Bulletin 16
September 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.


           Inside this issue:
          ARHA in the News | ARHA Update |ARHA Public Education | International Events               International News | Domestic News | New Resources | Support ARHA

ARHA IN THE NEWS

ARHA CEO Interviewed on Radio

Chris Richards was interview on ABC radio Asia Pacific on 21 August regarding Australian overseas aid and provision for abortion. The story was called 'Abortion issue confronts Canberra's aid policy.' Please read the The ABC Radio website outline below:

The issue of abortion is again confronting Australia's aid policy in the Asia Pacific. Canberra says reproductive health issues are being given a new priority in the government's new health policy just released for development assistance. The Australian Reproductive Health Alliance says the high priority for women's health in the aid program will conflict with Australia's refusal to give aid for abortions. The lobby group says Australia stands with the U-S as the only donor country to place explicit restrictions on its aid for family planning.

To listen to the interview click here.

PGPD Roundtables gain media exposure for the group and the family planning guidelines

The final Parliamentary Group on Population & Development (PGPD) Roundtable was held on Monday 11 September with speakers which included Annmaree O’Keeffe, Deputy Director-General, AusAID Global Programs Division, HIV/AIDS Ambassador for the Asia-Pacific, Anne Marie Tyndeskov Voetmann, Department of Foreign Affairs of Denmark and Dr Suzanne Belton from Chalres Darwin University, please see the PGPD website for further submission details.

Both roundtables received good media coverage which included articles and interviews in the Sydney Morning Herald, the Canberra Times, ABC Radio National, Kaiser Network and the Australian Associated Press.


PGPD Roundtable Panel

ARHA Guardian Weekly Letter to the Editor

In response to the article in the international newspaper Guardian Weekly, High birthrate threatens to trap Africa in cycle of poverty, ARHA's CEO and policy officer responded with two letters to the editor both of which were published in the following issue.

To read the letters please click here.

ARHA PUBLIC EDUCATION

ARHA’s policy officer Jenny Goldie spoke to a U3A (University of the Third Age) class in Canberra on August 15 about ARHA and about the problems of high population growth rates in our region, particularly Timor Leste and the Solomon Islands. Jenny also spoke at the bi-monthly dinner of the Lyceum Club in Sydney on 7 September about various population issues and about ARHA.

Jenny will show the Population Action International DVD Finding Balance: Forests and Family Planning in Madagascar to the ACT branch of Sustainable Population Australia on 16 September and to another U3A class in Wollongong on October 16.

Jenny will also participate in a debate in Canberra about the Australian Overseas Aid program on 17 October.

INTERNATIONAL EVENTS
International AIDS Conference 2006

The International AIDS conference was held from the 13-18 August. Kaiser Network covered the event live on the web and have a fantastic webite with webcasts, transcripts, and podcasts of all the conference sessions. Below are a selection of relevant highlights from the conference:

High-Level Dialogue on International Migration and Development

The UN General Assembly's high-level dialogue will take place on 14 and 15 September 2006 in New York.

The purpose is to discuss international migration and development and identify appropriate ways and means to maximise the development benefits and minimise the negative impacts. >>>more

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Doctors aim to make global births safer
BBC News, September 2

About 60m mothers in the developing world give birth at home every year without a skilled person to help.
More than half a million women die each year through pregnancy-related conditions, because they do not have access to the most basic care.
In an effort to make pregnancy and giving birth safer, three leading medical organisations have teamed up to produce a practical birth manual to be used by health workers in the developing world.
The manual has been produced by the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM) with the Liverpool Associates in Tropical Health and the Royal College of Obstetrics and Gynaecology (RCOG). >>>more

High birthrate threatens to trap Africa in cycle of poverty - Guardian Weekly, August 31

There are 27.7 million people in Uganda. But by 2025 the population will almost double to 56 million, close to that of Britain, which has a similar land mass. In 44 years its population will have grown by nearly as much as China's.
"You look at these numbers and think 'that's impossible'," said Carl Haub, senior demographer at the US-based Population Reference Bureau, whose latest global projections show Uganda as the fastest-growing country in the world. Midway through the 21st century, if current birthrates persist, Uganda will be the world's 12th most populous country with 130 million people - more than Russia or Japan.
Startling as they are, the projections are feasible, and a glance at some of the variables shows why. A typical Ugandan woman gives birth to seven children - an extraordinarily high fertility rate that has remained largely unchanged for more than 30 years. Half the population is under 15, and will soon move into childbearing age. Only one in five married women has access to contraception. >>>more

