Secretariat News

APA farewells Mr Elmer Lighid, Senior Programme Officer, at ICOMP, who is leaving soon to join World Vision, Canada as Regional Program Manager for South-East Asia and take up Canadian Residency. Elmer has been associated with APA for more than seven years, and is thanked here most particularly for his role asadministrator ofthe APA small grants programme. ICOMP has recruited Dr Jun Naraval, another Philippines national, to join ICOMP as Senior Programme Officer to contribute to its work on leadership and management development including organizational effectiveness. As APA prepares to explore its own organisational effectiveness this year, we look forward to calling on Dr Jun's expertise.

The Network of Asia Pacific Youth (NAPY) is continuing its renewal focus and is calling for new members to join the network. See below.

Member Updates

NZAID’s regional partners win Pacific Human Rights awards

The 7th Pacific Human Rights Award ceremony held in Suva, Fiji in mid-December saw a number of NZAID-funded projects recognised for their efforts in advancing human rights across the region.

Kup Women for Peace in Papua New Guinea won the major overall award for its outstanding work in situations of conflict, its dedication to the cause of peace in the highlands of Papua New Guinea and for its bravery in challenging discriminatory customs and norms, including widespread violence against women. Disability Promotion & Advocacy Association in Vanuatu won an award for promoting the rights of people with disabilities, building its institution from the ground up, and for seeking structural change in the face of widespread prejudice.

Fiji Women's Crisis Centre received an award for bravery and courage in the face of threats and intimidation, protecting and defending the rights of Fijian citizens, specifically the rights of women and children from violence and oppression, as well as being a leading advocacy organisation for democracy and justice for all. Pacific Counselling and Social Services, also in Fiji, won an award for successfully ensuring that women seeking health care are protected from potential discrimination through the provision of counselling and care, upholding the dignity of women living with HIV, and for respecting their human right to privacy and confidentiality.

NZAID provides assistance to all these projects.

Also during the ceremony was the launch of a series of human rights television advertisements, which will be screened around the Pacific region. The award programme is run by the Pacific Regional Rights Resource Team (RRRT) of the United Nations Development Programme Pacific Centre and in 2007 they received over 21 applications from around the Pacific.

For more information contact NZAID Manager dimitri.geidelberg@mfat.govt.nz

Abstaining From Reality Inspires a Music Video!

PAI’s landmark documentary, Abstaining from Reality, has inspired a new song and music video from L.A.-based band, Max and the Marginalized. The band, fronted by Max Bernstein (son of Carl Bernstein of Woodward and Bernstein fame and writer/producer Nora Ephron), uses current events as their raw material for writing a new song every week which they release online to the Huffington Post, MySpace and YouTube. The lyrics of Abstaining from Reality’s song, “Lectures for the Dying,” specifically address the ineffectiveness of the abstinence-only earmark in the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief.

Watch the music video Abstaining from Reality inspired: “Lectures for the Dying” by Max and the Marginalized; Huffington Post: When Will We Get Rid of Those Dreadful Abstinence-Only Programs?; Watch the original: Abstaining from Reality

Regional News

Network of Asia Pacific Youth Membership drive

The Network of Asia Pacific Youth is interested in recruiting more members to join their network. For more information and to apply for membership, download the membership form here.

Manila residents ask court to stop ban on contraceptives in city

A group of residents in the Philippines' capital city asked the Court of Appeals to stop the implementation of an order that bans the distribution of contraceptives in health centres and hospitals. The order, issued by former Manila City mayor Lito Atienza in February 2000, directed health centres and city hospitals to stop the distribution of such contraceptives as condoms, pills and intrauterine devices. The directive is still being implemented in the city, where poor women are the most affected by the lack of access to contraceptives and family planning information from health centres, according to the petitioners, who are mostly women.

