Partners in Population and Development (PPD) and Health Engineering Department signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for Construction of 36 Community Clinics with the financial support of Government of India on 28 December 2017. The MoU signing ceremony held in the Conference Room of Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), Government of Bangladesh in the presence of H.E. Mr. Mohammed Nasim,  Honorable Minister of Health and Family Welfare, H.E. Mr. Zahid Maleque, Honorable State Minister of Health and Family Welfare, MoHFW, Mr. Faiz Ahmed, Secretary, Medical Education and Family Welfare Division and Mr. Quazi AKM Mohiul Islam, Additional Secretary, and PCC of PPD, Population, Family Welfare and Law, MoHFW. MoU has been signed by Dr Md. Nazrul Islam, Director Program, PPD and Eng. Mohammad Anwar Ali, Superintendent Engineer, HED.

PPD and the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of Bangladesh as well as the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India have enjoyed a long standing partnership with each other as both are the PPD’s focal Ministries in the respective countries. Over the last 2 decades, many programs of cooperation have been established in the field of reproductive health, population and development through promoting south-south cooperation.

This MOU commits us to work together more closely towards our common goal, the pursuit of the internationalization of Community Clinics Experience through South South Cooperation in order to ensure more healthcare services to the community people and achieve health related sustainable development goals by 2030.  Each side will pursue many significant activities, such as PPD will ensure effective implementation of 36 community clinics construction works with the financial support through High Commission of India, Government of India. PPD will work further to document the community clinic experience as good practice in Bangladesh and will exchange the practice to other member countries of PPD for its learning and replication.  These are top priority items for this MoU.

HED will mobilize community people for community partnerships and ownership, ensure land donation from community people and construct the 36 clinics, health works force will be appointed to ensure the smooth operation of these clinics and ensure services to the people under the guidance of Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

PPD would like to express their sincere gratitude to everyone whose dedication and efforts have contributed to the finalization of this MOU. In particular, PPD family would like to thank Honorable Minister of Health and Family Welfare His Excellency Mr. Mohammed Nasim, MP and Honorable State Minister of Health His Excellency Mr. Zahid Maleque, MP, Brigadier General M A Mohy, Chief Engineer of HED and his Team of HED; Mr. Harsh Vardhan Shringla, High Commissioner of India to Dhaka and Mr. Dibbanjan Roy, First Secretary and Railway Advisor of Indian High Commission, Government of India. Their insights, goodwill and friendship have made the signing of this MOU a reality.

PPD family would like to say that we are confident that through our efforts and commitment, we will be able to achieve more and to be able to continue to develop even stronger relationships and friendships between the people of Bangladesh and India along with people of other PPD member of countries.  PPD would like to take this opportunity to assure you that the PPD will do whatever it can in order to provide a successful implementation of this MOU.

Globally men’s involvement in family planning is dismally poor. In some countries, they have altogether give up on promoting family planning among men.  In India, vasectomy prevalence varies greatly from one state to another, ranging from a high of 6.3% in Himachal Pradesh to a low of less than 0.05% in Mizoram and Nagaland. According to the India 2007-2008 District Level Household Survey, the overall rate is 1.1.

Dr. Joe Thomas, the executive Director of Partners in Population and Development in a letter to the Ministry of Health and Social welfare, Government of India congratulated the government on it’s effort towards engaging men in family planning. “A voluntary and well informed involvement of men in reproductive health issues is vital for the success of national family planning and reproductive health programs” Dr Thomas emphasized.

He also congratulated Smt. Vandana Gurnani, Jt. Secretary for taking the leading in his initiative.

As part of the preparation towards ‘Vasectomy Fortnight’ Ministry of Health and Family Welfare organized a one-day national workshop on the promotion of male participation in family planning.
Smt. Vandana Gurnani, Jt. Secretary inaugurated this  workshop, which highlighted concrete strategies to understand and incorporate the male perspective and male needs in the same way as attention is given to women’s perspectives and needs. The Health Ministry through its sustained family planning efforts, aims to increase male participation in family planning, with continued emphasis on delivering assured services, generating demand and bridging supply gaps.

The workshop also saw the launch of the Family Planning Logistics Management Information System (FP-LMIS) manual. The FP-LMIS software was developed to facilitate the management and distribution of contraceptives and is designed to provide robust information on the demand and distribution of contraceptives to health facilities and ASHAs and strengthen supply chain management. It is intended to be a decision-making tool for policy makers, program managers and logistics personnel to monitor and manage the flow of contraceptive supplies, in order to reduce stockouts and overstocks, and improve the program’s effectiveness and contraceptive security.

Male participation in improving the reproductive health of couples is crucial. While the permanent methods of contraception have traditionally found more acceptances in India, the maximum numbers of acceptors are women.

