ARHA E-Newsletter

The public Senate Committee inquiry on the Transparent Advertising and Notification of Pregnancy Counselling Services Bill 2005 commenced in the Senate on the 22 June. The Bill is directed at prohibiting misleading and deceptive advertising of pregnancy counselling services, see ARHA's submission and press release.

ARHA's CEO, Chris Richards, appeared before the senate committee along with the National Foundation of Australian Women's representative Marie Coleman.

At the hearing Chris Richards stated that "ARHA supports the transparent advertising bill because, amongst other things, it seeks to provide Australian families with universal access to information about the full range of legally available options for managing an aspect of reproductive health—namely, a pregnancy, whether wanted, unwanted or planned. The only government service funded solely for pregnancy counselling and advice does not currently provide the full range of information about all options. This is a practice that discriminates against women and does not protect their rights to information and education about unwanted or unplanned pregnancy, including abortion." >>>more

The inquires will continue on the 18 July in Melbourne, 19 July in Sydney and conclude on the 20 July in Adelaide with the report due by the 17 August, see the senate website for more details.

In February this year the Australian Parliament stripped the Health Minister of the power of veto over abortifacients, giving control to the Therapeutic Goods Administration.

The move to import RU486 by pharmaceutical companies has however been slow . As yet none have made an application to import the drug because of the large costs incurred in the initial application.

There are also claims that the health minister and his staff have made private representations warning of repercussions for pharmaceutical companies if the abortion pill was marketed in Australia. The government, however, denies applying any pressure in order to stop RU486 being imported.

The lack of progress has prompted Marie Stopes International (Australia) to start preparations to use the drug methotrexate as an alternative to RU486 in a pilot program involving 100 women in the early stages of pregnancy from next month in Sydney. Methotrexate is safely used as a method of medical abortion in many countries and is currently able to be used in Australia for that purpose. Of the two options however, RU486 is seen as preferable.

ARHA is one of the three members of Common Ground which is an awareness raising and advocacy project focusing on the links between family planning, the environment and population. The other members are Sexual Health & Family Planning Australia (SH&FPA) and Friends of the Earth (FoE).

Common Ground has a recently published a quarterly July newsletter and a factsheet on "Population, Environment & Security."

Common Ground is also planning a photo exhibition entitled "Common Ground: visions shared" which displays photographs taken from recent study tours to East Timor and Papua New Guinea with a focus on the MDGs and sexual and reproductive health.

Common Ground: visions shared
14-18 August
9am-5pm
Legislative Assembly, Canberra
Enquiries: Gillian (02) 62305255

Australian Nobel laureate Peter Doherty recently warned that with no AIDS vaccine in sight, countries had to promote the use of condoms.

Prof Doherty, who shared the 1996 Nobel Prize for physiology or medicine, criticised both US President George W. Bush and the former Australian Senator Brian Harradine for ignoring human sexuality and pushing abstinence over contraceptive protection.

Prof Doherty, speaking at the Emerging Pacific Leaders Dialogue said the ABC approach to HIV prevention should realistically stand for: "Acknowledge human sexuality, be realistic, use a condom."

This is particularly important in the Asia-pacific region where Papua New Guinea has become the "Africa of the Pacific" in terms of HIV/AIDS, with reported infection rates rising at an alarming rate while a significant number of cases go undetected.

For more information read:
HIV has Struck 1 in 80 in PNG
Bush unrealistic in AIDS fight: Doherty

NEW UNESCAP POLICY BRIEF

"Turning the tide against HIV/AIDS: Targeting Youth"
The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) is urgently calling on Asia-Pacific governments to target young people in the fight against HIV/AIDS.
“Young people are the hardest hit – half of all new infections have occurred among youth,” warns the report. It says approximately 60 per cent of new HIV infections in Thailand and Vietnam each year are among young people.
Poverty, gender discrimination and lack of access to information and health services have increased youth vulnerability to HIV, the UNESCAP report says. >>> more

