Reproductive and sexual health and rights in Asia Pacific

Some 3,000 delegates are attending the 7th Asia Pacific Conference on Reproductive and Sexual Health and Rights (APCRSHR) which kicks off at the  Philippine International Convention Center today.  They include  government policy makers, program implementers and development partners who are reviewing the region’s accomplishments and programs  for diverse populations, particularly adolescents and youth, women of reproductive age, men and the elderly in meeting the target  of the International Conference on Population and Development Program of Action (ICPD-POA) and  sexual and reproductive health rights-related Medium Development Goals.

The conference is hosted by the Philippine NGO Council on Population, Health, and Welfare, Inc., which sponsored the first APCRSHR in February 2001 in Manila. Succeeding conferences were held in Thailand (2003), Malaysia (2005), India (2007), China (2009), and Indonesia (2011).

It is well to recount the “Manila Declaration” adopted at the first APCRSHR conference as backgrounder for the 7th conference review.  The document, according to Dr. Eden Divinagracia, PNGOC executive director,  emphasizes  that efforts to improve reproductive health have highlighted “the need to address inequitable and oppressive gender structures present in all nations and are destructive of our best efforts toward social improvement.” These structures “are antithetical to the values espoused in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, covenants of the United Nations, the Program of Action of the ICPD, and the Platform for Action of the Beijing Conference on Women. Gender inequity is a major factor that inhibits women from accepting and accessing reproductive health services and deters the prospect of quality of care. It has serious consequences for adolescents’ reproductive health.”

The Manila Declaration emphasizes  that reproductive rights and responsibilities are “human rights and personal responsibilities. These are not the monopoly of any social group, and hence should not be unilaterally decided by any particular social group or institution.”

The presentations at the ongoing 7thAPCRSR are expected to show how well — or wanting — the fulfillment of the Manila Declaration is being observed in the Asia Pacific region.

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National Scientist Mercedes B. Concepcion, PhD, reviews the progress made by the Philippines on MDGs in her paper dated 2012. But first, one must recall that the MDGs are part of the Millennium Declaration by 189 countries, including 147 heads of state in September 2000. The goals and targets are inter-related. The Millennium Declaration marked a strong commitment to the right to development, the eradication of poverty, and gender equality and the empowerment of women. The Declaration, according to Concepcion, mainstreams into the global development agenda eight mutually reinforcing goals, to be achieved by 2015, that are  driving national development and international cooperation.

Let’s touch on the three MDGs pertaining to gender equality and empowerment of women (MDG 3), reduction of child mortality (MDG 4) and improving maternal health care (MDG 5).

The Philippines, according to Concepcion, is one of two countries in Asia to have closed the gender gap in both education and health, and one of only 11 in the world to have done so.

On MDG 4, Concepcion reports that  the MDG 4 goal to reduce childhood mortality is likely to be reached “as evident in the decline of different measures of childhood deaths such as infant and under-five mortality rates. However, “gross disparities in the rates of childhood deaths among population n groups disclose that neonatal, post-neonatal, infant and under-five morality rates are inversely associated with education and income. Most of these inequities can be accounted for by access to services.”

As to MDG 5, which is to improve maternal health care,  Concepcion reports, that “should the current trend continue, the overall maternal mortality ratio (presently estimated at 162 as measured by the 2006 Family Planning Survey) is forecast to decrease to 140 by 2015, which is 2.7 times the target of 52. The contraceptive prevalence rate (CPR) as a measure of access to reproductive health services is projected to increase from the 50.7 percent in 2008 to about 60 percent by 2015 – far below the target of 80 percent. Thus, without extraordinary effort in the health sector, attaining MDG 4 is virtually impossible.”

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Delegates will present, in formal conference plenary, group and satellite  discussions,  the progress their countries have been making in meeting the MDGs.

The conference program began with youth concerns the whole day yesterday.  Presentations were conducted on such topics as education, employment and livelihood, health, social enterprises; youth, religion and culture, meaningful youth participation on policy advocacy, abortion and young people, experiences from adolescent and youth programs, and  adolescent reproductive  health.

The general conference, which starts today, features Health Secretary Enrique Ona, who will deliver the welcome speech; Kate Gilmore, assistant secretary and deputy executive director of the UNFPA,  and Nafis Sadik, former executive director, UNFPA, as keynote speaker.  Senator Pia Cayetano, author of the Reproductive Health Law,  will speak at the conference opening, and former House Representative, now Health Undersecretary   Janette Garin, will lead in discussions.

The first plenary session covers an overview of SRHR performances,  including good practices, lessons learned, challenges and future directions for diverse groups and social settings in addressing the ICPD-POA and in meeting the MDGs and other related commitments.

Religion and tradition as obstacles to reproductive health program implementation, will be tackled. For sure, the Philippine’s Reproductive Health Law being withheld from implementation by the Supreme Court, will be a hot topic for discussion.

The satellite sessions will tackle such topics as humanitarian challenges and response (UNFPA Philippine), improving the sexual and reproductive health of young people, harmful practices, ending child marriage and female genital mutilation,  examining legal and policy barriers affecting young people’s access to SRH information and services, and the secret history of sex.

Interesting topics include men’s participation in family planning programs, and reproductive themes like breast and cervical cancers. There are sessions on sexual rights of lesbians and homosexuals, sexual realities of the differently disabled, safe abortion services, abortion as a criminal act, unwanted pregnancies, abortion practices in Iran and Indonesia, infertility and surrogacy.                 

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At a press conference yesterday, International Planned Parenthood Federation Director General Tewodros Melesse said that investing in young people’s reproductive and sexual health is crucial in the fulfillment of human rights for all.

Melesse said, “Today, there are 1.8 billion adolescents standing at the crossroads between childhood and adulthood – making up the largest youth generation in history. . . Adolescents need comprehensive, accurate and developmentally appropriate sexuality education to ensure they have the skills to make decisions and that national governments have the authority and the responsibility to address social and cultural barriers to the provision of sexual and reproductive health education and services for adolescents .”

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At an informal meeting with the press,  Napoleon Hernandez of the Family Planning Organization of the Philippines said, “It is lamentable that three months  have passed since the conclusion of the Supreme Court’s oral arguments on the constitutionality of the law and nothing is happening. Let us not forget that the bill languished in Congress for 14 long years, hence, the issue has been fully discussed and deliberated and should now be ready for implementation.”

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