Focus in AIDS war swings back to prevention, helping women - AFP, August 19

TORONTO - Like generals locked in strategic debate about how to prosecute a war where no end is in sight, campaigners in the global AIDS pandemic broadly divide into two camps.
On one side, there are the "treaters," those who demand action for providing precious antiretroviral drugs to people with the AIDS virus. This would save lives, prevent new additions to the tragic roll call of children orphaned by AIDS and ease the costs to struggling economies inflicted by AIDS deaths.
On the other side are the "preventers": those who, while agreeing treatment access is vital, also call for money and energies to be focussed more on preventing HIV infections in the first place. >>>more

Fiji: Health Adviser Says no to Legalise Abortions
Fiji Live, August 16

Fiji’s National Adviser on Family Health, Dr Josiah Famuela, does not support a call for abortions to be made legal in the country.
There are some restricted cases where abortion is permitted but two women’s organisations say terminations should be decriminalised and made more widely available.
This follows an increase in the number of pre-teen pregnancies and several cases of infanticide.
The Fiji Women’s Rights Movement said women were forced to have illegal abortions in backstreet alleys which were unsafe when instead they should be able to go to government clinics supervised by doctors.
But, Dr Famuela told Radio New Zealand International there are other options available.
"A woman at that stage should be seeking counselling and social assistance as to what to do with her baby." >>>more

>>>More International News

SUPPORT ARHA

Support choice, rights, health & freedom
Since ARHA's creation in 1995, we have been entirely funded by international grant making agencies. However, the time has come for ARHA to seek public support from within Australia and internationally.
There are several ways you can support ARHA in its work to protect and promote reproductive health.

Become an ARHA member
By becoming a member of ARHA you will be demonstrating your support for the work that we do and your commitment to reproductive rights and health.As an ARHA member you will have the benefit of:
  • Monthly member's only e-bulletins
  • Priority invitations to our seminars & events
  • Mail outs on the latest information on reproductive health & population issues
  • An annual advance copy of the UNPFA's State of the World Population Report
  • Opportunity to contribute to our Campaigns
  • Access to our library

You can Join online or phone us for a membership application form on (02) 62828922

Donate
If you would like to donate to ARHA, it is now easier than ever, simply visit our online donation page or call us on 0262828922.

Volunteer
ARHA volunteers offer support in many different ways.

  • We have pro bono legal support and would be grateful for any other professional support that members can offer.
  • We need volunteers to assist with planning and coordination of fundraising and public relations activities.
  • We need office support for busy periods.

If you are interested in volunteering your services to ARHA then please call Naomi Lee on 02 62828922.

ARHA UPDATE

ARHA has sucessfully run four events in the since the beginning of August including a photographic exhibition  about population and the environment , two parliamentary roundtable  discussions, the launch of the UNFPA's State of the World Population Report for 2006 and a very well attended seminar on women and migration .

Pregnancy Counselling Bill Update

ARHA has also been involved in the recent Senate inquiry into the 'Transparent Advertising and Notification of Pregnancy Counselling Services Bill 2005.' ARHA made a submission to the inquiry, was called to give evidence at the hearings and attended the presentation of the Get Up petition of over 13,000 signatures to the Senators.

The Senate committee inquiry heard evidence regarding a legal loophole where most pregnancy counselling services are currently exempt from misleading and deceptive advertising laws and looked at whether counselling provided by Australian Government-funded pregnancy counselling services are "objective, non-directive, and includes information on all three pregnancy options".

The report of the committee inquiry into pregnancy counselling was tabled in the Senate on the 17 August.  The Government Chair of the committee, Senator Humphries, cast the deciding vote which sadly recommended that the bill be rejected.

There again was cross-party support from the women senators in favour of the bill and their minority report, along with the full committee report can be found on the Australian parliament website.

Seminar on 'Women & Migration

On the 6th September, as the secretariat of the Parliamentary Group on Population and Development (PGPD), ARHA organised a seminar to mark the launch of the UNFPA State of the World Population report 2006.

The public seminar was held in Parliament House, and was attended by over 60 academics, politicians, experts, students and the public. The Seminar was opened by PGPD honorary secretary, Marise Payne. Presenters included the Minister for Immigration & Multicultural Affairs, Senator Amanda Vanstone and Khin Mar Mar Kyi, a refugee from Burma now working at the Cross Cultural Resource Centre at ANU among others.

