Bulletin 17 - November 2006
WELCOME
to the ARHA e-newsletter, updating you on ARHA news
and
activities,
and bringing you a selection of general news clips
on population
and development and sexual
& reproductive health issues.
Contraception & climate change
Impact could be lessened
|
Ms Richards said the numbers of people being displaced could be lessened if population growth slowed due to improved access to contraception and family planning services.
"The Asia-Pacific region is home to two-thirds of the world's poor. At present, hundreds of millions of people are having more children than they want because of the lack of contraceptive information and facilities.
"There are no data for PNG on unmet need for family planning, but around three-quarters of married women do not use any method of contraception. In Cambodia and the Philippines respectively 30 per cent and 20 per cent of married women have an unmet need for family planning services".
RH aid in our region is inadequate
Unlikely that
2015 goals will be met
|
Many nations in the Asia-Pacific region are receiving only a fraction of the aid in basic and reproductive health they need in order to meet the UN's Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015, Executive Director Chris Richards said at an international meeting in Sydney in October. |
Ms Richards told the annual meeting of the Inter-Agency Working Group on Reproductive Health in Refugee Situations (IAWG) on 2 October that a huge shortfall was evident in the Philippines.
"The average amount needed to meet the MDGs has been calculated by World Vision as $16.20 per capita, but research by World Vision has shown that in 2003-2004 the Philippines received only 40 cents," she said.
Among other nations, Timor-Leste received $4.90, Papua New Guinea $5.20, Laos $3.50, Cambodia $7.30 and Vanuatu $4.40.
In its report How are the Neighbours? World Vision said that at the present rate of aid funding, it was unlikely many of the goals would be achieved in Australia's region, especially Goal 4, reducing child mortality, and Goal 5, reducing maternal mortality.
October's meeting in Sydney was the first IAWG meeting to be held in the Asia/Pacific region since the group's formation in 1995. IAWG comprises about 40 organisations, including NGOs, UN agencies and academic institutions and is keen to extend its membership in the Asia/Pacific region.
Report on Population Roundtables
Submissions to parliamentarians to be summarised
A report drawing together two important Roundtable Discussions in Parliament House, Canberra, is being prepared by the PGPD secretariat, which is resourced by ARHA, and will be distributed to members. The report will summarise submissions by a range of speakers to the Parliamentary Group on Population and |
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The Roundtables were entitled Sexual and Reproductive Health and the Millennium Development Goals in the Australian Aid Program - the Way Forward.
ARHA provides secretariat services to the PGPD, a group of federal and State MPs supportive of Government and other programs to improve reproductive health in Australia and overseas.
A Danish Foreign Affairs Ministry representative, Anne Marie Voetmann (above), spoke about Denmark's new policy The Promotion of Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights at the Roundtable on 11 September.
Ms Voetmann said Denmark's policy was based on the principle that "enabling people to have fewer children, if they want to, helps to stimulate development and reduce poverty, both at the individual and the macro level".
The opening statement at the PGPD Roundtable was given by Annmaree O'Keefe, Australia's HIV/AIDS Ambassador for the Asia-Pacific and a Deputy Director-General of AusAID. A full selection of papers can be found at www.pgpd.asn.au.
