The AFPPD E-mail Information Service is issued every month to subscribers in order to provide information and news on AFPPD members' and other parliamentarians' activities around the world. If you are interested in subscribing to AFPPD's e-mail information service, please contact AFPPD's Secretariat 

AFPPD Welcomes Repeal of US Mexico City Policy

AFPPD welcomes the decision by US President Barack Obama to rescind the Mexico City Policy, or Global Gag, that bans NGOs providing family planning services and information overseas, including safe abortion, from receiving US aid funding. AFPPD is especially pleased that President Obama has committed to restoring funding for UNFPA.

President Obama said: "I look forward to working with Congress to restore U.S. financial support for the U.N. Population Fund. By resuming funding to UNFPA, the U.S. will be joining 180 other donor nations working collaboratively to reduce poverty, improve the health of women and children, prevent HIV/AIDS and provide family planning assistance to women in 154 countries."

Ms. Thoraya Ahmed Obaid, UNFPA Executive Director, welcomes President Obama's swift decision to restore funding and noted that “the President's actions send a strong message about his leadership and his desire to support causes that will promote peace and dignity, equality for women and girls and economic development in the poorest regions of the world. And access to reproductive health is at the core of all of these issues."

Australian Government Faces Demand to Abolish Restrictive Aid Guidelines

The Australian Reproductive Health Alliance (ARHA) welcomes President Barack Obama’s removal of the contentious Mexico City Policy, the Global Gag, which prevents non-government organisations from using US dollars to either educate about unsafe abortion, or provide safe abortions, overseas. It also called on the Kevin Rudd government to abolish AusAID’s Family Planning Guidelines, which mimic the Global Gag. Under the Guidelines no information about unsafe abortion can be given and no service provided even in countries where abortion is legal. Funding for family planning has also decreased from $6.8 million in 1995/6 to $2.28 million in 2006/7 since their introduction. Family planning funding in the Australian aid budget has decreased by 84% from1995 to 2007 (0.44% to 0.07% of total aid).

ARHA CEO Jane Singleton says, “We in Australia should not deny the rights we have to women in the developing world where those rights are within the law.” She further emphasized that “this is not about providing abortions in countries where it is illegal but providing full access to family planning and education about unsafe abortion and where abortion is legal, to safe abortion.” (ARHA)

PLCPD Urges Philippines Congress to Pass RH Bill

Mr. Ramon San Pascual, executive director of the Philippine Legislators Committee on Population and Development Foundation, Inc. (PLCPD), an AFPPD member, urged lawmakers in the House of Representatives to listen to the voice of Filipinos, a majority of whom are in favor of reproductive health education and services, according to a recent survey. The latest Pulse Asia survey conducted last October showed that 63 percent of Filipinos are in favor of House Bill 5043, while only 8 percent are not in favor and 29 percent are still undecided.

Mr. San Pascual noted ‘the survey shows that majority (82%) of us thinks that government should not only educate couples regarding modern methods of family planning but also provide them with services and materials on the methods." He stated that a comprehensive national policy such as the currently-debated HB 5043 would enable the government to provide reproductive health education and services to Filipinos, particularly adolescents and couples.

Parliamentarian Champions of Population and Development

In order to highlight the important role and contribution of parliamentarians in population and development areas, AFPPD, in cooperation with UNFPA Regional Offices, plans to identify parliamentarians who have been championing the causes of population, reproductive health, family planning, HIV/AIDS and gender issues in their parliaments. AFPPD is also working closely with its National Committees in this undertaking.

AFPPD Parliamentarians Panel on Gender-Based Violence

AFPPD is organizing a parliamentarians panel on “monitoring gender-based violence and programme implementation” at the International Conference on “Gender-Based Violence and Sexual and Reproductive Health,” to be held in Mumbai, India, on 15-18 February 2009. The conference is organized by the National Institute for Research in Reproductive Health of India, UNDP, UNFPA, WHO, the World Bank, and the Indian Society for the Study of Reproduction and Fertility.

WHO Representative Visits AFPPD

To follow-up on the luncheon meeting with medical parliamentarians during the 9th General Assembly of AFPPD in Hanoi in December 2008, Mr. Igor Rozov, External Relations Officer of WHO in Geneva, visited the AFPPD Secretariat in Bangkok on 22 January to further discuss the possibility of cooperation between WHO, AFPPD and parliamentarians in the Asia-Pacific, especially the prospect of revitalizing the International Medical Parliamentarians Organization (IMPO).

