PHM-Exch> World Population Day 2012: Universal Access to Reproductive Health Services

[Claudio Schuftan]

From: Phillipa Tucker <phillipa at aidsaccountability.org>


World Population Day 2012: This year's theme: Universal Access to
Reproductive Health Services

On World Population Day AAI shares on the background of the International
Conference on Population and Developement (ICPD) and its impact on Sexual
and Reproductive Health and Rights.

Sexual and reproductive health and rights
Sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) are usually understood as
the rights of all people, regardless of their nationality, age, sex,
gender, health or HIV status, to make informed and free choices with regard
to their own sexuality and reproductive well-being, on condition these
decisions do not infringe on the rights of others. This includes the right
to access education and information, services and healthcare.

As much as SRHR are considered to be basic human rights and fundamental to
development “conditions are devastating the African Continent: 25 million
Africans infected with HIV, 12 million children orphaned due to deaths
related to AIDS. 2 million deaths from AIDS each year, women increasingly
affected with the feminization of the epidemic; 1 million maternal and
newborn deaths annually, an African woman having a 1 in 16 chance of dying
while giving birth; high, unmet need for family planning with rapid
population growth often outstripping economic growth and the growth of
basic social services (education and health), thus contributing to the
vicious cycle of poverty and ill-health. Today, by any measure, less than
one third of Africans have access to reproductive health (RH)”.[1]

Leadership response
As a result of the state of SRHR in Africa, various governments, as well as
regional economic communities (RECS) such as the Southern African
Development Community (SADC) and the continental organization the African
Union (AU), responded to the call to act with the development of policy on
SRHR, not least of which was the International Conference on Population and
Development (ICPD) in 1994, the African Union Conference of Ministers of
Health (CAMH) and the Maputo Plan of Action (MPOA) in January 2006.

The International Conference on Population and Development
Convened by the United Nations, the International Conference on Population
and Development was held in Cairo, Egypt in 1994, and “consider{ed} the
broad issues of and interrelationships between population, sustained
economic growth and sustainable development, and advances in the education,
economic status and empowerment of women”, and was “explicitly given a
broader mandate on development issues than previous population conferences,
reflecting the growing awareness that population, poverty, patterns of
production and consumption and the environment are so closely
interconnected that none of them can be considered in isolation.”[2]

Population is linked to the full range of development concerns including
poverty alleviation, women’s empowerment and environmental protection. The
conference therefore focused on population, sustained economic growth and
sustained development, with special emphasis on women’s health, education
and status. Delegations from 179 States took part took part to finalize a
Programme of Action (PoA) for the next 20 years which addresses a wide
range of population and development themes until 2015 and beyond.

The ICPD PoA sets a framework for the development of more than a dozen key
issues of which one was reproductive rights and reproductive health. This
SRHR section focused attention on 5 key issues
A: Reproductive rights and reproductive health
B: Family planning
C: Sexually transmitted diseases and HIV prevention
D: Human sexuality and gender relations
E: Adolescents

The ICPD PoA includes goals to significantly reduce infant, child and
maternal mortality and to expand access to education, specifically for
girls.

In addressing population, the environment and consumption patterns, the
ICPD PoA focuses on the family, internal and international migration;
prevention and control of HIV/AIDS; technology, research and development;
and partnership with the non-governmental sector. The Programme of Action
provides estimates of the levels of national resources and international
assistance required and calls on governments to make those resources
available.

ICPD+
At 5-yearly intervals since ICDP there have been reviews of progress in the
implementation of the PoA. Various organisations and groups have played a
role in pushing the ICPD agenda and ensuring accountability.

UNFPA ICPD Beyond 2014
UNFPA is currently leading a review process to extend the ICPD beyond its
20 year framework (ICPD beyond 2014). A global survey will form a main
component of this and will assess the ICPD implementation at country level.
Their website www.icpdbeyond2014.com is a one stop resource centre for all
stakeholders, and various meetings have also been arranged globally which
are working on ICPD beyond 2014. The AUC is planning to convene
consultative meetings and processes with the UNFPA and APC.

Accra
CSOs focused on youth in Africa met in Accra in early March 2012, to
strategise around ICPD beyond 2014. They resolved to create awareness and
enhance capacity around ICPD+, including around data and the completion of
progress questionnaires and to ensure that all marginalized groups are
reflected in the review process.

Istanbul
Parliamentarians from around the globe will meet at the 2012 International
Parliamentarians’ Conference on the Implementation of the ICPD Programme of
Action in Istanbul, Turkey, from 24-25 May 2012, an event organized by the
European Parliamentary Forum on Population and Development (EPF) and UNFPA,
the United Nations Population Fund, under the auspices of the Grand
National Assembly of Turkey. The objective of the meeting is for
parliamentarians to re-pledge their commitment to the goals of ICPD, and to
strategize around increasing accountability on the promises made. Previous
conferences (Ottawa, Canada, November 2002; Strasbourg, France, October
2004; Bangkok, Thailand November 2006; and Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, October
2009) have seen significant developments in progress on the ICPDs, and much
is expected of outcomes of this year’s conference. Their two main themes
remain constant: resource mobilization and the creation of an enabling
policy environment for the implementation of the ICPD PoA.

Regional Economic Communities and the African Population Commission
Article 88 of the Abuja Treaty of 1991 mandated the creation and functions
of various Regional Economic Communities (RECs) across the continent of
Africa. These RECs were created to ensure regional integration of African
countries on various levels, including health and development most
especially harmonization of policy and ensuring compliance with the Abuja
Treaty and Lagos Plan of Action timeframes.

The RECS potentially play a significant role in the ICPD+ Process as an
influential group which can lobby for support for ICPD+, and for
accountability at national level amongst their respective members. Teaming
up with the RECS is an acknowledged advocacy strategy due to the impact
they can potentially have.

Similar in relevance, but different in mandate to the RECS is The African
Population Commission (APC). This is an organ of the African Union
Commission (AUC) and is tasked with providing support and leadership on all
population and development issues across Africa. Their work covers, but is
not limited to: policy and policy environment, co-ordination, promoting
co-operation, mobilizing resources, and enhancing awareness and commitment
to population and development issues.

Most relevant are the following tasks for which the APC is mandated:
* Enhancing the level of awareness on and commitment to population and
development issues among Member States and assisting them formulating and
implementing population policies and programs.
*• Monitoring and evaluating the implementation of the resolutions and
declarations collectively adopted by African countries with a view to
charting new strategies to deal with current and pressing population issues
in Africa;
*• Encourage an effective partnership between governments and
non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in carrying out activities in
population and development matters; [3]

Addressing inclusion of marginalised groups
In order for the voices and desires of marginalized groups, especially
women, girls and youth, to be able to influence the ICPD and MDG processes,
they need to be meaningfully included at every step of the process. By
participating in dialogues, presenting the needs of their constituency and
proposing the solutions demanded by women, girls and youth, the ICPD
process will be better able to reflect the needs of these groups, rather
than assuming their own solutions. Thus AAI knows that mobilizing these
groups is necessary to ensure accountability across all groups, and that
this needs to occur at both national and regional level for maximum impact.

For more information on AIDS Accountability’s project on ICPD Beyond 2014
please contact Phillipa Tucker at phillipa at aidsaccountability.org.
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