The World Vasectomy Day is an event intended to raise global awareness on Vasectomy. The National Workshop today is also a precursor and curtain raiser to the upcoming Vasectomy Fortnight across States. All states/UTs across India will observe a dedicated ‘Vasectomy Fortnight’ from 21st November to 4th December 2017 with commensurate publicity whereby quality male sterilization services would be provided to clients at public health facilities.

The observation of a dedicated fortnight is intended to galvanize awareness on male sterilization and thereby improve its acceptance in the community. The Vasectomy Fortnight will be observed up to the block level with focus on Family Planning service delivery along with IEC & advocacy.

The theme of the ‘Vasectomy Fortnight 2017’ reminds men’s responsibility to contribute to the family planning.  The observation of the Vasectomy Fortnight 2017 will be conducted in two phases:

1. Mobilization phase (21st Nov – 27th Nov) – This fortnight is utilised for awareness generation on the benefits of male contraception. IEC, especially on male participation in Family Planning and addressing various myths associated with it, will be available across public and accredited health care facilities.
2. Service delivery phase (28th Nov – 4th Dec) – In addition to awareness generation, all districts and blocks will organise for provision of male sterilization services in this dedicated fortnight.

Male participation in adoption of family planning has been a challenge along with other numerous challenges that must still be overcome, particularly in terms of raising public awareness around promoting and male engagement in family planning services. The promotion of male participation is vital to the success of the Family Planning programme.

Dr. Joe Thomas, Executive Director of Partners in Population and Development (PPD) visited Cox’s Bazar to study the Rohingya refugee situation, an unprecedented level population displacement with significant social, economic and cultural consequence. According to IOM, since 25 August 2017, an estimated 607,000 Rohingya have crossed into Bangladesh fleeing violence in Myanmar’s Rakhine State, increasing the total Rohingya population in Cox’s Bazar to 802,000.

He visited Kutupalong- Balukhali refugee camps where approximately 426,600 Rohingya refugees (ISCD data) are living with minimum emergency support. In the camp he visited UNICEF’s Child Learning Centre, Outpatient Therapeutic Centre (OTP) and child friendly space (CFS). He also visited WFP emergency food distribution program, IOM emergency HUB and observed different level of support in ground.

“What we are witnessing is an extreme high-level of human deprivation, massive needs of various social support requirements. Bangladesh government’s generosity in accepting Rohinga refugees is commendable.  There is a large cohort of adolescent and young people in the camp, but useful social arrangement of these young adolescent is very minimal. Investing for demographic dividend for adolescent and young people should be part of the response to the refugee population.” He commented. ‘A comprehensive sexual and reproductive health strategy should be part of the midterm response to the refugees’, he added

Every day new refugees are coming from Mayanmar to cox’s Bazar, they are living in spontaneous settlements with increasing need of humanitarian assistance, including shelter, food, clean water, and sanitation. Despite of many support significant challenges remain in the camp including the lack of impatient service treatment to women and children. After addressing the urgent and immediate needs to the refugees, the medium to long-term needs will be require soon, that preparation should be started immediately.

Life at the Refugee camps, Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh

PPD’s 14th International Inter-Ministerial Conference (IIMC) will be held  in Jogjakarta, Indonesia from 28 to 29 November 2017, with the theme of the conference is  “Sustainable cities, human mobility and international migration: A South-South Perspective and intervention needs”. PPD is a unique platform for south-south cooperation in the field of reproductive health, population and development.   During the conference it is expected that Rohingya population movement will be discussed. Dr. Thomas will share his experience with the ministers, senior government officials, health and development professionals, and UN agencies, International Organizations and NGOs and Academicians from 26 PPD member countries.

Dr. Joe Thomas, the Executive Director of Partners in Population and Development, an intergovernmental organization of 26 countries committed to promote family planning and reproductive health issues among developing countries commented on the Government of India’s initiative to address unmet contraceptive needs.   “Honorable Health Minister Mr. J. P. Nadda must be congratulated for his efforts in expanding the basket of contraceptive choices to address the unmet contraceptive needs”, said Dr. Thomas.  “India may also take efforts to provide contraceptives as part of its bilateral assistance to other developing countries”, added Dr. Thomas.   H.E. J. P. Nadda, the Minister for Health and Family Welfare of the Government of India is the Vice Chair of the PPD Board of Directors.

The two contraceptives Antara and Chhaya have been launched in the 10 states of Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Haryana, West Bengal, Odisha, Delhi and Goa. They are available for free in Medical Colleges and District Hospitals.

According to several studies, these contraceptives are safe and highly effective. The ‘Antara’ injectable being effective for three months and the ‘Chayya’ pill for one week, will help meet the changing needs of couples and help women plan and space their pregnancies.

