Round Table

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Regional & National Plans

UN Meetings

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ACTIVITIES - Regional & National Plans

Background:
As part of the tenth anniversary of ICPD, a series of national and regional events and activities are planned .

This range of regional meetings will gather grassroots NGOs and regional organizations to take stock of progress, report back on experience, identify regional priorities and develop future strategies for implementing ICPD.

These meetings, as important events in themselves, will also compliment, reflect and reinforce the international activities for ICPD at 10 , under the umbrella initiative of Countdown 2015.

These activities will be coordinated jointly by regional and national NGOs together with IPPF and its Member Associations.

For a printable version of this information, go to Regional Activities Update

The following dates and details are PROVISIONAL

EUROPE REGION

IPPF's European Network and the Irish FPA (IFPA) are organizing a one-day conference to mark ICPD at 10 under the Irish Presidency of the European Union (EU), 2 April 2004 in Dublin . The Irish Government is a strong defender of ICPD and has consistently reiterated its support for the Programme of Action during debates in the Irish Parliament and in the media. This is in spite of persistent domestic opposition by vociferous groups and right-wing media in Ireland .

This conference aims to promote the understanding and support for ICPD among NGOs, politicians and policy makers from Ireland and the EU Accession countries. The Conference will provide;

an historic insight to ICPD and in particular the role which the Irish Government at the time played in framing and wording the ICPD Programme of Action


details of the objectives of ICPD in particular as they relate to sexual and reproductive health, rights of women and children and HIV/AIDS


an overview of the progress in achieving the goals and indicators in ICPD and ICPD+5


barriers to implementing ICPD


views on the importance of upholding the ICPD Programme of Action, as well as mobilizing leadership and support for ICPD.

Development Co-operation Ireland, part of the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs, will be a key stakeholder in the organization of the conference and participants will include representatives from NGOs, politicians, policy makers, civil servants and government department officials.

The European Network will also produce a fact sheet on ICPD at 10: Achievements in the Europe Region to be distributed at the Conference and used in subsequent meetings relating to ICPD at 10.

Activities in 2005

In order to demonstrate the importance and relevance of ICPD in two donor countries which have so far failed to live up to their commitments, two inter-regional meetings will be organized in 2005. The first Inter-regional meeting on ICPD with the Lusophone world will provisionally be held in March 2005 in Lisbon, in collaboration with the Portugal MA (APF), the Africa Regional Office (ARO). The member association of France (MFPF) will coordinate with EN on a second Inter-regional meeting organized with the Francophonie world, provisionally scheduled for May 2005 in Paris .

NB: A selection of countries in Central Asia will work on ICPD advocacy activities in 2005.

ARAB REGION

Regional:
A Regional Conference is being jointly organized by IPPF's Arab World Regional Office (AWRO) in partnership with UNFPA's Country Support Team based in Amman , in collaboration with other national and regional NGOs. The conference is scheduled for June 2004 (see the Events Calendar for a list of regional and national activities).

The conference aims to:

• Review progress in implementing the ICPD Programme of Action at the Regional level
• Identify the ‘unfinished business' and priority areas for action in the region
• Agree a Call for Action and propose a Regional Action Plan.

Papers will be presented at the meeting addressing five key themes in the Arab region – HIV/AIDS, adolescence/youth, abortion, access to SRH services and advocacy. Three national reports of Tunisia , Yemen and Lebanon will be presented and discussed, along with recommendations of UN ESCWA Regional Conference. The results of this NGO Arab Regional Conference, including the final report, publications, media coverage etc will be presented at the International Roundtable .

In addition a Youth Forum will take place alongside the conference. The youth participants active in the three ICPD at 10 national conferences will be invited to participate fully. Parliamentarians will also be invited, as well as international organizations, NGOs and regional institutions.

The Regional Conference will host an exhibition of various materials (covering the period from 1994 to 2003) such as brochures, posters, video films produced by the NGOs and agencies on SRHR issues. Outreach to the regional media will also be an important area of work including, for example, a press conference during the meeting. There are also plans to organize a panel discussion around sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) and challenges facing the region with a regional satellite television station and coverage.

