2007/10/17/13/Chang-Guttmacher_Institute_abortion_report.source.prod_affiliate.91.pdf
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Achieving the Millennium Development Goals: The Contribution of Family Planning
The Millennium Development Goals are quickly approaching their target date of 2015, and in order to ensure that progression is being made in a positive direction, the USAID Health Policy Initiative has specifically focused on the considerable and noteworthy contributions that family planning has thus far made to achieving the goals. Updated analysis for more than 30 countries demonstrates how family planning can help accomplish MDG's by reducing costs for meeting the goals and improving health outcomes.
MDG Briefs for Bangladesh, Bolivia, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Democratic Republic of Congo, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guatemala, Guinea, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Nepal, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, Rwanda, Senegal, Tanzania, Uganda, Yemen and Zambia can be accessed in English (and often French or Spanish) at: http://www.healthpolicyinitiative.com/index.cfm?id=publications&get=Type&documentTypeID=15
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Commission on Population and Development to Focus on Contribution of ICPD to MDGs
This week (30 March- 3 April) the forty-second session of the Commission on Population and Development will meet at the United Nation's headquarters in New York. The theme this year is "The contribution of the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development to the internationally agreed development goals, including the Millennium Development Goals."
Founded by the Economic and Social Council in 1946, the Commission is most recently involved in monitoring and assessing the implementation of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD 1994). This year's session will focus on lowering population growth, and effective family planning in the least developed nations of the world, in order to reduce overall poverty and remove the barrier to achieving Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
To learn more about the Commission on Population and Development, you can access a summary of the session at http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs//2009/pop970.doc.htm
You can also read the keynote address, official statements, and agenda items in English and French for the Forty-second session at: http://www.un.org/esa/population/cpd/cpd2009/comm2009.htm
Founded by the Economic and Social Council in 1946, the Commission is most recently involved in monitoring and assessing the implementation of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD 1994). This year's session will focus on lowering population growth, and effective family planning in the least developed nations of the world, in order to reduce overall poverty and remove the barrier to achieving Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
Since the 1960's, the least developed nations, many in sub-Saharan Africa, have been unable to reduce their overall fertility rates, leading to rampant population growth. On average, these countries have fertility rates of 4.6 children per woman, which is significantly higher than the estimated goal of 2.17 births per woman to achieve "near-replacement-level fertility." Hindered by their inability to reduce population growth, the Commission will emphasize the necessity for these least developed nations to ensure a quicker decline in fertility, in order to "reduce maternal mortality, improve child survival, promote women's empowerment and contribute to poverty reduction." The Commission on Population and Development's second focus this year is on effective family planning, helping to contribute to poverty reduction. By reducing the number of births within a family, the ability to save money becomes more easily attainable and a greater investment in the health and education of each individual child born into the family can be achieved. Furthermore, improved access to efficient family planning contributes to enhanced maternal health and a greater survival rate of young children.
Although efforts are underway to improve the implementation of both population reduction and family planning, the forty-second session this week will express the need for a stronger political commitment and increased funding, in order to achieve significant progress on the ICPD PoA. In addition, the Commission recommends continued implementation of successful programs, an emphasis on national leadership and ownership, the development of effective health systems, and an investment in pro-poor policies.
The Commission explicitly points to South-South cooperation as vital in order to identify what programs are working, and what policies are most efficient, stating that "South-South cooperation is valuable, especially for the identification of best practices and the exchange of lessons learned." A continuous exchange of information between countries will help to improve the overall trend in reaching the MGDs.
The Commission explicitly points to South-South cooperation as vital in order to identify what programs are working, and what policies are most efficient, stating that "South-South cooperation is valuable, especially for the identification of best practices and the exchange of lessons learned." A continuous exchange of information between countries will help to improve the overall trend in reaching the MGDs.