"The issuance and continuing enforcement of (the order) has resulted in the ongoing and deliberate deprivation of public access to reproductive health information and artificial contraceptives to residents of the city of Manila," the petition said. "The petitioners, with more years of childbirth still remaining for them, will continue to suffer the consequences of proliferating unintended pregnancies and their lingering economic, physiological and psychological injuries, dangers and hardships."

The petitioners said they had tried without success to convince Atienza's successor, Mayor Alfredo Lim, to repeal the order. "So it's now the court that can best decide on this," said Junice Demetrio Melgar, executive director of Likhaan, an organization that promotes reproductive health rights and supports the petitioners. Melgar said the petitioners and Likhaan hope that the Court of Appeals would set a legal precedent that will deter other local government units from issuing similar orders and policies. Population control has been a controversial issue in the Philippines, where the influential Roman Catholic church opposes the use of artificial contraception. The Philippines' population is currently estimated at 85.3 million. By 2010, the figure is projected to reach 94 million, according to government data.

Business leaders and multilateral institutions have warned that failure to curb the country's population growth could drive more Filipinos into poverty. They have also urged the government to promote all forms of birth control methods.

Source: Deutsche Presse-Agentur, 30 January 2008

International News

Pep up PEPFAR! Support for the online petition needed now.

There is an urgent need to reform and reauthorize PEPFAR (Presidency Emergency Plan to Fight AIDS Relief) as it leaves much to be desired including the US government funding of the abstinence based only HIV prevention programs. The online petition endorsed by the SRHR community urges the U.S. Members of Congress to introduce substantial policy changes within the PEPFAR. It calls inter alia to provide funding for clean needle exchange programs and to contribute to the U.S. fair share to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFATM).

The petition is available at: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/ucgh1/index.html

The Positive Leadership Summit for people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) as a follow up to the landmark global consultation.

On December 5 -7, 2008 a milestone event took place in Amsterdam, the Netherlands - Global Consultation led by people living with HIV/AIDS. Global consultation on sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) brought together 65 people from HIV/AIDS communities: women and men, young people and transgender representatives. Peter Piot, executive director of UNAIDS attended the meeting and highlighted the need to include SRHR issues in development policy. Theproblem with successfully addressing the HIV/AIDS pandemic is that it is very often discussed with no relation to sexual and reproductive rights. It is claimed that a reliable HIV response must prioritize SRHR, which is inclusive of fostering a satisfying sexual life by meeting SRH needs that protect sexual health as well as allow people living with HIV to plan their families and/or prevent unwanted pregnancies. The Global Consultation was organized by the Global Network of People Living with HIV (GNP+), the International Community of Women Living with HIV (ICW) and YoungPositives with support from EngenderHealth, IPPF, UNAIDS, UNFPA and WHO, will be followed by LIVING 2008: The Positive Leadership Summit for people living with HIV, on 31 July and 1 August in Mexico City.

More information is available at: http://www.gnpplus.net/content/view/1359/91/

Parliamentary Study Tour to Niger, the World's Poorest Country, to focus on reproductive health supplies and population

The European Parliamentary Forum on Population and Development (EPF)and Equilibres & Populations (E&P)are co-organising a week-long study tour forsix French-speaking Parliamentarians to Niamey (Niger) from the 05-11 February 2008 which will focus onreproductive health, including access to essential commodities and supplies, and the impact of these on the country's population growth. This study tour, hosted by UNFPACountry Office and the Nigerian Parliamentary Network on Population and Development, will offer a deep insight into how Niger, the poorest country in the world, is developing policies on SRHR and will enable the Parliamentary Delegation to investigate the impact of population and SRHR policies on the country’s development.

