December 2011
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- Parent Category: News
- Published on Friday, 30 December 2011 03:39
APA UPDATE #25 December 2011
E-NEWS AND INFORMATION ON SEXUAL AND REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH AND RIGHTS
SECRETARIAT NEWS
Best Wishes for a Happy New Year
APA Secretariat wishes to thank members, partners and friends for all their support this year. Together, we are building a strong network for a future where all people can enjoy full access to sexual and reproductive health. All the best for a safe and happy New Year!
Civil Society Meets with Australian Senator
Civil society representatives from Asia Pacific Network of People Living with HIV (APN+), Raks Thai Foundation, and Population and Community Development Association (PDA) met with Senator Lee Rhiannon from the Parliamentarian Group on Population and Development (PGPD) of Australia to discuss HIV/AIDS and sexual and reproductive health related issues of young people, migrants and HIV positive women and the need for a more integrated approach. The meeting was coordinated by Care Australia and APA Secretariat as part of the Senator’s visit to Bangkok in December.
FROM THE MEMBERS
NGO Report Highlights HIV and Law at UNAIDS Programme Coordinating Board Meeting
The NGO Delegation to the UNAIDS Programme Coordinating Board (PCB) presented its 2011 Report focusing on legal issues and HIV responses, including stigma and punitive laws, at the UNAIDS Programme Coordinating Board (PCB) meeting in Geneva, Switzerland from 13-15 December. Jane Bruning, from Positive Women, New Zealand, is the Asia Pacific alternate representative on the NGO delegation. Read the recommendations in the UNAIDS NGO Delegation Communiqué here. International Community of Women Living with HIV (ICW) also presented a Progress Report on the Global Plan at the PCB meeting, read the ICW Intervention here.
AFPPD Focus Group on Policy Tracking and Monitoring Unit
Asian Forum of Parliamentarians on Population and Development (AFPPD) held a focus group discussion about the Policy Tracking and Monitoring Unit with population and development policy experts, practitioners, and parliamentarians in Asia and the Pacific on 16 December 2011, in Bangkok, Thailand. Participants shared ideas and suggestions to be used for future development of the unit, which holds a database of population and sexual and reproductive health policies.
NEWS, RESOURCES and OPPORTUNITIES
Pre- Registration for Commission on Population and Development Session Now Open!
The UN Commission on Population and Development will hold its 45th session from 23 to 27 April 2012 at UN Headquarters in New York, with theme "Adolescents and Youth". NGO’s that are ECOSOC-accredited can now pre-register to participate here.
New Investment Framework for Global HIV Response
An investment framework that offers a road map to accelerate progress in the global HIV response is presented in the UNAIDS October Issues Brief. The framework presents a shift from current approaches to HIV investment and programming and offers support to countries to prioritise HIV programmes and assess the synergies between them. Read the brief here.
International Day of the Girl Child
On 19 December, a resolution was adopted at the 66thmeeting of the UN General Assembly designating 11 October as the International Day of the Girl Child, to be observed every year beginning in 2012. Read Resolution here.
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Recognized in Historic UN Report
The Report of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights "Discriminatory laws and practices and acts of violence against individuals based on their sexual orientation and gender identity” was released December 15. The report was requested by the UN’s Human Rights Council in its first-ever resolution condemning acts of violence and discrimination against LGBT individuals, last June. Access the report here.
New Advocacy Toolkit on Female Condoms Available
Universal Access to Female Condoms (UAFC) Joint Programme developed a toolkit with important information to equip and support advocacy initiatives for the female condom on all levels. One of the items in the toolkit is a booklet that provides the basics needed to design an advocacy strategy. Access the booklet here.
AWID International Forum Early Bird Registration Open
Registration is now open for the 2012 AWID International Forum, with early bird rates in effect until 6 January 2012. Over 2,000 women’s rights leaders and activists from around the world are expected to gather at the Forum to strategize, network, celebrate, and learn at the event, which will take place 19-22 April in Istanbul, Turkey, under the theme ‘Transforming Economic Power to Advance Women’s Rights and Justice.’ Access registration here.
New Report Reveals Households Impact of HIV in Asia Pacific
A new analysis of the impact of HIV at the household level reveals that the number of reported HIV cases has tripled in Indonesia in recent years, curtailing productivity and trapping affected girls and women, especially, in poverty. ‘The Socioeconomic Impact of HIV at the Household Level in Asia: a regional analysis” released by the UNDP in December includes case studies on Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Viet Nam. Read the report here.
New Publication Highlights Linkages between Population, Culture and Climate Change and Family Planning
“Population, Culture and Climate Change: the Need for Family Planning” by the Women’s Plan Foundation, is based on the results from an expert roundtable convened in Australia on 27 July. Finding causal links between issues of family planning, women’s enablement, population size, food security and climate change, recommendations included mobilizing political support for AusAID to continue and increase funding for inclusion of family planning as a key measure in reproductive and maternal health program. Read the Report here.
