Mother and baby, Timor-Leste
Baby in a bilum, PNG
ARHA's mission is to promote public support for enhanced reproductive and sexual health in Australia and internationally, and to promote the advancement of the status of women and girls. >>> Who we are, what we do, why we do it
17 June 2009 - UN Human Rights Council passed a landmark resolution recognising maternal mortality as a human rights issue.
Click here to read the resolution
Click here to read a press release from Action Canada for Population and Development, the Youth Coalition for Sexual and Reproductive Rights and the Centre for Reproductive Rights.
Media Release, 10th March 2009
Australian Reproductive Health Alliance welcomes changes to AusAid Family Planning Guidelines
"This will save lives "
For PDF click here
Click here for the LATEST SEXUAL AND REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH NEWS HEADLINES from international and domestic media
ARHA is now on Facebook! Search for 'Australian Reproductive Health Alliance' to join our group.
US President Barack Obama removes the Global Gag Rule, 24 January 2009
President Obama's Memorandum
Sexual and Reproductive Health Programme in Crisis and Post-Crisis Situations (SPRINT)
Establishing sexual and reproductive health services in times of crisis is essential as it helps save lives. As a new programme, the SPRINT Initiative aims to increase the regional capacity of stakeholders to implement the Minimum Initial Services Package (MISP) for sexual and reproductive health in crises. The initiative is funded by AusAID and coordinated by the International Planned Parenthood Federation – East & Southeast Asia and the Pacific. The SPRINT Initiative was launched at Parliament House in Canberra on 18 February 2008. The launch was followed by a seminar for NGOs. >>>>SPRINT leaflet >>>>Radio Australia broadcast >>>>SPRINT Press Release >>>>AusAID Press Release >>>>Canberra Times article
Act now or miss mother and child survival targets, international leaders say at the UN Summit on the Millennium Development Goals in New York, 25 September. Read the press release from the special event, “Commitment to Progress for Mothers, Newborns and Children” co-hosted by Chile, Finland and the United Republic of Tanzania.
HOW THE RU486 DEBATE WAS WON An article about the behind-the-scenes work involved in historic vote in 2006 to make RU486 more freely available Download=1.5Mb
|
"Family Planning could provide more benefits to more people at less cost than any other single technology now available to the human race." -- James Grant, UNICEF Annual Report, 1992
At the International Conference on Population and Development in Cairo in 1994, the Australian Government undertook to “do its utmost to remove all remaining barriers to family planning services, information and education, as well as to help support the provision of reproductive health and family planning services as widely as possible”.
"You have got to fight, fight, fight to put mother and child health at the forefront, and we are fighting like hell." -- Rep. Gwen Moore, Member of U.S. House of Representatives at the Women Deliver Conference, UK, October 2007
"Many leaders still don't understand that as many as two in five pregnancies worldwide aren't intended or welcomed—a problem that can be addressed with education and the provision of basic reproductive health services." -- Worldwatch Institute, October 2007
SPRINT Update For the latest SPRINT newsletter click here
The SPRINT Initiative recently concluded three regional Training of Trainers (ToTs) on the Minimum Initial Service Package (MISP) for Sexual and Reproductive Health in Crises. The pilot ToTs, organised by IPPF and UNFPA, aimed to build national capacities to integrate SRH into emergency responses.
By the end of the trainings, around120 participants from over 25 different organizations based in East, Southeast Asia and the Pacific region participated. The ToTs took place in Kuala Lumpur in April and Sydney and Fiji in July.
ARHA is involved in the advocacy component of SPRINT, particularly in relation to promoting the Initiative to parliamentarians in Australia. ARHA’s CEO Jane Singleton AM and Parliamentary Group on Population and Development member Senator Kerry Nettle attended part of the Kuala Lumper ToT.
The Fiji ToT targeted the Pacific islands and was attended by key representatives from UNFPA Regional Office, Ministries of Health, National Red Cross Societies and IPPF Member Associations. Islands such as Timor Leste, Tokelau, Federated States of Micronesia and Niue were also represented.