DOMESTIC NEWS CLIPS
Desperate for hope
The Courier Mail, 21 October
THE only Australian doctor licensed to prescribe the abortion pill, RU486, has been forced to turn away hundreds of pregnant women from her Cairns-based program. Speaking publicly for the first time since commencing the controversial treatment three months ago, Professor Caroline de Costa told yesterday how women across the country had inundated her with requests for so-called bedroom abortions. But the James Cook University obstetrician said access was restricted to Cairns women who also met federal licensing requirements of having a serious pre-existing health condition that would be worsened by continuing their pregnancy. >>>more
Baby bonus going on drugs? NSW claim
— The Dubbo Daily Liberal, 12 October
Parkes MP John Cobb has demanded proof from Dubbo MP Dawn Fardell that the Commonwealth's baby bonus is being abused. Mrs Fardell said women were abandoning children at the hospital after claiming the $4100 bonus or using the money for drugs. She has told NSW Parliament "children were having children" to get the money, sometimes being impregnated for the purpose by family members. >>>more
Offer to pregnant women: be tested for HIV
— The Age,
10 October
ALL pregnant women should be routinely offered HIV testing to help reduce the risk of transmitting it to their babies, a Federal Government advisory committee has recommended. Frank Bowden, chairman of the committee writing the new guidelines, said if women were screened during pregnancy, they would be able to take anti-viral drugs that would reduce the risk of transmission to their babies >>>more
Cervical cancer jab for girls gets Lancet backing
— The Western Australian, 7 October
Moves to fund the compulsory vaccination of all school-aged girls against the virus which causes cervical cancer received a boost yesterday after the leading medical journal The Lancet published an editorial backing the plan. The Australian-invented vaccine has sparked uproar among conservative groups internationally who say it could promote promiscuity because it protects against a sexually transmitted infection. >>>more
Mums free to breastfeed in public
— The Melbourne Herald Sun – October 13
NURSING mothers will be free to breastfeed at work, school and in other public places in South Australia under proposed changes to equal opportunity laws. he new laws will also protect people who wear a crucifix, hijab or kippah at school or at work, making it illegal to discriminate against people because of their religious appearance. >>>more
Abbott pressured on 'pro-IVF' report
— The Sydney Morning Herald, 13 October
Federal Health Minister Tony Abbott is being urged to make public a report which is believed to recommend expanding Medicare funding for in vitro fertilisation (IVF). Mr Abbott, who opposes IVF, received the independent review of fertility treatment in March but has so far refused to release it. Ian Fraser, professor of reproductive medicine at Sydney University and chairman of the review, said he believed the report should be made public. >>>more
Pregnant Aborigines 'more likely to die'
— From the West Australian, 17 October
Indigenous Australian women die during or soon after pregnancy at more than five times the rate of other Australians, according to a report by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. The report found 45.9 Aboriginal women died for each 100,000 who gave birth, compared to 8.7 deaths per 100,000 non-Aboriginal women. The Institute's Associate Professor James King said overall economic disadvantage - including income, employment, education and housing - spiralled into bad health outcomes during pregnancy. The discrepancies reflect badly on our Australian tradition of equity and fairness, Professor King said. >>>>more
ARHA lunch at Macquarie Street
The Hon Dr Meredith Burgmann MLC (pictured. speaking) and The Hon Robyn Parker MLC, hosted a luncheon for ARHA on Monday 23 October. The luncheon was held in the President's Dining Room at NSW Parliament House, with the theme "Reproductive Health and Rights in Australia Today".
The event was a great success in raising money and recruiting new members for ARHA. The next luncheon at this venue was due to be held on Friday 3 November, as this issue of the newsletter was being distributed. It was to be hosted by Linda Burney MP. For inquiries about future lunches in NSW or other States, please call Naomi Lee on 02 6282 8922 or email naomi@arha.org.au
SA MPs to meet on population
Strong interest by State parliamentarians
The SA Parliamentary |
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The Deputy Leader of the Opposition, Vickie Chapman, is the chief contact point between SA members and the PGPD Secretariat. There are now 12 State parliamentarian PGPD members.
The purpose of the meeting will be to discuss ways in which the group can promote population and development initiatives in South Australia, as well as support federal/international programs.
ARHA provides secretariat services to the PGPD, enabling politicians who support legislative and administrative reform in population and development areas to network and communicate more readily.
