On 14-15 October 2009, 28 representatives from 5 of the 6 regions of the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) including IPPF Director-General, Dr. Gill Greer, 3 Regional Directors and 12 delegates from 4 IPPF Member Associations (Dominican Republic, Rwanda, Sudan, Tuvalu) gathered in Brussels to attend an International Workshop on Poverty Eradication and Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights.
This workshop marked the completion of the Sexual and Reproductive Health EC/ACP/IPPF/UNFPA Joint Programme: a 6-year programme funded by the European Commission through the 8th Development Fund with support from the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group of States and implemented by IPPF and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).
The European Commission committed a total of € 32 million to this programme, of which approximately € 10 million was granted to IPPF and € 20 million to United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). The funds were released by the EC in 2002 to support IPPF and UNFPA activities that would otherwise not have been possible due to the reinstatement of the “Global Gag Rule”, following George W. Bush’s first election in 2001.
The purpose of the programme was to help 22 of the poorest ACP countries to manage and to improve their own delivery of Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) care; also to ensure that the most vulnerable and socially excluded groups had access to these services.
IPPF and UNFPA representatives presented the results of their joint work to some 130 delegates at the workshop, including ministers of health from ACP countries, key-decision makers from European institutions and donor governments as well as UN agencies and civil society.
UNFPA and IPPF played complementary roles in the implementation of the programme, based on their respective mandates and forces.
IPPF and UNFPA also produced for the occasion a joint publication entitled: "Towards poverty eradication – Working in partnership to improve sexual and reproductive health and rights” which provides a comprehensive overview of the SRH programme activities and outcomes in each of the 23 project locations. The 23 country sheets highlight key statistics, achievements and lessons learned from each country project.
IPPF supported projects in 13 ACP countries which are among the poorest in their respective regions: the Republic of Congo (Congo Brazzaville), the Dominican Republic, the Gambia, Haiti, Lesotho, Madagascar, Mauritania, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Tuvalu and Zambia. These countries all fit into a similar demographic profile characterized by a young population, high fertility and high maternal mortality rates.
According to the Conclusions and Recommendations that were issued at the end of the workshop, many countries are unlikely to achieve the Millennium Development Goal 5 to improve maternal health and achieve universal access to reproductive health by 2015, unless action is taken urgently.
It was recommended that, political and long-term, predictable financial commitments to achieving the ICPD Programme of Action and the Millennium Development Goals remain a global priority.
Recommendations also highlighted the importance of linking SRH and HIV, mainstreaming gender in SRHR, further promoting civil society participation and policy dialogue at country level andfocusing on the SRH needs of young people, including the needs of vulnerable or marginalized young people.
"Towards poverty eradication”: http://www.ippf.org/en/Resources/Reports-reviews/Poverty+eradication+and+sexual+and+reproductive+health+and+rights.htm
Workshop Conclusions and Recommendations, should soon be available via EuropeAidwebsite: http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/what/health/index_en.htm