National:
Three of IPPF's member associations in the Arab Region – Lebanon , Tunisia and Yemen will organize advocacy campaigns throughout 2004. They will focus on promoting SRHR as a key factor in development and poverty alleviation and highlight the ‘unfinished business' in each of the countries. Each country will produce a report on progress achieved in implementing ICPD and present an analysis of the funding of SRHR programmes. The results of these studies will be presented at the Regional Conference in June. The highlight of each of these national activities will be a 2-day national conference ;

• Tunis 17–19 April 2004
• Yemen 6– 8 May 2004
• Lebanon 26–27 May 2004

These will present successful initiatives across the range of areas within the ICPD Programme of Action, identify priority areas for the coming 5-10 years and issue recommendations for action by a platform of NGOs and other members of civil society within the region.

WESTERN HEMISPHERE REGION - Latin America/Caribbean (WHR)

Two regional symposia for ICPD at 10 are being organized jointly by IPPF's Western Hemisphere Region (WHR) and partner NGOs, with a focus on the relationship between the Millennium Development Goals and sexual and reproductive health and rights. The first will be held in New York City on Oct 20 2004 , and the second in Rio de Janeiro , in Nov/Dec 2004. The symposia will highlight the indisputable need to fulfill the ICPD and ICPD+5 goals and targets in order to realize the Millennium Development Goals. They will also aim to ensure that civil society organizations working on Sexual and Reproductive Health are mobilized around the goals, and to engage governments of the region, key UN agencies and donors on this subject.

Both symposia will involve between 150-200 participants each. Four to five papers analyzing progress towards the implementation of ICPD and the Millennium Development Goals in selected countries of the region will be commissioned for the meetings, and shared within the other ICPD at 10 activities and the sexual and reproductive health and rights community at large.

Given the emphasis that will be placed on youth at the International Round Table and other ICPD at 10 activities, special attention to Youth and the Millennium Development Goals will be given at the symposia.

Partner organizations involved in co-convening or collaboration on the meetings include LACWHN (Latin American and Caribbean Women's Health Network); Católicas por el Derecho a Decidir; CAFRA (Caribbean Association for Feminist Research and Action); Family Care International (FCI); Redlac (Red Latinoamericana y Caribeña de Jóvenes por los Derechos Sexuales y Reproductivos); Population Action International (PAI); the Inter-American Parliamentary Group on Population and Development; International Women's Health Coalition; Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University; the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and a group of Brazilian networks and NGOs.

AFRICA REGION (ARO)

An Africa Regional Meeting is being planned jointly by IPPF's Africa Regional Office (ARO) in collaboration with partner regional and national NGOs . The meeting, to be held in Nairobi in June 2004, will be a three-day event for 100 participants focusing on the following broad areas;

• A review of the status of implementation of the ICPD Programme of Action in Africa , the challenges, gaps, achievements, best practices and lessons learned

• Assessment of the challenges of meeting adolescence sexual and reproductive health (ASRH) needs

• Safe motherhood and abortion

• Women's citizenship and reproductive rights

• The impact of the HIV/AIDS pandemic on SRHR programming in Africa

• Links to poverty reduction and MDGs.

A key goal of the meeting will be to agree a consensus on the priority issues for Africa and development of a Plan of Action for future implementation of ICPD. It will also be seized as an opportunity to address SRHR within the New Partnership for Africa 's Development (NEPAD), spelling out that without a comprehensive approach to SRH being given a practical framework, the potential of NEPAD's Health Sector Action Plan will not be effective.

Studies have been commissioned on the implementation of the ICPD Programme of Action within the following sub-regions: Eastern Africa and the Island ; Southern Africa ; Central Africa ; North Africa ; West Africa , and the Sahel . The main issues will be synthesized to give the Continent's status and these studies will form the basis of discussions during the regional meeting.

The participants at the meeting will comprise of NGOs, private sector, trade unions, development partners, government and the media. Of these, 40 will be funded by the grant from the European Commission (EC) while ARO and the members of the ICPD at 10 Africa Subcommittee, which is coordinating the meeting, will seek support from other donors for sponsorship of the other 60 participants.

A Regional Subcommittee was formed in October 2003 to assist the development of plans for the Regional meeting. Partners represented on the Subcommittee include African Population Advisory Council (APAC), Centre for African Family Studies (CAFS); RAINBO/AMAN IT ARE; Union For African Population Studies (UAPS); Women's Health Project (WHP).