The number of HIV/AIDS cases remains low on most Pacific islands, but rising sexually transmitted infections could help spread the virus in populations where condom use is low, according to a new study. The report by the Secretariat of the Pacific Community and WHO looks at HIV/AIDS in Fiji, Kiribati, Samoa, the Solomon Islands, Tonga and Vanuatu. While no HIV infections were detected during the survey, chlamydia infections were found in nearly one in five pregnant women, reaching 29 per cent in Fiji. The rates were highest among women younger than 25. >>> more


Bulletin 14 June/July 2006 Welcome to the ARHA e-newsletter, providing updates on ARHA news and activities, as well as the latest news on population & development and sexual & reproductive health. In this Issue: Australian Senate Inquiry into Pregnancy Counselling Bill \| Roundtable on SRH in Australian Aid program \| Update on RU486 \|Common Ground \| World Population Day \| Prominent Australian Criticises Abstinence \| New head of IPPF \| UNGASS Outcomes \| New UNESCAP HIV Policy Brief SPC/WHO Study: Rising Chlamydia in Pacific \| EuroNGOs Conference \| AIDS Conference 2006 International News \| Domestic News \| New Resource \| About ARHA
SENATE INQUIRY INTO PREGNANCY COUNSELLING SERVICES BILL The public Senate Committee inquiry on the Transparent Advertising and Notification of Pregnancy Counselling Services Bill 2005 commenced in the Senate on the 22 June. The Bill is directed at prohibiting misleading and deceptive advertising of pregnancy counselling services, see ARHA's submission and press release. ARHA's CEO, Chris Richards, appeared before the senate committee along with the National Foundation of Australian Women's representative Marie Coleman. At the hearing Chris Richards stated that "ARHA supports the transparent advertising bill because, amongst other things, it seeks to provide Australian families with universal access to information about the full range of legally available options for managing an aspect of reproductive health—namely, a pregnancy, whether wanted, unwanted or planned. The only government service funded solely for pregnancy counselling and advice does not currently provide the full range of information about all options. This is a practice that discriminates against women and does not protect their rights to information and education about unwanted or unplanned pregnancy, including abortion." >>>more The inquires will continue on the 18 July in Melbourne, 19 July in Sydney and conclude on the 20 July in Adelaide with the report due by the 17 August, see the senate website for more details. UPDATE ON RU486 In February this year the Australian Parliament stripped the Health Minister of the power of veto over abortifacients, giving control to the Therapeutic Goods Administration. The move to import RU486 by pharmaceutical companies has however been slow . As yet none have made an application to import the drug because of the large costs incurred in the initial application. There are also claims that the health minister and his staff have made private representations warning of repercussions for pharmaceutical companies if the abortion pill was marketed in Australia. The government, however, denies applying any pressure in order to stop RU486 being imported. The lack of progress has prompted Marie Stopes International (Australia) to start preparations to use the drug methotrexate as an alternative to RU486 in a pilot program involving 100 women in the early stages of pregnancy from next month in Sydney. Methotrexate is safely used as a method of medical abortion in many countries and is currently able to be used in Australia for that purpose. Of the two options however, RU486 is seen as preferable. COMMON GROUND UPDATE ARHA is one of the three members of Common Ground which is an awareness raising and advocacy project focusing on the links between family planning, the environment and population. The other members are Sexual Health & Family Planning Australia (SH&FPA) and Friends of the Earth (FoE). Common Ground has a recently published a quarterly July newsletter and a factsheet on "Population, Environment & Security." Common Ground is also planning a photo exhibition entitled "Common Ground: visions shared" which displays photographs taken from recent study tours to East Timor and Papua New Guinea with a focus on the MDGs and sexual and reproductive health. All are welcome to attend: Common Ground: visions shared 14-18 August 9am-5pm Legislative Assembly, Canberra