Population growth and family planning are crucial topics that must quickly be addressed, and it is the PPD ARO's hope that the this year's session of the Commission on Population and Development will be able to bring to light this year's crucial issues and further encourage South-South cooperation in population and development. Keynote speakers this year include David Canning (Harvard School of Public Health), Jean-Pierre Guengant (Representative from Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, Burkina Faso), and Zeba Sather (Country Director of the Population Council in Pakistan).
You can also read the keynote address, official statements, and agenda items in English and French for the Forty-second session at: http://www.un.org/esa/population/cpd/cpd2009/comm2009.htm
Sunday, March 8, 2009
International Women’s Day: The Status of Women’s Health and Rights
Of the 8 Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), Goal 3 explicitly calls for empowering women and promoting gender equality, specifically setting targets to eliminate gender disparity in all levels of education by 2015, with additional indicators on employment of women and the proportion of women in parliaments. However, gender equality is an essential cross-cutting component for meeting all the targets. According to Kofi Annan, Former Secretary-General of the United Nations, "In our work to reach those objectives, as the Millennium Declaration made clear, gender equality is not only a goal in its own right; it is critical to our ability to reach all the others . . . Study after study has shown that there is no effective development strategy in which women do not play a central role".Gender gaps in access to and control of resources, in economic opportunities and in power and political voices are widespread. To date, only four countries (Sweden, Denmark, Finland, and Norway) have achieved a combination of approximate gender equality in secondary school enrolment, at least a 30 per cent share for women of seats in parliaments or legislatures, and an approximate 50 per cent share of paid employment in non-agricultural activities for women. In most countries, women continue to have less access to social services and productive resources than men. While the last two decades have seen some progress in many parts of the world in gender inequalities in schooling (as of 2006, the world was on track to meet the primary target of MDG 3: Gender Parity in School). Yet, women remain vastly under-represented in national and local assemblies, on average accounting for only 14 per cent of the seats in national parliaments.
And of particular concern to women’s health and rights is maternal mortality, MDG target 5. Pregnancy should be full of hope and joy--yet for so many women in Africa, pregnancy come with unnecessary danger. As a result, women in sub-Saharan Africa have a 1 in 16 chance of dying from complications of pregnancy or childbirth during their lives; comparatively, the lifetime risk to women in developed countries is 1 in 3,800.
Unfortunately, despite global progress on many of the MDGs illustrated in the Figure: Progress Against Targets to Meet the MDGs, less than 1/10th of the distance to be covered to meet the MDG 5 of reducing maternal mortality has been made. The chart shows how far behind the world is on MDG 5. The MDG target for maternal mortality will unlikely be met globally, and particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, without concerted efforts. The Maputo Plan of Action (PoA) for the Operationalisation of the Continental Policy Framework for Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights 2007- 2010 states that that “African countries are not likely to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) without significant improvements in the sexual and reproductive health of the people of Africa.”
On International Women’s Day, PPD encourages its member and collaborating countries to support implementation of MDG 5 by advocating for improved reproductive health services. Universal access to reproductive health (as called for by the ICPD PoA) is essential to achieve gender equality, combat HIV/AIDS, and reduce maternal and child mortality.
Find out more information (including what you can do) by reading PPD ARO’s policy brief on RH in the MDGs:
In English: http://ppdafrica.org/docs/RH-MDGs.pdf
In French: http://ppdafrica.org/docs/RH-MDGsf.pdf
More information on the MDGs is online at:
UN: http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/
MDG Indicators: http://mdgs.un.org/
Friday, February 20, 2009
World Day of Social Justice: The Centrality of Reproductive Health and Rights
February 20, 2009 is the first observation of the World Day of Social Justice (UN). The daylong celebration of social justice encourages all UN member states to organize activities on the national level to support the objectives of the 1995 World Summit for Social Development.
As recognized by the World Summit, “social development aims at social justice, solidarity, harmony and equality within and among countries and social justice, equality and equity constitute the fundamental values of all societies.” To achieve “a society for all” governments made a commitment to the creation of a framework for action to promote social justice at national, regional and international levels. Governments also pledged to promote the equitable distribution of income and greater access to resources through equity and equality and opportunity for all. The governments recognized as well that economic growth should promote equity and social justice and that “a society for all” must be based on social justice and respect for all human rights and fundamental freedoms.