  • Senator the Hon Amanda Vanstone - Minister for Immigration & Multicultural Affairs        (Audio)

  • Khin Mar Mar Kyi - Cross Cultural Resource Centre, ANU
    Hidden Stories: Cost of Burmese militarization on women and children              (Text) or (Audio)

  • Mr Ian Howie - UNFPA Representative in Vietnam
      (Report launch text) or (Audio from the seminar)

The audio and text of the other speeches and papers are available on the ARHA website.


Mr Ian Howie, UNFPA representative in Vietnam

View more photos from the seminar

Common Ground Photographic Exhibition Opening

The Common Ground: Visions Shared exhibition was launched in Canberra in August and was a great success. The opening raised over $800 for the Alola Foundation and the Eda Mauri Charity.

If you missed the exhibition please visit the Common Ground website to view the photos.


 From left to right: His Excellency Mr Charles Lepani, PNG High Commissioner, Kelsey Powell, SH&FPA, Steven Nowakowski, photographer, Chris Richards, CEO ARHA, the Hon Duncan Kerr SC MP and His Excellency, Mr Hernani Coelho da Silva, Timor-leste Ambassador

View more photos from the exhibition opening

Common Ground is an awareness raising & advocacy project which promotes the links between population, environment and development issues. Common Ground is jointly managed by ARHA, Sexual Health and Family Planning Australia and the Cairns & Far North Environment Centre.

NEW RESOURCES  

UNFPA State of the World Population Report

The report, ' A passage to hope: women and international migration', was launched internationally on the 6th September. Some of the highlights, and key messages can be found below:

Resource Pack on Gender and HIV/AIDS

Developed by the UNAIDS Inter-Agency Task Team on Gender and HIV/AIDS, this Resource Pack aims to strengthen the impact of national HIV/AIDS programmes by tackling a key underlying factor that fuels the epidemic: gender inequality. The Resource Pack analyses the impact of gender relations on the AIDS epidemic and provides guidance, including tools for effective advocacy and programming and contains the following documents:

This publication is part of a wider advocacy strategy to raise awareness on child marriage and its effects on communities. It is also part of the wider initiative on preventing HIV infection, particularly among adolescent girls, which is led by the United Nations Global Coalition on Women and AIDS, with the support of UNFPA, IPPF and Young Positives. It aims to stimulate decision-makers worldwide, in particular government policy-makers, donors, and international development agencies, to take all necessary measures to end this violation of rights.
The publication outlines this global problem and the reasons why child marriage persists, assesses how it contravenes many international human rights standards, and then provides policy and programmatic recommendations.

Integrating Reproductive Health and HIV/AIDS Programs - Strategic Opportunities for PEPFAR

Reproductive health and HIV services have generally been funded separately and operated vertically, which means that clients see a different provider for each health service. This Report by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) Task Force on HIV/AIDS, discusses the centrality of integration, building on existing data, current programs, and research recently conducted in the field.

DOMESTIC NEWS

Ban on funding foreign abortion services in doubt
SMH, September 11
AUSTRALIA is reviewing its ban on foreign aid for abortion services, imposed a decade ago in response to pressure from the now retired anti-abortion senator Brian Harradine.
The Government's rethink follows calls from MPs who argue that the policy ignored the thousands of deaths a year in neighbouring countries caused by botched abortions.
Sharman Stone, a minister who chairs a bipartisan MPs' group on foreign aid issues, said yesterday that the Foreign Minister, Alexander Downer, had asked for a review of the policy.
Since 1996 AusAID has been unable to fund activities involving abortion training or services or other activities involving abortion drugs.
Any loosening of the anti-abortion ban is likely to be resisted by the Minister for Health, Tony Abbott, who has said he is comfortable with the existing policy. >>>more

NSW, Vic rule out abortion law changes
The Age, August 24
NSW and Victoria have ruled out changing their abortion laws following the conviction of a Sydney doctor.
Dr Suman Sood was on Thursday found guilty in the NSW Supreme Court on two charges of unlawfully giving abortion drugs to a young woman in May 2002, with each charge carrying a maximum 10-year jail term.
The case has prompted calls from medical groups for laws to be changed to project abortion providers, and their patients, from the threat of criminal prosecution.
NSW Premier Morris Iemma said he did not see the need for any change in the law. >>>more

>>>More domestic News

 

 

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.