Cambodian Government to Address Maternal Mortality

Phnom Penh--Cambodian government officials have promised to give financial and training incentives to midwives to help reduce the rate of maternal mortality in rural areas, but some believe education should come first. The government has said it will introduce new incentives to midwives in 2009 with the aim of reducing the number of mothers, particularly those in rural areas, dying during childbirth.

Ouk Vong Vathiny, director of the NGO Reproductive Health Association of Cambodia (RHAC), said she believed the new policy would not address the root causes of poor maternal health. "Maternal mortality will continue to be a problem so long as the majority of mothers are using traditional midwives [non-schooled family or community members] to give birth, especially rural people," she said. Ho Narin, director of Danak Smach commune's health centre in Kampong Speu province, said no government program to educate people on using health personnel instead of traditional midwives so far existed in his district. "The Ministry of Health should contact relevant authorities to set up a program on educating women about safely giving birth," he said.

Iranian Parliament and UNFPA Commit to Enhance Partnership

The Iranian Parliamentarians Population and Development Committee (IRPPDC), a member of AFPPD, met with officials of UNDP and UNFPA in order to enhance the level and quality of IRPPDC activities and expand bilateral relation and co-operations with UNFPA as well as other UN agencies. Members of Board of IRPPDC, Mr. Knot Ostby, UN Resident Co-ordinator and Mr. Mohamed Abdelahad, UNFPA Representative in Iran met with H.E. Dr. Ali Ardeshir Larijani, Hon. Speaker of the Islamic Consultative Assembly (Parliament of I.R. Iran) on 23 December 2008. Both sides emphasized on the importance of further introduction and explanations about the activities of UN agencies in Iran to the parliamentarians and stressed the necessity of more cooperation between the Parliament and UN agencies. Hon. Dr. Larijani expressed Iranian Parliament's readiness to use UN experiences and skills, and asked the Chairman of IRPPDC to manage this relationship of all UN agencies with different sections of the Parliament.

Members of Board of IRPPDC paid a reciprocal visit to UN headquarter in Tehran on 29 December 2008 and met with officials from UNFPA, UNDP, UNICEF and OCHA.

Kyrgyz Parliament Staff Trained in Communication and Media

Parliament staff in Kyrgyzstan attended the “Training for Effective Use of Modern Communication Technologies” in the Press Center at the Jogorku Kenesh (Parliament), on 8-11 January 2009. The training was organized by the Parliamentarians’ Project of European Union together with UNDP.

During the training participants and trainers identified and clarified the challenges of internal and external communications facing the Press Center of the Jogorku Kenesh, as well as their possible solutions. Particular attention was paid to the efficient interaction of the Press-Center with journalists. The session on this topical subject was held by a well-known media expert Alexander Kulinsky, who has more than 10 years of working experience as a parliamentary correspondent.

Another important topic discussed at the training was the need to strengthen the representation of Jogorku Kenesh, through the use of modern standards of advancing its mission and creating a positive image in the eyes of the public.

Ms. Gulmira Mamatkerimova, a Manager of the European Union Parliament and UNDP, Ms. Helen Cheremenina, Media-specialist, and expert Kurmanbek Turdaliev taught participants about the importance of quality performance of the parliament representation and control functions, as well as about the role of the Press-Center in this process.

European Parliament Approves Resolution Pressuring Nations to Allow Abortions

Members of the European Parliament on 14 January approved a resolution that calls on each of the 27 member states to legally guarantee access to "sexual and reproductive rights.” Much of the resolution deals with xenophobia, and the rights of children and refugees but one part stressed 'the need to raise public awareness of the right to reproductive and sexual health, and calls on the member states to ensure that women can fully enjoy these rights, to put in place appropriate sex education, information and confidential advisory services, and to facilitate access to contraception in order to prevent all unwanted pregnancies and illegal and high-risk abortions'. The resolution also calls on nations to use taxpayer funds to pay for such reproductive health services for "ethnic minority women."

Upcoming Activities

• Asian Parliamentarians Forum on Hunger in Colombo, Sri Lanka, on 15-16 February; in cooperation with UNDP and the UN Millennium Campaign
• A parliamentarians session at the International Conference on Gender-Based Violence and Sexual and Reproductive Heath in Mumbai, India, on 15-18 February
• A parliamentarians session at the South Asia Regional workshop on the Prevention of HIV related to Drug Use in Kathmandu, Nepal, in March (dates to be decided)