| International
Forum on Sexual and Reproductive Health
22
- 24 June 2009, Madrid, Spain
Lessons
Learned and Good Practices
for
Sexual and Reproductive
Health
Statement
by
Mr. Harry Jooseery
Executive Director, PPD
Contents:
1. INTRODUCTION: ABOUT PPD
2. CURRENT REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH LANDSCAPE
2.1 – Worldwide
2.2 – Africa Region
3. STRATEGIC POSITIONING OF PPD
4. SOUTH SOUTH INITIATIVE
5. CONCLUSION
1.
Introduction
Ladies and Gentlemen,
PPD
is an intergovernmental organization
that was created at the International
Conference on Population and Development
(ICPD) held in Cairo in 1994 with
a specific objective to promote and
strengthen reproductive health, population,
women’s empowerment and poverty
alleviation programmed through South-South
cooperation. It is the only intergovernmental
organization worldwide that exists
for the promotion of South- South
Cooperation in RH and hence enjoys
a high level reputation and creditworthiness
worldwide. It groups 24 developing
countries and has coverage of more
than 57% of the world population.
The Secretariat of PPD is based in
Bangladesh; we have a Regional Office
for Africa (ARO) in Kampala, Uganda,
a Programmed Office in China and a
Liaison Office in New York, USA, where
we are also a Permanent Observer to
the United Nations.
The mandate is to assist each Member
Country and other developing countries
to address successfully the sexual
and reproductive health and rights
and population and development challenges
through South-South Collaboration
by raising a common voice and sharing
sustainable, effective, efficient,
accessible and acceptable solutions
considering the diverse economic,
social, political, religious and cultural
characteristics of our countries.
PPD ARO oversees our program for the
Africa Continent and reaches 13 of
our 24 member states, namely Benin,
Egypt, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Kenya,
Mali, Morocco, Nigeria, Senegal, Tunisia,
Uganda and Zimbabwe. It has a Strategic
Plan which addresses essentially the
specificity of the African Continent
and has created a series of Networks
in the region, like the East African,
West African and South African RH
Networks, which group all the major
actors in RH in Africa for the promotion
of RH.
The Governing Board of PPD constitutes
of Ministers from members states and
ensures the highest policy level commitment
of the different governments to the
alliance. Its Board meeting offers
opportunities for negotiating bilateral
or multilateral cooperation among
member states on different areas of
common interest. International forums
and conferences of PPD provide member
states with exposure to the latest
approaches and strategies for the
development. PPD enables its members
and other developing countries to
share their knowledge, experiences,
expertise, best practices and technologies
to ensure sustainable development
and improve the quality of life through
South-South cooperation. South-South
cooperation is universally acknowledged
as one of the most efficient, cost
effective and result oriented modalities
for attaining sustainable development
of Southern nations. PPD has unfettered
access to the relevant information,
knowledge, experiences, expertise,
best practices and technical know-how
available in different members states
that enables their efficient and effective
sharing, exchange and transfer among
developing countries.
PPD has also long term and effective
collaborative partnerships with many
of the world’s premier training
and research institutions which help
capacity development at individual,
institutional and systems level in
its member states.
To better understand the role of PPD
in addressing RH, Population and Development
program among developing countries,
it is important to review the current
RH landscape at a glance.
• CURRENT REPRODUCTIVE
HEALTH LANDSCAPE
The current landscape for RH is both
complex and disturbing especially
for developing countries. We do applaud
the positive impact of ICPD in terms
of a global fall in Fertility Rate,
a decrease in population growth rate
and an increasing life expectancy.
ICPD has created an international
consensus and support for SRH as a
global development priority and it
is refreshing to note that a number
of states have incorporated population
policies into their development strategies.
We note with satisfaction that
Worldwide:
-
Over 5% couples world wide are now
using family planning
- Annual
world population growth is now 73
million compared with 93 million
in 1994
- Life
expectancy has increased from 61
to 63
- Maternal
mortality has declined
- 10%
reduction in early childhood deaths
- Greater
awareness and understanding of the
management of unsafe abortion
-
However, most of these gains are
consolidated in developed countries.
Many of the developing countries
have indeed remained far behind.
The most vulnerable continent remains
Africa. While poverty is widespread,
and the effect of present economic
downturn is looming heavily on the
continent, emerging issues like
food insecurity and climatic change
are questioning the survival of
many in Africa. It is disheartening
to note that in
Africa
Region:
-
500,000 maternal death happen each
year and this has remained so for
the last 10 years, 95% of them occur
in Africa
- A
woman’s life time risk of
dying due to maternal causes is
1:16 in sub –Saharan Africa
i.e nearly 6 times higher than in
Asia, 10 times higher than in Latin
America and more than 2,000 times
higher than in developed world
- ¾
of women in sub-Saharan Africa need
but do not have access to family
planning.
