Subject: [fem-women2000 677] (fwd)Urgent appeal-Protect reproductive health in the UN system
From: lalamaziwa <lalamaziwa@jca.apc.org>
Date: Wed, 18 Jul 2001 06:50:53 +0900
Seq: 677

>From: "ACPD" <info@acpd.ca>
Date: Fri, 13 Jul 2001 11:40:23 -0400

Dear friend and colleague,

This an urgent appeal for your action to protect reproductive health in the
UN system.

You might know that the World Bank, IMF, OECD, and the United Nations
(including UNFPA, UNICEF and UNDP) are currently engaged in a review of the
International Development Goals and the goals of the United Nations'
Millennium Declaration.

Following a senior experts group meeting in New York on 21 June, Michael
Doyle, the UN Assistant Secretary General responsible for drafting the UN's
Millennium Declaration "roadmap," has circulated a proposal for a unified
set of goals, targets, and associated indicators. These goals and
jindicators would be used in unified UN frameworks, country level strategie=
s,
etc. Reporting on progress towards the Millennium Development Goals at the
global and country levels would be co-ordinated by UNDESA and UNDP,
respectively. The Millennium Development Goals are to be submitted to the
General Assembly in September 2001 for approval.

As you know, what gets measured is what people come to value...
Unfortunately, the Cairo goal to "make accessible, through the primary
health care system, reproductive health to all individuals of appropriate
ages as soon as possible and no later than the year 2015" (paragraph 7.6
POA) - which was included in the International Development Goals - is not
part of the current proposal put forward by this experts group (see list of
goals attached). Discrete goals and indicators related to maternal
mortality, contraceptive prevalence rates and HIV/AIDS are included, but
nothing about the full, integrated range of sexual and reproductive health
services, which was the point of ICPD...

The arguments used to explain the absence of this RH goal are:

1. that it was not part of the Millennium Declaration. This is true.
However, the Reproductive Health goal was agreed at ICPD and reaffirmed in
Copenhagen, Beijing and at the ICPD Plus Five and Beijing Plus Five. It was
also part of the International Development Goals put forward by the UN, IMF=
,
OECD, and World Bank earlier in 2000 on the basis of previously agreed goal=
s
and targets. By contrast, the Millennium Declaration was a document prepare=
d
in a non-transparent way, and adopted at the UN's Millennium Assembly
without negotiation and without the benefit of technical advice to the head=
s
of state who signed on to it.

2. that the ICPD RH goal was somehow the product of Northern feminists and
that conservative Muslim states won't stand for it. We of course know
that's not the case. Further, we understand that substantial pressure from
the Holy See and a few conservative countries (who reserved on "reproductiv=
e
health" in Cairo and consistently thereafter) was instrumental in making
sure the phrase "reproductive health" and the RH goal did not make it into
the Millennium Declaration. (In fact, the Holy See is extremely active on
this issue in the current preparations for the UN's Child Summit). We are
now facing the very real possibility that these opponents of ICPD will
succeed in removing RH and the RH goal indirectly where they could not do i=
t
directly in past negotiations.

3. that the Millennium Declaration is a "higher order" of document than
Cairo and Beijing or the Plus Fives. This is not true; the Millennium
Declaration is a non-binding GA resolution. The Millennium Declaration in
fact received much less careful consideration by governments than the ICPD,
Beijing and Plus Five agreements and was not prepared and agreed in a
transparent manner.

4. that a contraceptive prevalence indicator, or maternal mortality or HIV
goals can stand in lieu of the broad RH goal. This is not so, since the
whole point of ICPD was an integrated sexual and reproductive health
offering, instead of a vertical focus on one service, be it contraceptive
use or skilled birth attendants. The RH goal must be put back in as the
central framework of the ICPD agenda, and the words "reproductive health"
included in the Millennium Development Goals.

5. that the RH goal can't be measured. In fact, at ICPD Plus Five review,
governments agreed on what should be measured to determine whether or not
the RH goal has been met. In para. 53, the ICPD Plus Five Document provides
that governments should ensure that "by 2015 all primary health care and
family planning facilities are able to provide, directly or through
referral, the widest achievable range of safe and effective family planning
and contraceptive methods; essential obstetric care; prevention and
management of reproductive tract infections, including STDs; and barrier
methods, such as male and female condoms and Microbicides if available, to
prevent infection. By 2005, 60 percent of such facilities should be able to
offer this range of services, and by 2010, 80 per cent of them should be
able to offer such services." ICPD Plus Five then sets out specific goals
for each of these services: para. 58 on closing the contraceptive gap, para=
.
64 on skilled birth attendants, and para. 70 on access by young people aged
15-24 (not only pregnant women!) to information, education and services to
protect themselves against HIV infection; and HIV infection rates in young
people.

Unfortunately, we are told that none of the participants in the June expert
meeting (which included UNFPA, UNICEF, UNDP, World Bank, and OECD
representation, but not WHO) defended the overall RH goal, and that they
will need pressure - especially from Southern groups - to remember what was
agreed in Cairo and why we think it is important.

