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April 2011

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APA UPDATE #8 April 2011

E-NEWS AND INFORMATION ON SEXUAL AND REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH AND RIGHTS

FROM THE SECRETARIAT

The APA Steering Committee (SC) Meeting will be held on 26 May 2011 in Seoul, Republic of Korea. APA SC members will also attend the preparatory meeting of Planned Population Federation of Korea (PPFK) for the 4th High Level Forum for Aid Effectiveness on 27-28 May. Part of the preparatory meeting is attending the workshop on Aid Effectiveness by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade of the Republic of Korea, Korean Development Academy, Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) and Ewha Woman's University.

MEMBER NEWS

44th Commission on Population and Development

The 44th session of the Commission on Population and Development (CPD) came to a close with the adoption of the 10-page draft resolution 'Fertility, reproductive health and development'. APA Members New Zealand Family Planning International and the Youth Coalition (YC) delivered Oral Statements at the CPD. Read New Zealand Family Planning oral statement on the Pacific situation. Read YC activities and oral statements.

Plans to Cut Medical Research Not Yet Final

Although Australian news report on 19 April said cuts to health and medical research were no longer on the table, caution was conveyed that the government has not completely ruled it out. The future of many medical research programs – including some at Burnet institute (APA member) - will be threatened if the National Health and Medical Research Council budget is cut. Read more.

National Seminar Highlights Achievements of Mayer Shasthya Project

Pathfinder International hosted a national level dissemination seminar in March on the prevention of pre-eclampsia, eclampsia and postpartum hemorrhage in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The seminar featured the achievements, interventions and challenges of Pathfinder’s Mayer Shasthya project during the past two years of implementation. Read more.

NEWS, RESOURCES and OPPORTUNITIES

Final Spending Bill Cuts Funding for Women's Health in Developing Countries

US President Barrack Obama signed the spending bill (H.R.1473) that will fund the federal government for the remainder of fiscal year 2011. The bill contains cuts to international family planning and reproductive health programs, but not as large as previously pushed for, nor does it impose any damaging policy restrictions sought by House Republicans. Read more.

AIDS Review High Level Meeting - Civil Society Declaration: Zero Draft

Out of the many consultations during the past few months in the lead up to the UN General Assembly Comprehensive AIDS Review High Level Meeting in June 2011, a consolidated 'Zero Draft' civil society declaration has been developed on 8 April in New York at the informal, interactive civil society meeting convened by the UN.

UA Asia Pacific Regional Report

The Asia Pacific Regional Report Achieving Universal Access: Supporting Community Sector Involvement & Advocacy and six country reports on community sector participation in the Universal Access process by the Asia Pacific Council of AIDS Service Organisation (APCASO) are now available. The full Regional Analysis is available here. Check out individual country reports for China, India, Indonesia, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Vietnam.

UN Concerned by World Population Growth Trends

The world population growth rate must slow down significantly to avoid reaching unsustainable levels said a report from the UN Population Division. Read more.

Building Partnerships on HIV and Sex Work

APNSW, UNFPA APRO and UNAIDS has published the report and recommendations from the first Asia and the Pacific Regional Consultation on HIV and Sex Work held October 2010 in Pattaya, Thailand. Read the report.

Publications from ARROW

The publications below are now available from the Asian Pacific Resource and Research Centre for Women (ARROW).

Reclaiming & Redefining Rights - Thematic Studies

   Series 1: Sexuality and Rights in Asia

   Series 2: Pathways to Universal Access to Reproductive Health Care in Asia

Repoliticizing Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights: report of a global meeting in Langkawi, Malaysia, 3-6 August 2010 from Reproductive Health Matters and ARROW

ARROWs for Change Vol. 11 Tongan Edition Ko e fakafotunga ‘e taha ‘o e gender based violence ko e palopalema ki he mo’ui lelei ‘i he taimi fakafanau / Reframing Gender-based Violence as a Reproductive Health Issue, English edition

 
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APA UPDATE #7 April 2011

E-NEWS AND INFORMATION ON SEXUAL AND REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH AND RIGHTS

FROM THE SECRETARIAT

Asia Pacific Regional Consultation on Universal Access

APA Secretariat would like to thank everyone for their support and collaboration at the Asia-Pacific Regional Consultation on Universal Access to HIV Prevention, Treatment, Care and Support from 29-31 March. Read the conference resolution here. The civil society declaration Call for Political, Financial & Operational Commitments, as an output of the Civil Society Organisations Regional Consultation on 29 March, is available here.