Reproductive health and rights are essential components of social justice and development. At the ICPD+5 Forum in 1999, Former WHO Director-General Dr Gro Harlem Brundtland argued that, "Failure to address people's reproductive health needs is a matter of human rights and social justice. People have a right to make free and informed decisions about their reproductive lives. They have a right to information and care that will enable them to protect their health and that of their loved ones. They have a right to benefit from scientific progress in health care. . . . Defining reproductive ill-health as not only a health issue but as a matter of social justice provides a legal and political basis for governments to act.”
For more information:
Statement by Dr Gro Harlem Brundtland, Director-General. ICPD+5 Forum, The Hague, Netherlands, 8–12 February 1999. Geneva, World Health Organization (Document WHO/CHS/RHR/99.8)
UN Reports on the World Day of Social Justice:
Social Justice in an Open World: The Role of the United Nations (2006)
Launch of the World Day of Social Justice New York, 10 February 2009
GA Resolution A/RES/62/10, 19 November 2007 in English and French
UN News Centre, 26 November 2007
GA Draft Resolution A/63/L.29/Rev.1,15 December 2008 in English and French
As recognized by the World Summit, “social development aims at social justice, solidarity, harmony and equality within and among countries and social justice, equality and equity constitute the fundamental values of all societies.” To achieve “a society for all” governments made a commitment to the creation of a framework for action to promote social justice at national, regional and international levels. Governments also pledged to promote the equitable distribution of income and greater access to resources through equity and equality and opportunity for all. The governments recognized as well that economic growth should promote equity and social justice and that “a society for all” must be based on social justice and respect for all human rights and fundamental freedoms.
Reproductive health and rights are essential components of social justice and development. At the ICPD+5 Forum in 1999, Former WHO Director-General Dr Gro Harlem Brundtland argued that, "Failure to address people's reproductive health needs is a matter of human rights and social justice. People have a right to make free and informed decisions about their reproductive lives. They have a right to information and care that will enable them to protect their health and that of their loved ones. They have a right to benefit from scientific progress in health care. . . . Defining reproductive ill-health as not only a health issue but as a matter of social justice provides a legal and political basis for governments to act.”
For more information:
Statement by Dr Gro Harlem Brundtland, Director-General. ICPD+5 Forum, The Hague, Netherlands, 8–12 February 1999. Geneva, World Health Organization (Document WHO/CHS/RHR/99.8)
UN Reports on the World Day of Social Justice:
Social Justice in an Open World: The Role of the United Nations (2006)
Launch of the World Day of Social Justice New York, 10 February 2009
GA Resolution A/RES/62/10, 19 November 2007 in English and French
UN News Centre, 26 November 2007
GA Draft Resolution A/63/L.29/Rev.1,15 December 2008 in English and French
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Opinion Article: Population legislation vital for development
Population legislation vital for development
Publication date: Monday, 24th November, 2008
The New Vision (Uganda)
By Jotham Musinguzi
The year 2009 marks the 15th anniversary of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD). While very few people know the acronym, much less the goals and outcomes of this United Nations conference held in Cairo, Egypt in 1994, most people, particularly those in developing countries, have benefitted from the agreement of 179 countries (including Uganda) to the ICPD programme of action.
The ICPD programme of action has been an essential scale for countries’ population legislation and policy and has proved critical to the global improvement of sexual and reproductive health and rights and gender equality.
The population conference was groundbreaking in its introduction of a new human rights-based approach to population and development — the links between women’s status, reproductive health, environmental destruction, poverty, and social and economic development were first recognised by the global community at the ICPD. The principal goal of the ICPD — universal access to reproductive health services by 2015 — is reinforced in the Maputo Plan of Action, which agreed that poor sexual and reproductive health is a leading killer in Africa. The Maputo Plan was later ratified by African heads of state.