Training of healthcare practitioners from all the states has been completed, with a pool of state and district level doctors and staff nurses being trained to support the roll-out. The Health and Family Welfare Ministry has recently launched a software – Family Planning Logistics Management Information System (FP-LMIS) – designed to provide robust information on the demand and distribution of contraceptives to health facilities and ASHAs. This in turn would help improve the supply and distribution of contraceptives.

World Population day on 11 July 2017 saw the launch of ‘Mission Parivar Vikas’, a central family planning initiative by the Minister, H.E. J. P. Nadda on World Population Day. Mission Parivar Vikas focuses on 146 districts in
7 states with high Total Fertility Rates (TFR). The key strategic focus of this initiative is on improving access to contraceptives through delivering assured services, ensuring commodity security and accelerating access to high quality family planning services.  The mission is being implemented in 146 high focus districts with the highest TFRs in the country. These districts are in the seven states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Assam that constitute 44% of the country’s population.

It is expected that Mission Parivar Vikas will promote in reducing TFR to  2.1 by the year 2025. According to the Sample Registration System (SRS) Statistical Report 2013 the national level TFR was 2.3.  There is a wide TFR variation between the states of India. Kerala state has the lowest TFR of 1.8, Bihar state has 3.4 and Utter Pradesh has 3.1.

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, through its sustained family planning efforts, aims to achieve its goal of increasing modern contraceptive usage and ensure that 74% of the demand for modern contraceptives is satisfied by 2020, with continued emphasis on delivering assured services, generating demand and bridging supply gaps. The Ministry’s focus remains on increasing awareness and demand through a holistic communications campaign that has simultaneously been rolled out across all states of India.

“Family planning in developing countries is a key development enabler. Expanding family planning choices is an investment in women’s empowerment and economic opportunities. Promoting cooperation and partnership between the Global South is essential for achieving family planning related Sustainable Development Goals”, Dr. Thomas concluded.

The Permanent representative of PPD in Geneva met with the Director General of IOM. This was the first ever meeting of PPD with IOM.
An introduction to PPD was given and IOM’s mandate was exchanged including the importance of South- South Cooperation on these issues.

The DG stressed on the increasing need for comprehensive policy on migration that is guided by evidence. He said that it’s important for the interventions to be based on research and science linked to respective national policies to attend to the unfinished agenda on migration including health.

DG, Lacey Swing considers that some of the best examples of migrant policies and their implementation can be found in PPD member countries and expressed strong interest in participating at the upcoming PPD’s International Inter-Ministerial Conference in Yogjakarta, Indonesia in November 2017.

This will help countries showcase and share best practices, exchange knowledge and challenges from South to South within the global south dialogue.

DG  initiated the process for PPD, an Intergovernmental organization with a Permanent Observer at the United Nations General Assembly to become observer in the IOM council meetings

PPD briefed the DG of the first Ambassadors’ briefing in Geneva in February 2017 chaired by the Senegal Ambassador here post the Inter-Ministerial Conference in Dakar Senegal in 2016.

Mr Swing is delighted to be invited to speak at the planned Ambassadors’ briefing in early 2018 that will be chaired by the Indonesian Ambassador in Geneva post the 2017 Yogjakarta meeting.
IOM and PPD look forward to strengthening the collaboration on South-South Cooperation for Migration issues.

More information about the upcoming Inter-Ministerial Conference in Indonesia 28-29 November 2017 on Sustainable Cities, Human Mobility and International Migration – A south-south perspective and intervention needs”. http://www.partners-popdev.org/imc2017/

Contact-

Partners in Population and Development (PPD)
Ms. Vibhu Garg
vibhu.garg@ppdsec.org
+41 766 391233

It is the first time the Forum would discuss in-depth a particular set of the 2030 Agenda’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals. The deliberations would also include national presentations from 44 countries and discussions about poverty eradication through the lens of addressing its multiple dimensions, especially in countries in special situations.  In addition, there would be keynote presentations from a range of speakers focusing on “where we are” in year two of the 2030 Agenda’s implementation.

The current session was the second since the adoption of the 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development. It was also the first session of the High-Level Political Forum that would discuss in-depth a set of Sustainable Development Goals — namely, Goals 1, 2, 3, 5, 9 and 14 — alongside Goal 17 on partnerships.   In addition, the session’s theme, “eradicating poverty and promoting prosperity in a changing world”, was particularly pertinent as poverty remained “one of the greatest challenges of our time.”

Frederick Musiiwa Shava  (Zimbabwe), President of Economic and Social Council cited the high expectations from this global institution and underlined that the 2017 theme would be discussed through the lens of ways in which the multiple dimensions of poverty and inequality were being addressed in countries in special situations. He underlined the importance of linking the planned presentations of 44 countries with the 2030 Agenda’s integrated nature.