The French-speaking study tour will be composed of a high-level delegation including one Labour British Lord member of the UK All-Party Parliamentary Group on Population, Development and Reproductive Health, two Germans, one Socialist (SPD) and one Liberal (FDP) members of the DSW Parliamentary Advisory Council, a French socialist MEP member of the Committee on Development in the European Parliament, a French Conservative MP member of the French Foreign Affairs Committee and a Flemish Liberal MP, member of EPF Executive Committee and Chair of the Belgian Foreign Affairs Committee in the Chamber of Deputies, also member of the EPF member group, the Belgian Parliamentary Group on the MDGs. The study tour will include visits to various local NGOs and projects dealing with sexual and reproductive health issuesand maternal mortality (such as obstetric fistula and malaria) and will provide an opportunity to meet with state officials, Nigerian Parliamentarians members of the Parliamentary Network on Population and Development, Population Specialists as well as local embassies and UN agencies. The delegation will also meet and have an in-depth exchange of view with well-known World Bank demographer, John May, whose monograph on the demographic situation of Niger provide evidence for the urgent need to address reproductive health, specifically access to commodities and supplies.

Finally, the Parliamentary delegation composed of representatives of some of Niger's main donor countriessuch as France, the EC, Germany and Belgium, will also discuss with representatives of the main donor agenciesin Niger to examinewhat the Paris Declaration on aid effectiveness and the division of labour between EU Member States means in practice and how this serves to helpNiger address the health needs of the country's people.

For more information about the study tour to Niger, please contact: Silvia Theodoridis, EPF Advocacy Officer at silvia@iepfpd.orgor Aur้lie Gal at aurelie.gal_regniez@equipop.org.

UN News

UNWorks for Kids

*There are more then 370 million indigenous peoples worldwide
*50% of the indigenous Australians are under 24 years old
*Indigenous youth lack good education resulting in high unemployment

AUSTRALIA - ABORIGINAL YOUNG WOMAN BELITTA

Indigenous Issues - Life Challenges - Belitta's Story

It is mid morning on a weekday. A group of teenagers hang out in the street, laughing and fooling around. Some carry spray paint cans-not to decorate a nearby wall with graffiti. They use the spray paint cans to get high. It is a dangerous way to escape the harsh reality of their lives; lives that are marked by poverty, discrimination, and displacement. One of the teenagers is Belitta-a pretty, young Aboriginal whose life is at a crossroads.

Belitta's Story

Belitta is a tall, slim 19-year old who lives with her mother and two brothers in Rockhampton, a coastal town in northeastern Australia. There is very little work, and her family barely gets by. Shortly after her parents divorced, she dropped out of school. She cites racism as one of her reasons for leaving. In many ways, Belitta is a case study of the problems faced by indigenous youth.

There are over 370 million indigenous people around the world-from the Inuit Peoples in Canada and the Arctic to the Pygmies in Africa, the Maoris in New Zealand and the Aboriginals in Australia. The original owners of the lands in which they live, most have been displaced and marginalized due to the loss of ancestral lands and water rights, dissolution of culture and institutional discrimination. Many remain caught between two worlds: a traditional way of life and the modern world.

To read more of Belitta's story or to see more of the work of UNWorks, follow this link here.

Resources and Opportunities

UNITED NATIONS 2008 High-Level Meeting on AIDS

The 2008 High-Level Meeting on AIDS will take place at the United Nations headquarters in New York on 10 - 11 June. It will review progress made in implementing the 2001 Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS and the 2006 Political Declaration on HIV/AIDS.

Ahead of this high-level meeting, United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon will submit a comprehensive and analytical report for consideration by Member States. The SG’s Report will be based on national reports that Member States were requested to submit to UNAIDS by 31 January 2008. The organizational arrangements for the high-level meeting are outlined in a resolution adopted by the General Assembly on 19 December 2007. Detailed information about the plenary meetings, the thematic panel discussions, and the informal interactive civil society hearing will be provided in due course.

The high-level meeting will provide an important forum for various stakeholders, including government representatives and accredited civil society participants. Discussions are expected to focus on the progress made, challenges remaining and sustainable ways to overcome them.

Civil Society Engagement in the 2008High-Level Meeting on AIDS

UNAIDS has been working closely with the Office of the President of the General Assembly (OPGA), the Non-Governmental Liaison Service (NGLS) and the Civil Society Support Mechanism (CSSM) to support civil society engagement in the high-level meeting and in the country level reporting processes on AIDS. The CSSM is a coalition led by the International Council of AIDS Service Organizations (ICASO) and the International Women’s Health Coalition (IWHC).