A wise investment: Sachs
Four steps to lowering fertility rates
Investing in reduced fertility rates will have benefits for poor and rich nations alike, Jeffrey D. Sachs, Director of the UN's Millennium Project, has written in The Scientific American. In poor countries, he says, a move to lower fertility will mean healther children, faster growth in living standards, and reduced environmental stressors. |
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"It would also be among the smartest investements that the rich countries could make for their own future well-being," he wrote.
Population increase in Africa and the Middle East could well mean another generation of underemployed and frustrated young men, more violence because of joblessness and resource scarcity, more pressures for international migration, and more ideological battles with Europe and the US.
He said transitions to low fertility rates can be achieved by a four-part strategy, promoting child survival, girls' education and gender equality, the availability of contraception and family planning, and raising farm productivity.
The full version of Dr Sachs' essay is available here.
NEW RESOURCES
A short documentary on "forests and family planning in Madagascar" has been acquired by ARHA, and is available to ARHA members and friends. The 9-minute DVD was produced by Population Action International, and profiles a local organisation seeking to preserve the rainforest by inegrating family planning with conservation efforts. |
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The local organisation, Voahary Salama ("Healthy Nature") is based on the belief that integrating natural resource management with population and health will be more effective and sustainable than unlinked, single-sector approaches.
Rare interviews with local women reveal their desire to have fewer children and underscore the critical need for family planning services in remote areas.
A compressed version can be downloaded at two speeds from Population Action International at
www.populationaction.org/multimedia/video/index.htm
DVDs suitable for large screen display can be ordered from PAI, or borrowed from Tom Gosling at ARHA (tel 02 6282 8922).
SUPPORT
ARHA
Support choice, rights, health and 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 members-only e-bulletins
- Priority invitations to our seminars and events
- Mail outs on the latest information on reproductive health and 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.
INTERNATIONAL CLIPS
Future of sexual and reproductive health
at tipping point according to global study
RxPG News - 1 November 2006
The first-ever global study of sexual and reproductive health - to be published in the medical journal The Lancet starting this week - shows a picture of declining financial support, increased political interference and an overall reluctance to tackle threats to sexual and reproductive health. Far from making progress we seem to have been going backwards since the notion of reproductive health was born in Cairo in 1994. The issue is dropping down the international agenda and governments seem to be reluctant to tackle this most fundamental threat to health and well-being. >>>more
Vietnam gets tough on illegal operators
— Thahn Nien Daily, 10 October
The Vietnamese government is cracking down on illegal foetal sex testing and abortion-related activities and has announced fines of up to 30 million dong (AU$2,500). Operators helping determine the sex of a fetus for profit, either by traditional or medical means, can be fined up to 1 million dong (AU$83). >>>more
Abortion not related to breast cancer risk
— Medscape, 16 October
NEW YORK - Induced abortion does not affect the risk of breast cancer, according to findings published in the International Journal of Cancer. The researchers examined the role of spontaneous and induced abortion on breast cancer risk among 267,361 women enrolled in a European study between 1992 and 2000. The data came from 20 centers across nine countries. >>>more
'Maputo Plan' aims for universal RH access
— The Lilongwe Chronicle, 17 October
African Union (AU) health ministers meeting in Maputo, Mozambique last week adopted a continental policy framework aiming for universal access to reproductive health services in Africa by 2015, but failed to agree on the issue of unsafe abortions. Dr Thomas Bisika said countries agreed to tackle abortion differently, based on their social environments. Mozambique's National Health Director Mouzinho Saide said the framework integrated HIV, reproductive health and child health care, and was a very important step in Africa. "We can now help each other go in the same direction," she said. >>>more
American poor cannot afford contraception
— Portsmouth Herald, 13 October
A New Hampshire Democrat Senator running for re-election was told by community representatives recently that many women could not afford contraception. Speaking at a roundtable organised by Senator Matha Clark, Brigit Ordway of the Feminist Health Center said she sees women who can't afford contraception because they are uninsured or their insurance barely covers it. "Women, will say 'I just couldn't get it last month because I didn't have the $50," she said. >>>more
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.