Enquiries: Gillian (02) 62305255 AUSTRALIAN NOBEL LAUREATE CRITICISES ABSTINENCE Australian Nobel laureate Peter Doherty recently warned that with no AIDS vaccine in sight, countries had to promote the use of condoms. Prof Doherty, who shared the 1996 Nobel Prize for physiology or medicine, criticised both US President George W. Bush and the former Australian Senator Brian Harradine for ignoring human sexuality and pushing abstinence over contraceptive protection. Prof Doherty, speaking at the Emerging Pacific Leaders Dialogue said the ABC approach to HIV prevention should realistically stand for: "Acknowledge human sexuality, be realistic, use a condom." This is particularly important in the Asia-pacific region where Papua New Guinea has become the "Africa of the Pacific" in terms of HIV/AIDS, with reported infection rates rising at an alarming rate while a significant number of cases go undetected. For more information read: HIV has Struck 1 in 80 in PNG Bush unrealistic in AIDS fight: Doherty NEW UNESCAP POLICY BRIEF "Turning the tide against HIV/AIDS: Targeting Youth" The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) is urgently calling on Asia-Pacific governments to target young people in the fight against HIV/AIDS. “Young people are the hardest hit – half of all new infections have occurred among youth,” warns the report. It says approximately 60 per cent of new HIV infections in Thailand and Vietnam each year are among young people. Poverty, gender discrimination and lack of access to information and health services have increased youth vulnerability to HIV, the UNESCAP report says. >>> more STUDY:RISING CHLAMYDIA INFECTIONS IN PACIFIC The number of HIV/AIDS cases remains low on most Pacific islands, but rising sexually transmitted infections could help spread the virus in populations where condom use is low, according to a new study. The report by the Secretariat of the Pacific Community and WHO looks at HIV/AIDS in Fiji, Kiribati, Samoa, the Solomon Islands, Tonga and Vanuatu. While no HIV infections were detected during the survey, chlamydia infections were found in nearly one in five pregnant women, reaching 29 per cent in Fiji. The rates were highest among women younger than 25. >>> more INTERNATIONAL NEWS Population Day focuses on youth Viet Nam News — July 6 Report Examines How HIV/AIDS Affects Women Kaiser network.org — June 27 Nepal: Number of women having safe abortion increasing Gorkhapatra — June 24 Cameroon girls battle 'breast ironing' BBC News — June 23 UN Agencies Team up to Tackle Worsening Sexual and Reproductive Health Worldwide UN News — June 21 >>>More International News DOMESTIC NEWS Pregnancy advisory group named AAP — July 4 STD cases on rise in black children The Australian — June 23 Petition calls for unbiased Govt-funded pregnancy counselling ABC News — June 21 >>>More domestic News	ROUNDTABLE ON SEXUAL & REPRODUCITVE HEALTH IN THE AUSTRALIAN AID PROGRAM The Parliamentary Group on Population and Development is holding a roundtable on ‘Sexual and reproductive health and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in the Australian Aid program – the way forward’. There will be two sessions one on Monday 14 August and the other on Monday 11 September 2006, between 8:30am -12:30pm. The purpose of the roundtable is to raise awareness within the Australian Parliament about how improved sexual and reproductive health (SRH) underpins all of the MDGs. The roundtable will provide an opportunity to discuss with parliamentarians key aspects of current thinking on SRH especially in the Asia Pacific region. This could include family planning, HIV/AIDS, maternal health, environmental degradation, adolescent health, men’s SRH and SRH in conflict and emergency settings. Submissions must be received by no later than 9am 24 July 2006. Attachments or supplementary information may be attached. For further information, contact the PGPD Secretariat at: secretariat@pgpd.asn.au or phone Regan Field on (02) 6282 8922. WORLD POPULATION DAY The focus of this year's World Population Day is on young people (ages 10 to 24). Today’s adolescents and youth represent the biggest generation in human history. Their issues, especially those of girls, very young adolescents and married adolescents, need special attention. "Sexual and reproductive health information and services are a particularly important - though often neglected - pillar of youth empowerment. Their availability can enable young men and women to make responsible and