On-Line Civil Society Application Form

The on-line application form was officially launched on Wednesday, 23 January 2008. It includes background information on the high-level meeting and Civil Society Hearing, as well as two different forms: a registration form for those organizations in consultative status with ECOSOC; and an accreditation form for non-ECOSOC accredited organizations wishing to attend the high-level meeting.

Civil Society Task Force

A Civil Society Task Force is currently being set up, in cooperation with the Civil Society Support Mechanism, to support UNAIDS and the OPGA in key decisions relating to the attendance and participation of civil society organizations and the private sector in the high-level meeting.

For information on the above, follow this link here to the online information.

Bulletin of the World Health Organization (BLT), Volume 86, Number 1, January 2008.

This issue marks the 60^th anniversary of the World Health Organization. There, you can find a special article that looks at the origins of the BLT. It launches the whole series of the history of this journal. As far as CEE region is concerned, there is an article about the need for increasing tuberculosis case detection based on the experience of Moldova. We also recommend article on Monitoring effectiveness of programmes to prevent mother-to-child HIV transmission in lower-income countries by Elizabeth M Springer that is to be fund in the Policy and Practice section.

To read more go to: http://www.who.int/bulletin/volumes/86/1/en/index.html

HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH WORLD REPORT 2008

In its World Report 2008, Human Rights Watch surveys the human rights situation in more than 75 countries. Human Rights Watch identified many human rights challenges in need of attention, including atrocities in Chad, Colombia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia’s Ogaden region, Iraq, Somalia, Sri Lanka, and Sudan’s Darfur region, as well as closed societies or severe repression in Burma, China, Cuba, Eritrea, Libya, Iran, North Korea, Saudi Arabia and Vietnam. Abuses in the “war on terror” featured in France, Pakistan, the United Kingdom, and the United States, among others.

http://hrw.org/

Manual on the Right to Water and Sanitation

There is growing interest in the contributions of human rights to efforts to extend access to water and sanitation, but little practical information is available at present on how this can be achieved. The Manual on the Right to Water and Sanitation is designed to assist policy makers and practitioners in implementing the human right to water and sanitation.

The Manual addresses issues common to most economic, social and cultural rights, including how to operationalise the requirements of non-discrimination and attention to vulnerable and marginalised groups, participation, international cooperation and affordability within government programmes.

The Manual has been produced by the Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions (COHRE), Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Science and Human Rights Programme and the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT).

This essential publication, written in non-legal language, addresses the vital need to demonstrate how human rights can be practically realised in the water and sanitation sector. The Manual demonstrates that implementing the right to water and sanitation is not limited to legal recognition or allocation of funds. Rather, it provides the basis for practical reforms in many areas of water supply and sanitation and in water resource management that can help make the water and sanitation sector operate in a manner that is more pro-poor, accountable and inclusive.

The Manual will be useful for practical implementation as it:

• Explains the key components of the right to water and sanitation and their implications for governments.
• Describes a range of practical policy measures that could be adopted by governments, in particular those in low-income countries, to achieve the right to water and sanitation in the shortest possible time.
• Illustrates examples of policy measures that have been taken to achieve particular components of the right to water and sanitation.
• Provides a checklist by which governments can assess their achievements in relation to the right to water and sanitation.
• Describes the roles of other actors, in particular, individuals and communities in contributing to the achievement of the right to water and sanitation.

Direct Link to Manual: http://www.cohre.org/store/attachments/RTWP_%20Manual_RTWS_Final.pdf

OECD - ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION & DEVELOPMENT

Women often excel at school and generally have longer life expectancy. But men frequently earn more and are more likely to hold positions of power in political and economic life. The OECD looks at the implications of such inequalities for economic development and what can be done to develop policies for parity. Barriers that prevent women from working or getting the training and education that they need to be more productive impose a cost on society as well as the individual.