Open Letter to the CPD

APA joins coalitions of organizations in the Open Letter to Delegates for the 44th Session of the United Nations Commission on Population and Development (CPD) with the theme Fertility, Reproductive Health and Development. Read the letter here.

Virtual Consultation on Women and HIV AIDS

APA is one of the collaborating partners for the global virtual consultation initiated by the ATHENA Network and the Global Coalition on Women and AIDS. The virtual consultation was made to ensure the broadest possible engagement and representation of women (and girls wherever possible) in the processes leading up to the High Level Meeting on AIDS in June 2011. Read the Asia and the Pacific regional priorities. Read the Global priorities.

MEMBER NEWS

Earthquake Response Update

Read about the work being done by JOICFP in the earthquake areas in Japan through your support here. Donations are still welcome. Click here to donate. You may also help by circulating their website and information.

Pathfinder International Contributes to Successful Maternal Mortality Intervention in Bangladesh

The Bangladesh Maternal Mortality and Health Care Survey 2010 shows a dramatic decline in maternal mortality from 320 per 100,000 live births in 2001 to 194 per 100,000 in 2010. Pathfinder International (APA member) Bangladesh, in collaboration with Swanirvar Bangladesh, a local NGO, has contributed to this success by implementing the Mayer Shasthya (Mother's Health) project. Read more.

Scaling Up Family Planning, a Key Issue at AusAID Roundtable 

AusAID consulted a range of NGOs and other stakeholders at a roundtable meeting in March on ‘Supporting progress towards the health MDGs – Increasing access to family planning services’. The outcomes of the consultation aimed to feed into future health policy/maternal newborn and child health strategy. APA members Sexual Health and Family Planning Australia, Marie Stopes International Australia and Family Planning International New Zealand were invited to the meeting. The meeting was co-hosted by Compass: the Women’s and Children’s Health Knowledge Hub. The Knowledge Hub is a partnership between the University of Melbourne's Centre for International Child Health, Menzies School of Health Research and Burnet Institute’s (APA Member) Centre for International Health. Read more.

Young Australian Parliamentarians’ Views on Population and Development Issues

As secretariat for the Parliamentary Group on Population and Development, the Australian Reproductive Health Alliance (ARHA, APA member) undertook a survey to identify the priority areas for young parliamentarians’ engagement on issues of population and development pertaining to the International Conference on Population and Development Program of Action. The survey is funded by the Asian Forum for Parliamentarians on Population and Development (AFPPD, APA member). Read the report.

NEWS, RESOURCES and OPPORTUNITIES

VIII IASSCS Conference

The 8th biennial meeting of the International Association for the Study of Sexuality, Culture and Society (IASSCS) entitled “Naming and Framing: The Making of Sexual (In) Equality” will be held 6-9 July-2011 in Madrid. Click here for more information.

World Congress on Sexual Health

The 20th World Congress for Sexual Health will feature a rich scientific programme, exploring the behavioral, clinical, psychological, social and cultural aspects of sexual health. It will be held on 12-16 June 2011 in Glasgow, United Kingdom. Click  here for more information.

ARROW publications on the MDGs

The MDGs: A Critical Look and Some Proposals for the Post-2015 Development Framework is the latest issue of Asian-Pacific Resource and Research Centre for Women’s (ARROW) ARROWs for Change (AFC) publication. It showcases articles that critique and highlight gaps in the MDG development framework 10 years into its implementation and puts forward recommendations towards a post-2015 international development architecture.

 A Review of MDGs & SRHR in Asia & the Pacific: An Annotated Bibliography 2010 complements the above AFC issue. The review brings together resources on key international resolutions that impact women’s sexual and reproductive health and rights, monitoring reports on progress made on MDGs in general and MDG 5 in particular, and resources that cover linkages to women’s empowerment, poverty, climate change, the concept of human rights and others.

Linking Contraceptives to Human Rights

UNFPA and the Center for Reproductive Rights launched the report The Right to Contraceptive Information and Services for Women and Adolescents last 23 March. The report assesses the benefits of access to contraceptives, lays out human rights standards and principles and provides an overview of how to apply a human rights-based approach to the provision of contraceptive information and services. Read more.

IPPF Publications

The International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) has launched new publications. Young People as Advocates: Your Action for Change Toolkit offers a step-by-step guide to help plan, implement or improve advocacy initiatives on young people’s sexual and reproductive health and rights.

SRH & HIV Linkages Resource Pack is a fully searchable website which contains more than 70 advocacy and programmatic resources on linking sexual and reproductive health and HIV.

 

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