January 2007
Welcome
to the Parliamentary Group on Population and Development (PGPD)
e-newsletter,
providing updates on PGPD activities
and the latest news on population and development and sexual
and reproductive health.
International parliamentarians' meet on ICPD
l-r: Dr
Mal Washer, Senators Ruth Webber and Claire Moore at IPCI in Bangkok
PGPD members, Dr Mal Washer and Senators Claire Moore and Ruth Webber, were among 300 participants at the Third International Parliamentarians' Conference on the Implementation of the ICPD Programme of Action (IPCI/ICPD) on 21-22 November. Altogether, 180 parliamentarians attended from 103 countries. Dr Washer was Chair of the session on the “Role of Parliamentarians in Implementing the ICPD Agenda and the MDGs".
The conference
agreed to the ‘Bangkok
Statement of Commitment’ in which
participants committed to:
*
attain at least 10 per cent of national development budgets and development
assistance budgets for population and reproductive health programmes
including HIV and AIDS prevention and especially, family planning and
reproductive health commodities; and
* ensure that the new target on universal access to reproductive health
is immediately and fully integrated into national development strategies
and is given highest
priority in the plans, implementation and monitoring of relevant government ministries.
The Statement provides a blueprint for the activities of parliamentary groups, such as the PGPD for the next year or two.
In a press release for World AIDS Day from the Parliamentary Group on Population and Development, Dr Washer said there were an estimated average of 115 new cases of HIV/AIDS a day in PNG. The main mode of transmission of HIV/AIDS in PNG was through heterosexual sex.
First
SA PGPD meeting
(l-r): Senator Anne McEwen, Trish
White, Sandra Kanck, Tom Gosling (Secretariat), Vicki Chapman, Ian
Hunter, Regan Field (Secretariat), Mark Parnell, Lindsay Simmons.
Interest by State members of parliament in population and development matters continued to grow throughout Australia during 2006, particularly in South Australia where members of the Parliamentary Group on Population and Development (PGPD) held their first meeting on 20 November in Adelaide.
Members agreed to hold further meetings around the time of ‘international’ days such as the Launch of the State of the World Population Report, World AIDS Day and World Population Day.
PGPD DIARY
The PGPD
meeting schedule will be circulated shortly. This will contain the
meeting times for the rest of 2007.
PREGNANCY COUNSELLING TENDERS ANNOUNCED
The Minister for Health announced earlier in January that McKesson Asia Pacific were awarded the $15.5million contract for the national pregnancy hotline.
The separate contract to train counsellors on "best practice" and "non-directive" pregnancy counselling was awarded to Family Planning WA.
The PGPD has followed the development of the pregnancy support measures and provided input to the Department of Health and Ageing (DoHA) in September. View a copy of the recently received response from DoHA to the PGPD here
PGPD WEBSITE
The PGPD website www.pgpd.asn.au contains information on members, PGPD's activities, reports and photos from conferences and meetings, resources on current population and development issues. A membership brochure for parliamentarians interested in joining PGPD can also be downloaded.
MEMBER NEWS
PGPD
elects a new Chair
At the October PGPD meeting, Dr Sharman Stone stood down as Chair. The PGPD
appreciates the hard work of Dr Stone during her time as Chair and thanks her
for leading the roundtable
discussion held in August and September in the Australian Parliament.
Dr Mal Washer was elected PGPD Chair unopposed at the December meeting. Dr Washer recently represented the PGPD at the International Parliamentarians' Conference on the Implementation of the ICPD Programme of Action in Bangkok.
PGPD
approves new members
The PGPD welcomes Senator George Campbell as a new member to the group.
A current list of all federal and state PGPD members is available from the PGPD website.
DOMESTIC NEWS
Unplanned
pregnancy a reality for over 50% of Australian women
Just
over half of all women of reproductive age at any given time have
experienced
an
unplanned pregnancy, according to a major research study
published today by Australia’s leading sexual and reproductive
healthcare organisation, Marie Stopes International.
"Unplanned
pregnancy is a key health issue for Australian women and more needs
to be done to reduce the statistic,
recognising women’s desires for support at this time.” Read
more >>
Government to provide HPV vaccine
Prime Minister John Howard has announced that the government
will provide about $342 million for a programme that will offer the HPV
vaccine, Gardasil, at no cost to girls and women ages 12 to 26 living
in the country. The vaccine in clinical trials has been shown to be 100
per cent effective in preventing HPV infection with strains 16 and 18,
which together cause about 70 per cent of cervical cancer cases, in women
who do not already have the virus, and about 99 per cent effective in
preventing HPV strains 6 and 11, which together with strains 16 and 18
cause about 90 per cent of genital wart cases. . >> more
Government
considers campaign to combat HIV infection rate
The
Federal Government is considering a multi-million dollar campaign to combat
a surge in new HIV infections over the past five years. >>more
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
NZPPD
report recommends action to fight poverty in PNG
A
New Zealand Parliamentarians' Group on Population and Development report
on the MPs' April study tour to Papua New Guinea makes recommendations
to MPs and the international donor community of action needed to fight
poverty in PNG. Duncan Kerr attended the tour as a representative of
the PGPD. Key recommendations include: establishing mentoring partnerships
between parliamentarians in New Zealand and Australia with parliamentarians
in PNG to foster accountability and build political leadership; providing
sustainable and predictable funding in core programme areas; establishing
health clinics at schools; and establishing a "champions" community
leaders scheme in all sectors to raise awareness and break down taboos
around issues such as sexual and reproductive health, HIV and AIDS,
and violence against women. View
the report.
New
Danish Parliamentarian Group established
A
new All-Party Parliamentarian Group to promote SRHR was launched
at the Danish Parliament in October last year. All seven parties
in
Parliament are represented in the network. It is hoped that
the establishment of the network can further secure the commitment
to SRHR in Denmark’s
national and international policies and monitor the progress
of the implementation of the strategy of the Danish Government
on sexual and reproductive health and rights.
WHO
and Lancet reignite commitment to SRH
The
World Health Organisation (WHO) has joined with one of the world’s
most prestigious medical journals, The Lancet, in a campaign to restore
sexual and reproductive health (SRH) to centre stage of international
efforts to defeat poverty.
A series
of articles on SRH were published in November and focussed on issues
such as adopting a public health approach to sexual and reproductive
behaviours to reduce death and disability from unsafe sex, the impact
of unsafe abortions, and the need to prioritise sexual and reproductive
health, family planning and contraception to achieve the Millennium
Development Goals. Read
the articles.
NZPPD
Open Hearing on youth SRH
NZPPD held an 'Open Hearing on Youth
Sexual and Reproductive Health' on 4 December. The focus of the Hearing
was to raise
awareness of young people's sexual and reproductive health
in New Zealand, and to identify what is currently working well and
what else needs to be done to address these issues. Presenters
provided an overview of the current sexual and reproductive
health of young New Zealanders, and highlighted a number of recommendations
for future policy considerations in this area. A report on
the
Hearing is now being prepared.
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