We have prepared a draft model letter, at the end of the page, to be sent t=
o
Kofi Annan, Gro Brundtland, Thoraya Obaid, Carol Bellamy, Mark 
Malloch-Brown and James
Wolfensohn, for your signature. (We are told we need to advocate at the top
on this one!)

Please review it and feel free to make any changes, as personalized letters
would be preferable. We would ask you to send the letter directly, AS SOON
AS POSSIBLE. And of course, feel free to ask others to write.

The email addresses and/or fax numbers are:
Mr. Kofi Annan, Secretary General of the United Nations, fax. (212) 963. 48=
79
annan@un.org
Dr. Gro Harlem Brundtland, Director General WHO, fax (011 41) 22 791. 4835
brundtlandg@who.ch
James D. Wolfensohn, President The World Bank, fax. (202) 522. 3031 or 0355
jwolfensohn@worldbank.org
Mark Malloch-Brown, Administrator UNDP, mark.malloch.brown@undp.org
Dr. Thoraya Obaid, Executive Director, UNFPA obaid@unfpa.org
Carol Bellamy, Executive Director, UNICEF fax (212) 326.7758 or 7096,
cbellamy@unicef.org

Dear...

We understand that the World Bank, IMF, OECD, and the United Nations are
currently engaged in a review of the International Development Goals and th=
e
goals of the United Nations' Millennium Declaration. The resulting UN
Millennium Declaration Roadmap would be submitted to the General Assembly i=
n
September 2001 for approval.

We are very concerned to hear that the goal to "make accessible, through th=
e
primary health care system, reproductive health to all individuals of
appropriate ages as soon as possible and no later than the year 2015" is
apparently not part of the current proposal for the Millennium Development
Goals.

This Reproductive Health goal, which is of extreme importance to women
everywhere, was agreed at the Cairo International Conference on Population
and Development (ICPD), and reaffirmed in Copenhagen, Beijing and at the
ICPD Plus Five and Beijing Plus Five. It was also part of the International
Development Goals put forward by the UN, IMF, OECD, and World Bank earlier
in 2000 on the basis of previously agreed goals and targets.

We also understand that a contraceptive prevalence indicator, and maternal
mortality or HIV goals have been included in the current proposal instead o=
f
the broad RH goal. However, the foremost goal of ICPD was to shift to an
integrated sexual and reproductive health offering, instead of a vertical
focus on one service, be it contraceptive use or another service. The ICPD
Reproductive Health goal must be put back in as the central framework of th=
e
ICPD agenda, and the words "reproductive health" included in the Millennium
Development Goals.

In fact, at ICPD Plus Five review, governments agreed on what should be
measured to determine whether or not the Reproductive Health goal has been
met. In para. 53, the ICPD Plus Five Document provides that governments
should ensure that "by 2015 all primary health care and family planning
facilities are able to provide, directly or through referral, the widest
achievable range of safe and effective family planning and contraceptive
methods; essential obstetric care; prevention and management of reproductiv=
e
tract infections, including STDs; and barrier methods, such as male and
female condoms and Microbicides if available, to prevent infection. By
2005, 60 percent of such facilities should be able to offer this range of
services, and by 2010, 80 per cent of them should be able to offer such
services."

ICPD Plus Five then sets out specific goals and indicators for each of thes=
e
services: para. 58 on closing the contraceptive gap, para. 64 on skilled
birth attendants, and para. 70 on access by young people aged 15-24 to
information, education and services to protect themselves against HIV
infection; and on HIV infection rates in young people.

For years, women's health and rights groups worldwide fought long and hard
for an integrated approach to sexual and reproductive health that respects
their human rights. UNFPA and other UN agencies have embraced this goal as
a centerpiece of their strategies and programs. Clearly, opponents of ICPD
would like to turn back the clock and have reproductive health removed from
UN agreements and documents. They are hoping to achieve indirectly what
they could not do openly in the presence of civil society.

What is not monitored and measured risks not being invested in or valued.
We therefore strongly urge you to insist that the ICPD Reproductive Health
goal be included in the Millennium Development Goals, with the indicators
agreed at ICPD Plus Five. The health and lives of millions of women, men
and children are in the balance.


Please copy us on what you send. We need your help.
Thanks!

Sincerely yours,
Fran=e4=8fise Girard
Senior Program Officer, International Policy
International Women`s Health Coalition
24 East 21st Street
New York, NY 10010
Tel. (212) 979.8500
Fax. (212) 979.9009

Katherine McDonald
Executive Director/Directrice g=e5=8e=e5=92ale
Action Canada for Population and Development
Action Canada pour la population et le d=e5=96eloppement
Suite 300-260 rue Dalhousie Street
Ottawa, Ontario
Canada K1N 7E4
+613-562-0880 tel/t=e5=8c
+613-562-9502 fax/t=e5=8c=e5=83
katherine@acpd.ca <mailto:katherine@acpd.ca>
acpd@attglobal.net
www.acpd.ca <http://www.acpd.ca>




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