NZPPD NEWS
APDA Meeting update
NZPPD Chair Steve Chadwick and member Ashraf Choudhary last month attended the Asia Pacific Development Association (APDA) Annual meeting in New Delhi, India (22 -23 April). The theme of the meeting was "Population in the Globalising of Society", with a focus on the effect of globalisation on countries in Asia and the Pacific. Steve made a presentation entitled "Towards Sustainable Development" in which she discussed key environmental issues, including New Zealand's responsilities as a signatory to the Kyoto Protocol. She noted that while New Zealand has a clean, green image, it has more greenhouse gas emissions per capita than China and India. Steve also discussed the need to create an environment in Asia and the Pacific that enables women to participate in development. A report on the meeting will be tabled at the next quarterly NZPPD meeting (17 May).
AFPPD Executive Meeting
During the APDA meeting, Steve Chadwick also attended the Asian Forum of Parliamentarians on Population and Development (AFPPD) Executive Meeting, where she updated members on progress on arrangements for the Women Parliamentarians' Conference taking place in Wellington 11/12 June (see details below). She also tabled terms of reference outlining a clear process for election of the chair of the Standing Committee on Women (Steve is currently chair).
Diary notes
NZPPD quarterly meeting: The next quarterly NZPPD meeting will be held at 6pm on Wednesday 17 May, in Meeting Room 12.18, Bowen House.
State of World Population report 2006 launch: This year's launch of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) State of World Population report is due to take place 6 September. This is a regular significant event for the NZPPD, and members will be notified of further details as soon as they are available. The theme of this year's report is migration. Running in line with this, international migration and development was the theme of the recent Commission on Population and Development (3-7 April, New York). >> more
AFPPD Women Parliamentarians' Conference: "Gender Responsive Governance - the key to the population and development agenda": This meeting is being organised by the NZPPD Secretariat, to be held at Parliament 10 - 12 June. Representatives from more than 30 countries in the region will attend, and all NZ MPs will receive an invitation.
Other key dates
UN Special General Assembly meeting to review progress on the Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS: 31 May - 2 June, New York >> more For New Zealand's report for the meeting, click here
International Parliamentarians' Conference on ICPD (IPCI): 21/22 November, Bangkok, Thailand >> more
DOMESTIC NEWS
CID calls on NZ govt to follow Aus and double aid
The Council for International Development (CID) has called on the New Zealand government to follow Australia's lead and double the amount it gives in aid to poor countries. The Australian Federal Government has set a timetable to double aid funding to about $4 billion a year by 2010 (0.36 per cent of gross national income on current trends). New Zealand gives 0.27 per cent of GNI in aid and has no set timetable to signficantly increase aid. View CID press release (pdf)
However, an Australian Reproductive Health Alliance (ARHA) analysis of the Australian government's White Paper on the Australian Government's Overseas Aid Program,(released 26 April) notes that the increase to $4 billion by 2010 is not a doubling in real terms, and that 0.36 per cent is still well below the UN target of 0.7 per cent of GNI. The White Paper does however flag some important changes for the coming years. Of particular interest is an increased investment in maternal, sexual and reproductive health services and a re-affirmation of gender equality as a core value of the aid program. The paper also emphasises the importance of parliamentary groups to improve regional government performance and help develop future leadership (page 43). View the ARHA analysis
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INTERNATIONAL NEWS
New rights body seen as improvement
The United Nations is set to vote today on which countries should join its new Human Rights Council, and rights groups say the new body will be a significant improvement over its oft-criticised predecessor. While some new members are likely to have spotty rights records, at least allegedly notorious abusers like Sudan, Syria and Zimbabwe will not be on the new council, which should allow it to be tougher on governments mistreating their people, rights advocates say. Full article
PNG AIDS plan starts
The National Capital District (NCD) in Papua New Guinea has launched its Strategic Plan on HIV/AIDS 2006-2010 to stem the escalating epidemic in the city. At the launch on 4 May in Port Moresby, City Manager Peter Loko called for greater involvement of leaders in its implementation process. "It is hoped that the plan will facilitate and enhance the effective coordination of the NCD response to the epidemic by mobilising resources and leaders at all levels," Mr Loko said. NCD has the highest population in the country and as of early last year, 60 per cent of the cumulative number of 12,341 HIV reported cases in the country were in NCD, according to Mr Loko. Mr Loko said diagnosed cases had increased by 30 per cent every year since 1997 and currently 15 per cent of the hospital beds at Port Moresby General Hospital (POMGH) were occupied by people with HIV related illness. He said 20 per cent of tuberculosis patients being treated at POMGH were also HIV positive. Mr Loko said the facts revealed were alarming and thus the strategic plan needed the continued support of everyone to achieve results.
Dhaka Declaration of Action
On 26-27 January 2006, parliamentarians from 13 Asian, Pacific and African countries, including New Zealand, attended the "2nd Sub-Regional Parliamentary Seminar on HIV/AIDS in South Asia" held in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The two-day meeting was hosted by the Parliamentarians for Global Action (PGA). Around 100 participants, including development specialists from the UN and other international agencies, NGO representatives and members of civil society, joined the parliamentarians to discuss best practices for preventing HIV/AIDS, the need to reduce stigma surrounding the disease and the next steps for improving the treatment and care of people living with HIV. At the conclusion of the meeting, the parliamentarians adopted a Declaration of Action for strengthening both the country and regional level responses to stopping the spread of HIV. They agreed to establish mechanisms at the provincial, national and sub-regional levels to monitor the implementation of the Declaration of Action, including follow-up exchanges and workshops.
Vatican preparing statement on condoms and AIDS
The Catholic Chruch is on the brink of a historic change of approach over condoms which could bring hope to millions in Africa and other parts of the developing world affected by AIDS. The Church is expected to give a guarded, provisional blessing to the use of condoms by married couples when one of them is HIV positive, as a way of protecting the health of the other partner. Full article View New Zealand Herald article Contraception Already a Ritual
World Bank: global poverty falls, but regional progress uneven
Poverty rates worldwide have fallen by up to 10 per cent in the past five years, driven largely by the booming economies of China and India, but Africa and South Asia continue to fall behind according to the third annual Global Monitoring Report (GMR) on the Millennium Development Goals. more >>
Global Fund clears new round of disease grants
The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Turberculosis and Malaria last week decided to award a new round of grants to battle the three major diseases, easing concerns that it's running out of money and steam. The specifc amounts and programmes will be decided by the fund's board in November. Click here for the official release.
Zimbabwe faces AIDS drug shortage
Zimbabwe is running out of drugs to treat AIDS, with less than one month's supply of antiretrovial (ARV) drugs for the 20,000 people who receive them. Around 20 per cent of Zimbabweans aged 15 to 49 are infected with HIV, and 3000 die of AIDS related illness every week. The National Pharmaceutical Company has blamed the ARV shortage on a foreign currency crisis. View Dominion-Post article
China, India to determine Earth's ecological future
A new report from the Worldwatch Institute says the world's two most populous countries - China and India - will largely determine whether the world moves towards ecological and political instability or towards a sustainable future based on efficient technologies and better stewardship of resources. "State of the World 2006: China, India, the U.S., Europe, and Japan by the numbers" highlights China and India's enormous challenges in dealing with growing population and consumption levels. Worldwatch maintains that if China and India were to consume resources and produce pollution at the curent Untied States per capita level, it would require two planet Earths just to sustain their two economies. However the report also sees hope in new developments occurring in both countries, including new laws that have give NGOs stronger legal standing to participate in policy decision-making. more >> |
