APA Members came together on 12 and 13 October to discuss upcoming strategic entry-points for SRHR advocacy, and future directions for the network. Over the two-day virtual meeting, over 40 members from across the region shared their perspectives and discussed critical issues for SRHR in Asia Pacific such as climate justice, bodily autonomy, and SRHR accountability tools, like civil society evidence generation for SRHR accountability.
The utilization of global accountability tools and processes such as the Universal Periodic Review; International Conference on Population and Development and the Nairobi Summit; and the Generation Equality Forum commitments was a key theme of the meeting. Participants were joined by experts Kamma Blair, Regional Programme Specialist UNFPA APRO; Rajnish Prasad, Programme Specialist UN Women; Umyra Ahmad, Coordinator Advancing Universal Rights and Justice, AWID. Political shifts in the international spaces are making the strategic and collaborative efforts of critical importance to the SRHR movement.
A second highlight of the meeting was a session exploring the effects of COVID19 on the SRHR funding environment in Asia and the Pacific. Sally Mackay, the Assistant Director, Global Health Policy Branch in DFAT; and Ulrika Persson, International Programme Manager, RFSU joined to provide donor perspectives. Australian is a longstanding advocate for SRHR all around the world, and DFAT has mobilized a 44-million additional package for service supports for SRH in the Indo Pacific, to fill the gaps and address the needs of the most marginalized in the healthcare system. RFSU continues to place a priority on the 3 most difficult areas of SRHR – safe and legal abortion; CSE and sexual rights. RFSU also pushes to expand CS space and for accountability by decision makers, and supports movement building in Asia.
On the second day of the meeting, APA Members took time to gather in sub-regional groups to brainstorm and plan for joint advocacy initiatives. This included diving into advocacy and accountability tools from the membership, such as
- Australia Sustainable Development Report: Ensuring sustainable and resilient commitment for SRHR by FP NSW
- FP2030 Commitment Making Toolkit by YAN Sri Lanka
- Freedom of Choice advocacy Toolkit by Youth Coalition
- The State of LGBTI People’s Economic Inclusion by APCOM
The meeting closed with Members sharing a last reflection of thoughts, expressing keen interest for future joint action and learning opportunities with the alliance.