Find out more about their work on gender.

Brochure about women and men in OECD countries
Indicators are a first step in developing better policies for women and men: the next stage is to understand why differences occur and what we can do about them. This brochure describes OECD projects to help countries improve their gender policies.

ICTs (Information and Communication Technology) and gender(April 2007)
This document provides an overview of the gender distribution of ICT and ICT-related employment in OECD countries, and ICT employment patterns are contrasted with overall employment to highlight how different ICT employment patterns are. The document then focuses on participation in ICT-related education and training, and differences in ICT access and use by gender.

Gender, Institutions and Development Database
Based on data from 161 countries, OECD researchers have developed an index on the position of women in societies, taking account both of fundamental rights of personal integrity and the legal position of women when it comes to marriage, divorce, the upbringing of children and property rights.

Gender differences in educational qualification rates are shifting in favour of women
Young women are studying longer than men in a growing number of OECD countries, according to data in the 2006 edition of Education at a Glance. Of those where men still study longer, only Switzerland and Turkey register differences of more than six months.

Family-friendly policies can help to boost employment levels, OECD study finds
Factors that help to boost employment include macroeconomic stability and strong product market competition. But family-friendly policies such as support for child-care are also important, especially when it comes to getting women into paying jobs.

Abortion worldwide: Twelve years of reform Briefing Paper of Center for Reproductive Rights (CRR)

This factsheet provides a comprehensive overview of the national abortion law changes since 1995. It lists all the countries in which abortion law has been liberalized and decriminalized as well as those countries in which we observe dangerous backlash in this regard were there have been changes in law that restricted access to legal and safe abortion.

It is available online at: http://www.reproductiverights.org/pdf/pub_bp_abortionlaws10.pdf

OPPORTUNITIES

POPULATION

PEAK OIL AND CLIMATE CHANGE

c o n f e r e n c e

(Millennium Development Goals)

CANBERRA

Rydges Lakeside Hotel

14 & 15March 2008

Organised by Sustainable Population Australia inc

their impact on the MDGs

To see the brochure for this upcoming conference, follow this link here.

International Women’s Rights Action Watch

IWRAW Asia Pacific will conduct a Regional Training of Trainers for women’s rights leaders in the Asia Pacific region who wish to promote equality and the human rights of women through engagement with the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW).

The training will be held from 25-31 May 2008 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Participants in the training will gain an understanding of the social construction of gender and the systemic nature of discrimination; the law and its potential to empower women; the international human rights system; the theoretical framework, principles and procedures of CEDAW; and how CEDAW can be applied in the local context through a rights-based approach. At the end of the training, participants will be able to lead trainings on CEDAW at the local and national levels and use the knowledge gained to mobilise others to activism and powerfully advocate for the advancement of women’s rights.

Website: www.iwraw-ap.org

Dates for the Diary

MARCH 2008

3rd National Conference on Population, Health and Environment, March 5 – 7, 2008, Taal Vista Hotel, Tagaytay City, PHILIPPINES.

The theme of the Conference will be “Scaling Up PHE”. The conference explores increasing the impact of integrated PHE projects and programs in various dimensions: geographically, programmatically, organizationally, and networking. The conference will look at the potential for intensifying, replicating and expanding the population, health and environment programmatic approach to different landscapes (urban and rural settings; from a community to an ecosystem approach; across varying landscapes such as coastal and upland areas; and others; and to different strategic points of intervention (disaster mitigation, poverty alleviation, food security, HIV-AIDS programming, and others). The gathering will explore the successes and challenges of scaling up PHE projects and programs in the Philippines.

Visit the website for more conference information.

14 & 15March 2008

POPULATION, PEAK OIL AND CLIMATE CHANGE c o n f e r e n c e & their impact on the MDGs (Millennium Development Goals), CANBERRA, Rydges Lakeside Hotel

Organised by Sustainable Population Australia inc, To see the brochure for this upcoming conference, follow this link here.