EAST AND SOUTH EAST ASIA AND OCEANIA REGION (ESEAOR)

A three-day Regional Roundtable will be held in Kuala Lumpur, 21-23 July 2004, which will consolidate the civil society-led national and regional analyses, advocacy and recommendations relating to past achievements and future implementation towards realization of ICPD goals. It is being organized by IPPF's East & South East Asia and Oceania Region (ESESAOR) in partnership with other organizations including; Asia Pacific Alliance on RH; AFPPD; APDA; UNFPA; UNAIDS; ICOMP; JOICFP; ESCAP; AIDCOM; ARROW, CARE International and World Vision. Malaysian government agencies and local partners will also be involved.

The overarching theme will be Reproductive and Sexual Health Rights and Poverty Alleviation, covering broad thematic areas including adolescence reproductive health; maternal mortality; unsafe abortion; family planning; gender violence; HIV/AIDS integrated into SRH, with a special focus on marginalized and underserved populations.

The conference will consider the Millennium Development Goals and will develop strategies for advancing advocacy, alliance building and strengthening partnerships. The conference will also take forward the recommendation of the ESCAP 5 th Asia Pacific Population Conference held in Bangkok , December 2002, which will form the base document of the Regional Round Table.

A three-day Regional Advocacy and Alliance Building Meeting will be held in Bangkok, April 2004 , with the participation of IPPF Member Associations, government, civil society, media, parliamentarians and other key stakeholders to strengthen alliance and collaboration with partner agencies for the implementation of the ICPD Programme of Action. The meeting will be organized in collaboration with ESCAP and regional NGOs.

ESEAOR will hold a two-day media consultation in Kuala Lumpur to coincide with International Women's Day around 9 March 2004 to raise awareness on the aims and objectives of events around ICPD at 10, and to identify strategies for media to become effective allies and advocates for the ICPD goals .

A cross-regional meeting will be jointly organized by ESEAOR and IPPF's South Asia Region (SAR) in December 2004 which will focus on the two overlapping regions' approach to implementing the recommendations for taking ICPD forward from the UN ESCAP Report, the regional meetings themselves and the International Round Table.

SOUTH ASIA REGION (SAR)

National:

A South Asia Region al Forum will be held in July 2004, Kathmandu, Nepal coordinated by IPPF's South Asia Region al Office (SARO) i n partnership with regional networks, NGOs, and the UNFPA Regional Country Support Team (CST) based in Kathmandu . The Forum will focus on the concrete goals of the ICPD Programme of Action, including the outcomes from the Report on the UN ESCAP 5 th Asian and Pacific Population Conference, results achieved so far and the development of regional strategies to move the agenda forward over the next 10 years. The forum will involve civil society organizations, as well as parliamentarians and explore opportunities to highlight regional challenges to the international community for improved allocation of development assistance to SRHR in South Asia .

The range of partners collaborating on this Forum include WHO SEARO & WHO EMRO; ADB South Asia Department; World Bank; UNFPA, UNICEF, UNAIDS / UNDP; Partners in Population and Development; Asian Forum of Parliamentarians on Population and Development; South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation; Population Council; ARROW; Save the Children Alliance; Panos South Asia; One World South Asia; Interact Worldwide.

A regional publication to highlight the remaining challenges in ICPD implementation in South Asia will be produced in November 2004 (the award-winning journal ‘ Real Lives').

Cross-Regional Activities

IPPF has two regions that have a geographical closeness ( South Asia Region and the East, South East & Oceania Region) which many partner organizations work across. Together they will work in partnership to provide an effective exchange of information between the two regions around ICPD at 10 and cooperation on key outcomes including;

•  Cross-regional attendance at Regional Round Table fora

•  Joint outcomes from regional meetings for a including a joint communiqué and a joint set of recommendations for taking forward the UNESCAP Plan of Action

•  Coordinated alliance building and communication with partner organizations.

•  Joint meeting in December 2004 on moving ICPD forward (details above).

At the national level, three technical implementation meetings will be held in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Nepal, Iran, Sri Lanka, Maldives during 2005 to follow-up the outcomes of regional and international fora on ICPD. Each meeting will focus on a specific target audience; 1) parliamentarians 2) broad development community 3) media.