December 2011
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.