June 2010
APA UPDATE #10 JUNE 2010
E-NEWS AND INFORMATION ON SEXUAL AND REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH AND RIGHTS
FROM THE SECRETARIAT
APA Online
In line with the new strategic directions of APA, we have launched our new website! Visit www.asiapacificalliance.org and read about news, events and the latest sexual and reproductive health resources in and around Asia and the Pacific. We are collecting more news to constantly update the website. Members and other advocates are encouraged to send their contributions and suggestions to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
MEMBER NEWS
Time for progress, not just promises. Time to deliver for women.
APA and APA members were among the more than 3,000 participants from 146 countries who participated in Women Deliver held in Washington DC on 7-9 June 2010. With the theme "Delivering solutions for girls and women", participants celebrated notable commitments in the conference such as new grants from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and the launch of a Joint Action Plan for women's health from UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. All the participants promised to take the messages of the conference back to their countries. "APA is committed to take these messages back to the Asia and the Pacific and convince policymakers and overseas development agencies in our region that it is time to deliver for women and girls," APA Executive Director Rose Koenders stated. Check out the outcomes of the conference here.
Advocacy Grants Program Commences on MDG5b
In 2010 and beyond, an improved grants programme will support work by APA members to increase resources for MDG 5b, to achieve universal access to reproductive health by 2015. APA provides grants to members to encourage strategic and targeted campaigns to increase resources and improve donor policies. Current advocacy work focuses on established and emerging donor countries Australia, Japan, Korea, New Zealand and Thailand. We will keep you informed on the countries' programmes through the APA Update and our website.
ARHA appoints new CEO
APA warmly welcomes Ms Mary Mertin-Ryan who has been appointed as the new CEO of Australian Reproductive Health Alliance (ARHA). Ms Ryan will take up her appointment on 17 June. APA would like to thank former AHRA CEO Jane Singleton, who also served as APA Steering Committee member, for her work and contribution to APA. ARHA is a member of APA. Read more.
Raks Thai and Thai Positive Women Network in Vienna: XVIII International AIDS conference
APA member Raks Thai Foundation will showcase their poster exhibits during the XVIII International AIDS conference in Vienna on 18-23 July 2010. Raks Thai will feature: 'Working with the positive women's network in eastern Thailand: Reproductive and sexual health' and 'Sexual Communication and Women Empowerment: An Experience of the Voices and Choices of Women Living with HIV/AIDS Project Phase III' (19 July); 'An assessment of women living with HIV/AIDS on violence against women in Thailand' (20 July); and 'Accessing treatment and reproductive health services for women living with HIV/AIDS who are foreign migrant laborers living in Ranong Thailand' (22 July). Visit their display booth with partner Thai Positive Women Network at the conference.
New reports from Population Action International on Maternal Health Supplies in Uganda and Bangladesh
APA member Population Actiton International (PAI) together with Maternal Health Task Force and the Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health explored how policies, funding, and other health system challenges affect the availability of maternal health supplies in Uganda and Bangladesh, two countries with some of the highest numbers of maternal deaths. The report tracks four maternal health supplies – oxytocin, misoprostol, magnesium sulfate and manual vacuum aspirators (MVAs) – that address three of the most common direct causes of maternal mortality in Asia and Africa. Read the reports here.
NEWS, RESOURCES AND OPPORTUNITIES
Melinda Gates pledges $1.5 billion for programmes to reduce maternal and infant mortality
In a stirring speech at the Women Deliver conference in Washington, Melinda Gates urged the world towards greater efforts to reduce maternal and infant mortality. She pledged new grants worth $1.5 billion from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to help countries with high maternal and infant mortality over the next five years. Read more from The Guardian columnist Sarah Boseley's GLOBALHEALTHBLOG.
Cutbacks in publicly funded contraceptive services reduce Filipino women's ability to practice contraception
A sharp decline in publicly funded contraceptive services and supplies in the Philippines since 2004 has created severe barriers to women's contraceptive use, according to a new analysis conducted by the Guttmacher Institute. Read more.The Lancet calls for papers on progress made towards achieving health-related MDGs
The Lancet is especially interested in original researches, country case-studies, programme evaluations, and health-policy papers that will help build the evidence base to accelerate efforts towards 2015. Articles must be received online by 25 June 2010. Please note that you have to be registered with the Lancet to access this announcement. To register or go to Lancet, click here.
Center for Reproductive Rights marks one year death anniversary of Dr. George Tiller
01 June 2010 marked the one-year anniversary of the murder of Kansas abortion provider Dr. George Tiller. Dr. Tiller provided abortion services to women facing the most heartbreaking circumstances, including diagnoses of severe and fatal fetal abnormalities. Center for Reproductive Rights issued a statement to commemorate his death anniversary. Read more.
Articles tackle SRHR and abortion
The International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics has published articles on safe abortion. The 'Critical gaps in universal access to reproductive health: Contraception and prevention of unsafe abortion' was led by International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) Senior Advisor Dr. Kelly Culwell. Other articles are also featured. Note that subscription is needed to access the full articles. Find out more here.
Population Action International (PAI) releases new resources
PAI's new documentary Empty Handed: Responding to the Demand for Contraceptives by PAI filmmaker Nathan Golon premiered at Women Deliver. Shot in Uganda in March 2010, Empty Handed tells the story of women's lack of access to reproductive health supplies in sub-Saharan Africa, and its impact on their lives. Visit the official film website.
New resources on sexual and reproductive health needs
IPPF and the Guttmacher Institute released two new fact sheets, one highlighting the sexual and reproductive health needs of young women worldwide and the other documenting the unmet need for contraception in developing countries. Read more.
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