JUNE 2008

HARVARD UNIVERSITY JOHN F. KENNEDY SCHOOL OF GOVERNMENT EXECUTIVE EDUCATION

LEADERS IN DEVELOPMENT: MANAGING POLITICAL & ECONOMIC CHANGE

JUNE 9 - 20, 2008

During times of great change, leadership is critically important. This is particularly true today in developing and newly industrialized countries where the pace of political and economic change is accelerating rapidly. Today's leaders face an increasingly complex tapestry of economic, political, and social challenges.

Leaders in Development is designed for leaders in public affairs whose responsibilities place them at the center of these issues. During the program, participants will:

• Sharpen problem solving, analytic, and strategic action skills to help them plan, introduce, and sustain major policy and institutional reform.
• Consider new ways to strengthen representative politics and open markets, and manage the challenges of globalization.
• Share experiences with their counterparts in other countries in a collective search for effective responses to change.

Participants return to their countries with enhanced understanding of the tasks of leadership in promoting reform, greater knowledge of changes taking place internationally, and a renewed commitment to working with others to develop their societies.

For more information, follow this link here

JULY 2008

G8 Summit 2008, 7-9 July 2008, Tokyo, Japan

The G8 Summit 2008, which will include global health as a focus theme, will take place in Tokyo, Japan. An outline of the summit, including preliminary and fixed dates of minister meetings, as well as additional information, can be found at the official website.

Preparatory Ministers Meetings:

April 5-6 2008, Tokyo: Development Ministers Meeting
May 28-30 2008, Yokohama: TICAD IV – Tokyo International Conference on African Development
June 13-14 2008, Osaka: Finance Ministers Meeting
June 26-27 2008, Kyoto: Foreign Ministers Meeting

AUGUST 2008

International AIDS Conference – Mexico 2008

The AIDS 2008 theme, Universal Action Now, underscores the continued urgency of the pandemic and reminds us of the responsibility we have to take individual and collective action. For scientists, researchers, people living with HIV and other civil society leaders and professionals working in the field of HIV/AIDS, AIDS 2008 is an ideal opportunity to meet new colleagues and learn from the experiences of others engaged at the local, national and international levels. Join us in México City and help bring us closer to the goals of universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support. For more information about this conference visit the IAC Website.

SEPTEMBER 2008

Global Course: Achieving the Millennium Development Goals: Poverty Reduction, Reproductive Health and Health Sector Reform (Sep 15-27 2008), Bangkok, Thailand

The course explores key elements in designing efficient, equitable and financially sustainable population policies and reproductive health programs in the context of health sector reform and Millennium Development Goals. After attending the course, participants learn to recognize how the changing international and national policy environments affect their work in population and reproductive health and to identify the linkages among health, gender and poverty.

This two-week course is designed for staff from governments, donor agencies, international organizations, the World Bank, and NGOs working in the health sector. In addition, it targets staff from training and research institutions, as well as academics and researchers working in the areas of health, public administration and social sector reform.

The course is a face-to-face learning event and will be held at the Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, Thailand. The sessions will consist of presentations, readings, case studies and group work. Participants must have a good working knowledge of English to participate.

Information about how to apply and fees can be found through the website which you can access by following this link here.

NOVEMBER 2008

The AWID International Forum on Women's Rights and Development, November 14 - 17, 2008, South Africa.

You can expect to be enlightened, provoked and inspired by an exceptional group of thoughtful, forward-looking and fiercely committed women and men. You can expect to move beyond simply talking to getting involved in global action plans and campaigns that will emerge out of the Forum, but will last well beyond it. You can expect to work hard and gain an abundance of new skills, new knowledge, new colleagues, and new ideas for the long road ahead. You can expect to be welcomed, nurtured, fortified and challenged by a group of like-minded activists, academics and practitioners. And finally, you can expect to have more fun than you thought was possible at a conference!

For more information, visit the AWID Website.