- Details
- Parent Category: News
- Published on Tuesday, 13 December 2011 07:52
APA UPDATE #24 December 2011
E-NEWS AND INFORMATION ON SEXUAL AND REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH AND RIGHTS
FROM THE SECRETARIAT
Only 2 days left to apply for Research Consultancy on SRHR Advocacy with ASEAN
The APA Secretariat is currently seeking a Consultant for an exciting opportunity to conduct research on advocacy with ASEAN for the promotion and fulfillment of SRHR in the region. There are two days left to apply before the deadline of 14 December. Read more and access the TOR here.
New Resources for APA Website
In the coming weeks the Secretariat will be scaling up the information on HIV and SRH Linkages and on Aid Effectiveness in the resources section of the APA website. This comes after the Secretariat attended the first ‘Asia Pacific Workshop on SRH /HIV linkages’, organized by UNFPA APRO and IPPF ESEAOR; and the 4th High Level Meeting on Aid Effectiveness (see more below). An online resource pack for SRH HIV linkages can be found here.
ICPD Beyond 2014
APA Secretariat, ICOMP, and Population Action International (PAI) joined the ICPD Beyond 2014 Civil Society Stakeholder Group Consultations at 9-10 December 2011 in Istanbul, Turkey. In the process leading to 2014 and beyond, UNFPA is planning a global survey with engagement of youth and civil society in 2012. In process leading up to ICPD 2014 APA Secretariat will keep updated with any new information, and relevant meetings as they develop through the APA Events Calendar.
FROM THE MEMBERS
ACPD New Secretariat for Canadian Parliamentarians
Action Canada for Population and Development (ACPD) is the new Secretariat for the Canadian Association of Parliamentarians on Population and Development (CAPPD). The announcement was made following the Executive Committee Meeting of the CAPPD, with immediate effect.
Burnet Institute Researcher Appointed to Top Post by WHO
The new Director appointed to the UNICEF/UNDP/World Bank/WHO Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases (TDR) is Professor John Reeder, co-head of the Burnet Institute’s Centre for Population Health in Melbourne. TDR is the United Nation’s leading research programme into diseases of poverty. Read more here
AFPPD Gathers Young Parliamentarians on ICPD issues
30 young parliamentarians have agreed to strengthen their work on sexual and reproductive health issues after attending an international conference held in Krabi Thailand, on November 15-16. The Asian Forum of Parliamentarians on Population and Development (AFPPD), in cooperation with UNFPA, organized the meeting for Members of Parliament (MPs) under 35 to deepen their understanding of the ICPD agenda. Read more here.
NEWS, RESOURCES and OPPORTUNITIES
A New Global Partnership for Development Cooperation - 4th High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness
A new Global Partnership for Development Cooperation bringing together development actors around a shared set of development principles that extend beyond aid is an outcome from a 3 day civil society forum and the 3 day 4th High Level Meeting on Aid Effectiveness (HLF-4). Read the HLF-4 final statement here. Read the CSO statement here. Over the next six months, CSO groups headed by Better Aid will continue to work to ensure the new Global Partnership lays out an implementation framework and indicators. For more information on what this means for SRHR, visit a blog by Suzanna Dennis from Population Action International (PAI) and/or contact APA Secretariat Executive Director, Rose Koenders; participants in the meeting.
Women's Right to Comprehensive Health Care Highlighted on International Human Rights Day
In celebration of International Human Rights Day on December 10, networks, coalitions, groups and organizations from Latin America and the Caribbean released a statement on women’s right to comprehensive health care, especially for women who are poor, adolescent, indigenous, of African descent, of different sexual identities,immigrants, residents of rural areas, HIV +, displaced, victims of violence, etc., as they are still overlooked in debates and in public policymaking . The interim report by Special Rapporteur, Anand Grover “The human right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health” was highlighted and embraced as an indispensable tool for political action and citizen monitoring efforts.
Tracking Aid Effectiveness in the Pacific
“Tracking the Effectiveness of Development Efforts in the Pacific 2010” published by the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat is a tracking report of the commitments that were agreed upon in the 2009 Cairns Compact on Strengthening Development Coordination in the Pacific. It builds on the Paris principles the report evaluates progress in enhancing development. Read the report here.
Melbourne to host next International AIDS Conference in 2014
Melbourne, Australia has been chosen to host the XX International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2014), the largest international conference on HIV and AIDS, where every two years up to 25,000 participants, representing all stakeholders in the global response to HIV, meet to assess progress and identify future priorities.' AIDS 2014 will be the twentieth in the series of International AIDS Conferences.
New Publication Showcases the Delivery of SRHR Services in Emergencies
Launched on International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, a new publication ‘SPRINTing towards change: sex and pregnancy in emergencies’ explored the innovative approaches and high-impact practices piloted by IPPF and partners.
“Getting to Zero” on World AIDS Day
On December 1, this year World Aids Day was celebrated with the release of a new campaign "Getting to Zero". Complete with ten new goals, the campaign runs until 2015. The launch of a UNAIDS, WHO and UNICEF “Report of the global HIV/AIDS response” showcases the progress made by science and political leadership in the fight against HIV and AIDS in 2011, highlighting that more funding is crucial.
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