Next steps for the SPRINT Initiative include working together with countries as they plan for the roll out of echo-trainings at the national level and providing technical assistance in developing project proposals and fundraising for comprehensiveSRH in post-crisis situations. ARHA will continue to advocate to parliamentarians, policy-makers, donors and the general public. For more information click here
SPRINT RESPONSE TO CYCLONE NARGIS, MYANMAR, May 2008
Read the latest update from SPRINT (Sexual and Reproductive Health Programme in Crisis and Post-Crisis Situations in East, Southeast Asia and the Pacific) For more information on the relief effort in Myanmar - UNHCR website ReliefWeb AusAID media release, 7 May 2008 - Australian Assistance to Cyclone-Ravaged Burma
THE STATUS OF WOMEN "No matter where a girl is born, she should be able to live free of discrimination and violence. She should be able to enjoy respect of her human rights and fundamental freedoms." - Statement, 26 February 2007 at the Commission on the Status of Women by the Executive Director of the UN Population Fund, Thoraya Obaid
* Will the world add 2.5 billion or 5 billion by 2050? * UNFPA update: 10% of aid for reproductive health * UN adopts "universal access" for reproductive heatlh * International Conference on Population & Development * ICPD definition of reproductive health * Advancing the goals of ICPD and the Millennium Summit * The Double Dividend of Gender Equity - UNICEF 2007 * On the light side: abstinence-only sex education - Roy Zimmerman
Google our website Go to newsclip archives
Latest Headlines return to top Note: these headlines are an information resource and reflect a diversity of news and views, not necessarily ARHA's
JULY 2009
Indigenous teenage pregnancies could worsen: AMA - ABC News, 3 July 2009
JUNE 2009
AFRICA: Maternal Mortality, A Human Rights Catastrophe - Inter Press Service, 30 June 2009 PAKISTAN: Softly softly on family planning messages - IRIN News, 25 June 2009 AFGHANISTAN: Few rural women use family planning services - IRIN News, 24 June 2009 Historic Step Forward for Midwives and Nurse Practitioners - Minister for Health and Ageing, 24 June 2009 Rich flout family planning - China Daily, 15 June 2009 Zambia: Health Ministry on Track to Reduce Deaths From Unsafe Abortions - Times of Zambia, 8 June 2009 Boys to get credit cards for condoms - Times Online, 7 June 2009 Out of womb, they stare death - The Times of India, 7 June 2009 Practice makes perfect for safe baby delivery - The Age, 6 June 2009 Let's stop women's suffering - The Boston Globe, 4 June 2009 Legal fears stops doctor prescribing abortion drug - ABC News, 3 June 2009 The Deadly Toll of Abortion by Amateurs - The New York Times, 1 June 2009
MAY 2009
Campaign Targets Sexually Transmitted Infections - Minister for Health and Ageing, 29 May 2009 Push to form UN women's agency - The Canberra Times, 25 May 2009 PAKISTAN: Pregnant displaced women lack facilities, skilled medics - IRIN News, 24 May 2009 Free condoms for high-risk 150 million migrant workers in China - The Times of India, 21 May 2009 Maternal and newborn survival rates not improving, WHO - Reuters, 21 May 2009 Fashion retailer H&M partners with UN to boost HIV awareness among youth - UN News Centre, 21 May 2009 Some 350 Mothers To Deliver Babies In Sri Lanka IDP Camps - Bernama, 14 May 2009 NT Government enforces new sex law - ABC PM, 12 May 2009 2009-10 International Development Assistance Budget - AusAID Media Release, 12 May 2009 Spain to dispense morning-after pill in pharmacies - Associated Press, 11 May 2009 UN maternal mortality target ‘nowhere near being touched’ - The Herald, 5 May 2009 China quake survivors have bittersweet baby boom - Los Angeles Times, 3 May 2009 More midwives crucial to stop mothers dying in fragile states - Reuters AlertNet, 1 May 2009
APRIL 2009
Report Says World Bank’s AIDS Efforts Are Failing - The New York Times, 30 April 2009 The deadbeat of international aid - The Canberra Times, 30 April 2009 PHILIPPINES: Illegal abortions - the risks and the misery - IRIN News, 29 April 2009 Clinton Passionately Defends Right To Abortion - RedOrbit, 23 April 2009 TIMOR-LESTE: Gently combating harmful childbirth traditions - IRIN News, 15 April 2009 Australia's Foreign Aid Funding For Abortion - RH Reality Check, 14 April 2009 Pell rides papal bandwagon of death - The Sydney Morning Herald, 11 April 2009 DEVELOPMENT: U.N. Triples Allotment for Population - Inter Press Service, 8 April 2009 Pregnant (Again) and Poor - The New York Times, 4 April 2009