- Total
Fertility Rate is 5 to 6 births
per woman in Africa
- The
use of contraceptives is 21% in
Sub-Saharan Africa while the world
average is 59%.
- The
region has lowest human development
index.
- 33%
would be food insecure by 2010 vs.
1:8 South Asia, 1:20 East Asia.
- Two-
third of HIV infection among the
15-24 year olds occur in African
countries.
• STRATEGIC POSITIONING
OF PPD
In this global and regional context,
I wish to situate PPD and delineate
its role in the light of these emerging
issues. In spite of all the threats
and dangers that we have to face we
are still optimistic. We still believe
in the power of human resources to
resolve problems.
Our
mission is to assist developing countries
address Sexual and Reproductive Health
and Rights, Population and Development
challenges through South-South Cooperation.
As we celebrate the 15 years of ICPD,
we also celebrate the 15th Anniversary
of PPD and as we look back in retrospection,
we are happy to note the tremendous
achievements of PPD in the area of
advocacy and policy dialogue, exchange
of experiences, leadership building,
development of expertise, documentation
of best practices, development of
South-South models and tools, development
of South-South Consultancy Program,
among others.
However,
in light of the prevailing gloomy
RH landscape of developing countries,
we cannot continue to do business
as usual. Globalization has made the
world small and imbued it with fierce
competitions from all sides. The imperative
of globalization dictates that if
we need to survive, we need to be
not only the fittest, but also the
smartest. We acknowledge that we need
not only to be practical, but pragmatic
and proactive. Business with a difference
entails that we adapt constantly to
address core issues. Given the urgency
to address the situation in Africa,
PPD opened a Regional Office for Africa
in Kampala, Uganda in 2006
•
PPD PROGRAMME FOCUS
Our program focuses are:
1. Advocacy for the
a)
Integration of RH with HIV/AIDS
b)
Integration of ICPD with MDGs
c)
Repositioning of FP into the development
Agenda, and the creation of
an enabling environment for its
promotion in Developing countries
2. Capacity Building at
a)
Individual
b)
Institutional
c)
Systems levels
3. Exchange of Experience, Expertise
and Technologies among developing
countries
4. Promotion of Reproductive Health
Commodity Supplies and Security
among Developing countries
5. Training and Research
6. Partnership and Networking
7. Resource Mobilization
•
THE SOUTH SOUTH INITIATIVE
We
believe that Population and RH issues
are universally linked to the health,
well-being, and development. It is
unfortunate that this linkage has
for decades not been fully understood
by our policy makers and that Family
Planning has been neglected. Lack
of investment in FP/RH has contributed
to accentuate poverty and inhibited
socio-economic development. We welcome
additional investment in HIV/AIDS
which has indeed helped lowering the
disease burden and incidence in developing
countries. But we deplore the proportional
decrease in funding on FP. It is unfortunate
to note that funding for Family Planning
Program has fallen from 55% in 1995
to 7% in 2005 and as a result has
hampered progress and plunged many
in a situation of abject poverty.
In some parts of Africa, family planning
services are simply unavailable and
in other parts where they are available,
they remain inaccessible.
We believe that Governments form the
South have the potentials to raise
the standard of living of their citizens,
the capacity to enhance social welfare
and the capability to promote peace,
harmony and security in the countries.
The South-South Cooperation entails
that we have among us the skills,
capabilities and expertise, and if
we galvanize our efforts together,
we could improve the destiny of our
children. PPD will continue to develop
and build institutional and individual
capacities, continue advocacy for
better access to Family Planning Services,
and the integration of RH with HIV/AIDS
for a balanced sharing of resources,
and work for a secured supply of affordable
and quality RH products and services
in our member countries.
We
believe that South South Cooperation
is complementary to North South Cooperation.
We cannot pretend, despite our belief
in our capacities, to address issues
in isolation. The South North South
Triangular Cooperation entails that
our efforts need to be supported by
the North and we welcome Spain’s
initiative at promoting its cooperation
with the South. It is unfortunate
that the 0.7% Pledge of ODA by the
North has not been upheld by many.
I wish to conclude by congratulating
the Government of Spain’s initiative
at assisting us in addressing RH issues
in developing countries and wish concrete
follow up actions. It urge that more
emphasis on South South Cooperation
as a recognition of the potentials
of the south, and also as an effective
modality to attain both ICPD and MDGs.
I would be glad to see Government
of Spain extending its support to
the promotion of South South Cooperation
to enable us stand on our own feet
and move towards sustainable development.
•
CONCLUSION
I
would like to end by a quotation from
Nelson Mandela:
“As
we succeed, we will be turning our
region into the powerful engine for
development if it has the potential
to be – a building block of
an African economic community and
a vital force to make the twenty-first
century, the African Century. The
imperatives of development define
our destiny not only as an African
nation, but also a nation of the south.”
Thank you for your attention.
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