In Uganda, infant mortality fell from 122 deaths per 1,000 live births in 1989 to the current rate of 76 deaths per 1,000 live births. In 1995, the use of modern contraceptive methods among married women in Uganda was 7.8%, this has now increased to 17.9%. And due to the strong partnership between the Government, civil society and international organisations, more people have access to reproductive health information and services to help them fulfill their decisions on the number and spacing of their children and to protect themselves from sexually transmitted infections such as HIV/AIDS.
We should congratulate ourselves on these changes while recognising that Uganda, like most developing countries, requires much more progress on these sexual and reproductive health and rights indicators. Global progress has, in part, been hampered by underfunding and the effects of the HIV/AIDS epidemic.
Despite progress on many of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), less than a 10th of the distance to be covered to meet the MDG 5 of reducing maternal mortality globally has been met.
This MDG on maternal health is unlikely to be met, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, without concerted efforts. A woman’s lifetime risk of dying from pregnancy or childbirth in sub-Saharan Africa is one in 16 while the risk in developed countries is only about one in 3,800. Maternal health is, therefore, an issue of great concern.
In Uganda alone, approximately 6,000 women die every year due to pregnancy complications. Women bleed to death, they do not have access to antibiotics to prevent simple infections; they often do not have the option of a caesarean section when it is necessary. It is a tragedy that women continue to die when maternal deaths and injuries are preventable when women have access to prenatal care, skilled attendance at births, and emergency obstetric care.
This means that Africans, must not only acknowledge our accomplishments in reproductive health, but we must take responsibility and work to address areas of greatest need. We can do this by sharing our experiences and good practices through South-South cooperation and learning from the successes of our brothers and sisters in other developing countries.
We need to look at example from countries like Malaysia, Thailand, South Africa and Sri Lanka, who have successfully lowered their rates of maternal ill-health through sustained financial and political commitment. Sri Lanka’s long-term commitment to safe motherhood services has, over four decades, decreased maternal mortality more than twenty-fold, from 486 maternal deaths per 100,000 livebirths to 24 per 100,000.
This shows that with effort and resources, large-scale improvements in public health are achievable, a lesson that we need to take seriously. South-South collaboration is a workable model for developing countries to partner and learn from each other as we all strive towards the attainment of the common ICPD goals and MDGs.
Reproductive health and rights play an essential role in the development of our countries. Yet, these critical development issues have not received the importance and priority they deserve, despite their centrality to poverty eradication.
Enhancing individual reproductive health and rights enables governments to achieve their population goals—such as preventing unplanned pregnancies and slowing population growth—and provides the necessary conditions for economic and social development. Improving the overall well-being of populations also improves the development prospects of our countries.
As representatives from 25 developing countries gather this week in Kampala at the International Forum on “ICPD @ 15: Progress and Prospects,” hosted by Partners in Population and Development, to review progress and agree to an agenda for how to move the ICPD programme of action forward.
As we come to the 15th anniversary of the conference in 2009, we must remain focused on the most vulnerable and overlooked populations and issues to ensure that a just, equitable, and sustainable development is the one we bring about. Ensuring sexual and reproductive health and rights is not only a moral imperative, it is economically sound. Economic and social development can only happen with a healthy and educated population.
We need donors and our governments to allocate sufficient resources, financial and otherwise, to support sexual and reproductive health and rights to fight poverty in our countries.
We must activate civil society to hold donors and governments accountable for the promises they have made. We must remain committed and vigilant, and demand that policies are in place and funds are allocated and expended in line with the commitments our leaders have made.
We must not relent on these efforts until women and their families in developing countries no longer fear marriage and pregnancy because of the high likelihood of death, illness and disability for themselves and their children.
We want to watch our sisters, wives and daughters experience the birth of their children as sources of joy, not as the cause of suffering and untimely death.
The writer is the Regional Director, Partners in Population and Development Africa Regional Office
This article can be found on-line at: http://www.newvision.co.ug/D/8/459/661115
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