MARCH 2009
Abuse of young women fuels the HIV epidemic in Jamaica - Jamaica Observer, 30 March 2009 Pope publicly distorted scienctific evidence in condom debate: The Lancet - The Australian, 27 March 2009 Pope sends mixed message to African women - The Canberra Times, 22 March 2009 Save mothers – and you will save the world - The Observer, 15 March 2009 Govt ends foreign aid ban on abortions - The Sydney Morning Herald, 9 March 2009 Greens demand Govt end ban on abortion funding - The Canberra Times, 5 March 2009 Australia Strengthens Women's Rights - Australian Government Media Release, 4 March 2009 Millions of condoms left to rot in AIDS-ravaged Papua New Guinea - The Australian, 4 March 2009 Greens pressure Govt to lift abortion aid ban - ABC News, 4 March 2009 Abortion aid funding ban reversal 'soon' - The Sydney Morning Herald, 3 March 2009 Jan Fights Killer Ban - Manly Daily, 3 March 2009 Injections, pills favorite among families - The Jakarta Post, 3 March 2009 Indian Youth Festival Puts Sexy Back in Dialogue About Safe Sex - The Washington Post, 2 March 2009 Raped girl, 9, wants to abort twins - The Courier Mail, 1 March 2009 Baby bonus knocks birth rate out of rut - The Age, 1 March 2009 Pre-marital sex grows, but not awareness - The Hindu, 1 March 2009 Contraceptive trial and error - The Age, 1 March 2009
FEBRUARY 2009
Birth control knowledge lacking in developing world - Reuters, 27 February 2009 White House set to reverse health care conscience clause - CNN, 27 February 2009 After a devastating birth injury, hope - International Herald Tribune, 24 February 2009 End the greatest health divide - The Canberra Times, 17 February 2009 China launches sex education campaign - The Times of India, 16 February 2009 Obama's step forward - The Guardian, 8 February 2009 Time to undo the petty deal that's destroying women's lives - The Canberra Times, 7 February 2009 Labor MPs are losing patience on aid rule - The Sydney Morning Herald, 7 February 2009 HIV and AIDS infection is spreading in PNG - The Australian, 7 February 2009 The sex industry is growing in East Timor, as traffickers lure women in - The Australian, 7 February 2009 Smith urged to overturn foreign aid abortion advice ban - ABC News, 5 February 2009 Australia maintains aid ban on abortions - The Canberra Times, 5 February 2009 Govt blocks abortion aid motion - The Age, 4 February 2009 Third World abortion funding ban must be overturned - Greens - The Courier Mail, 4 February 2009 Pubs offer condoms over Valentine's Day - The Illawarra Mecury, 2 February 2009
JANUARY 2009 Bid to end abortion aid ban - The Age, 29 January 2009 Everyone has the right to choose how they plan a family - The Age, 28 January 2009 End abortion ban, Smith urged - The Age, 26 January 2009 Lifting of global gag rule celebrated worldwide - San Francisco Chronicle, 26 January 2009 Obama Intends to Lift Family-Planning 'Gag Rule' - Wall Street Journal, 23 January 2009 95 women vie for Parlt seats (PNG) - The Nation, 20 January 2009 Obama could reverse abortion rule this week - Boston Globe, 19 January 2009 Government denies choice to women in developing countries - Sydney Morning Herald, 19 January 2009 THAILAND: Addressing sexual violence in Mae La refugee camp - IRIN News, 16 January 2009 Pressure grows to dump abortion advice aid ban - West Australian, 16 January 2008 A preventable shame - The Age, 16 January 2009 Women in developing countries 300 times more likely to die in childbirth - The Guardian, 15 January 2009 HEALTH-NEPAL: On Course to Achieve MDG on Maternal Health - Inter-Press Service, 13 January 2009 Aussies 'hit and miss' with safe sex - Melbourne Herald Sun, 13 January 2009 Casualties Replace Gaza's Maternity Ward Patients - Women's enews - 9 January 2009 Sexual exploitation in Fiji - Fiji Broadcasting Corporation Limited, 9 January 2009 AFGHANISTAN: HIV-positive patients to get ARV therapy for first time - IRIN News, 7 January 2009 PAKISTAN: Urgent need for better family planning - experts - IRIN News, 6 January 2009 Curbing Population Via Call Center - Washington Post, 5 January 2009 For Privacy’s Sake, Taking Risks to End Pregnancy - The New York Times, 4 January 2009
>>>News Headlines ARCHIVES return to top of headlines return home Last updated 3 July, 2009