informed choices to protect themselves. It can help the global fight against AIDS, and it can allow the young to make better decisions about starting families" — World Population Day 2006 message from Kofi Annan, UN Secretary-General >>>more - Half of the world’s people are under the age of 25. Some three billion children and young people are, or will soon be, of reproductive age. - In 57 developing countries, including the Soloman Islands and East Timor, over 40 per cent of the population is under 15. - Half of all new HIV infections occur among young people—6,000 every day, and young women are disproportionately affected. Among people living with HIV/AIDS under 24, two thirds are young women. - Pregnancy is a leading cause of death for young women aged 15 to 19 worldwide, with complications of childbirth and unsafe abortion being the major factors. >>>more UNGASS 2006 OUTCOMES Uniting the world against AIDS Civil society groups from around the world denounced the final UN Political Declaration on HIV/AIDS from UNGASS. UN Member States did not commit to hard targets on funding, prevention, care and treatment. They did not acknowledge some of the most vulnerable groups including injecting drug users, sex workers and men who have sex with men, where some of today’s fastest growing HIV epidemics are seen. There has however been a strong recognition in the declaration of the alarming feminisation of the pandemic. Commitments were made to ensure that women can exercise their right to have control over their sexuality and to the goal of achieving universal access to reproductive health by 2015. Final Political Declaration on HIV/AIDS Closing remarks on 2006 High-Level Meeting on AIDS by Assembly President Jan Eliasson EURONGOs CONFERENCE ARHA's CEO, Christina Richards, attended the recent EuroNGOS conference entitled "Advancing Sexual & Reproductive Health and Rights Internationally: What Role for the Enlarged EU?" Read Ms Richard's presentation from the conference: "Are You For 86? Mifepristone in Australia: Australian pro-choice experience of removing legal barriers to medical abortion" INTERNATIONAL AIDS CONFERENCE 2006 The International AIDS Conference will be held in Toronto Canada from the 13-18 August. The Asia-Pacific Alliance, an NGO network which ARHA is a member of, will be hosting a satellite session on "The Intimate Link: Sexual Reproductive Health & Rights and HIV" which aims to provide the AIDS community with evidence of how these linkages can save on costs, improve services for the two communities. The full program is available here. DR GILL GREER APPOINTED NEW HEAD OF IPPF ARHA welcomes the appointment of the Executive Director of the Family Planning Association of New Zealand, Dr Gill Greer, as the new Director-General of the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF). ARHA CEO, Christina Richards said "Gill's appointment to this key role will no doubt help to raise the profile about the unique sexual and reproductive health care needs of the Asia Pacific region including the issue of maternal deaths through unsafe abortion. Gill's commitment to continue IPPF's work in linking HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment and care programmes more centrally to sexual and reproductive health is particularly welcome given the HIV/AIDS epidemic in PNG." Dr Greer has been the Executive Director of the New Zealand Family Planning Association since 1998. She also chairs the Asia Pacific Alliance and the New Zealand NGO Ministry of Health Forum NEW RESOURCE Now you can search the ARHA website which makes it easier and quicker to locate important information and resources on reproductive health. Search Now JOIN OR DONATE TO ARHA If you would like to join or donate to ARHA, it is now easier than ever. Simply visit our join or donation pages. Becoming a member of ARHA will enable you to be kept up to date with current issues concerning Reproductive Health and Development in Australian and Internationally. Your contributions will also help us continue our work. As a member you will have the benefit of: Monthly e-bulletins Invitations to our events Access to our library Mail outs on the latest information on S&RH and population issues Opportunity to contribute to our Campaigns Join Now
The Australian Reproductive Health Alliance (ARHA) www.arha.org.au Our mission is to promote public support for enhanced reproductive and sexual health in Australia and internationally, and promote the advancement of the status of women and girls.