The Keynote speaker Robert Johnson, President of the Institute for New Economic Thinking, described the Sustainable Development Goals as “an important navigation system” that would help drive the international community as it pursued a sustainable future.  Pointing to the emergence of “dangerous discontents” resulting from the global economic system’s lack of sensitivity to people’s needs — especially in less-advanced economies — he said such challenges were not inevitable as those systems were entirely human-made and could still be corrected.  He also spotlighted several priority issues to be addressed going forward, including those related to gender inequality, the health of the world’s oceans and the production and pricing of new forms of energy.

Sakiko Fukuda-Parr, Vice-Chair of the UN Committee for Development Policy stressed in her address that a holistic approach would be critical to reviewing progress on the 2030 Agenda’s implementation.  While that agenda had created a new paradigm of development and a new theory of change, its current set of indicators — laid out in a framework adopted last week by the General Assembly — was still a work in progress.  Cautioning that many of the present indicators only partially reflected targets or goals and were sometimes too narrowly focused, she also drew attention to several similar criticisms from non‑governmental organizations and other members of civil society.

Wu Hongbo, Under-Secretary-General of Economic and Social Affairs, introduced a report of the Secretary-General detailing progress towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.  He told the Forum, noting that while nearly 1 billion people around the world had escaped extreme poverty since 1999, over 760 million had still lived on less than $1.90 per day in 2013.  Among other challenges, gender inequality persisted worldwide and while maternal mortality had declined, that progress must be doubled to achieve the relevant global targets by 2030.

Participants also held two panel discussions today, addressing the themes, “implementation at the regional and subregional levels” and “eradicating poverty and promoting prosperity in a changing world”, respectively

( From PPD Permanent Observer at the UN, New York, 10 July , 2017 )

5 June 2017—Partners in Population and Development (PPD) is deeply saddened by the untimely death of a champion, deeply cared for Women and Children and Adolescents.

Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin, a great friend and adviser to, PPD was a passionate advocate for youth and gender and their reproductive health and rights. Young people were his special focus at UNFPA. He often said “We need to ensure that young people of both genders have equal participation, not only in reproductive rights and health but also within society and in the economy.”

He believed humility is the key to engaging people and facilitating change, “humility to engage with the other person of the other community in such a way that they know that you respect them.” The world has lost an internationally renowned giant of reproductive health and rights of women and girls, said Dr. Joe Thomas, Executive Director of PPD.

Dr. Osotimehin also served as Minister of Health of Nigeria and was also Director-General of the country’s National Agency for the Control of HIV and AIDS before he took up office at UNFPA in 2011.

“PPD and the millions of people will mourn Babatunde Osotimehin passing and celebrate the huge contribution to Reproductive Health and issues of women, children and adolescents he made in his life,” Dr. Thomas added.

On behalf of the Board of Director and colleagues of PPD, Dr Thomas expressed his deepest condolences at the sudden passing away of Dr. Babatunde  Osetemehin, and conveyed his deepest condolences to the family of Dr. Babatunde  Osetemehin.

EARHN is a south-south advocacy network that was formed by Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania in 1996 with the aim of contributing to improved policy, funding and visibility of RH/FP within the Eastern Africa countries. Membership has since expanded and currently includes Rwanda, Burundi, Ethiopia and South Sudan, making up in total 9 countries with hopes of extending the reach to the rest of the Horne of Africa.

In total 45 participants from the 9 member countries attended the meeting. These were mainly focal persons, technical people drawn from the Ministries of Health and Planning, non-state partners implementing RH/FP programmes, and other like-minded stakeholders in the region including key CSO representatives. The meeting was covered by four media outlets including the regional East African.

The, Executive Director, Partners in Population and Development (PDD); Dr Joe Thomas, UNFPA Representative; Mr. Alain Sibenaler, the Director General, National Population Council of Uganda; Dr. Jotham Musinguzi made key note addresses at the meeting which was officially opened by the Minister of State for Health (PHC); Hon. Sarah Opendi. In her address, the minister stressed the need to implement the many policies and strategies that are put in place in order to facilitate the work of bringing higher up to scale issues of reproductive health including family planning. She noted that successful implementation of these progressive SRHR commitments is still impeded by lack of political will, inadequate funding for SRHR programmes, inadequate partnerships and coordination with and among local actors and international organizations.

At the end of the meeting, participants and country focal persons stressed the need for adapting EARHN‘s Strategic Positioning, Focus, Strategic Objectives and Interventions to ensure alignment with SDGs. They underscored the vital role and need to strengthen Monitoring, Evaluation and Reporting of Programme Performance. EARHN’s Strategic Positioning. They reviewed old strategic focus, objectives & interventions and made strong recommendations for the new implementation strategy, stressing monitoring, evaluation and reporting mechanisms for the successor EARHN Strategic Plan, 2017 – 2021.