Parliamentarians working to meet SDG's

Parliamentarians Ask G7 Hiroshima Summit to Support Human Security and Vulnerable Communities

By Cecilia Russell
Parliamentarians from more than 30 countries agreed to send a strong message to the G7 Hiroshima Summit in Japan later this year, focusing on human security and support of vulnerable communities, including women, girls, youth, aging people, migrants, and indigenous people, among others.

African Parliamentarians Strongly Committed to Population and Development

By Cecilia Russell
Many Ghanian Members of Parliament (MPs) champion adolescent reproductive health rights to stop the practice of child marriage, which is prevalent in some areas of the country even though the country’s Constitution and Children’s Act outlaw it, Dr Rashid Pelpuo (MP) told IPS in an exclusive interview.

With Planning Aging Population Could Result in a Silver Dividend

By Cecilia Russell
An aging population needn’t be a burden, experts told Parliamentarians at a conference co-hosted by UNFPA Asia Pacific Regional Office and the Asian Population and Development Association (APDA).

Poverty Impacts on Efforts to End Child Marriage, say Parliamentarians

By Cecilia Russell
Child marriage continues to be a scourge in many African countries – despite legislation and efforts of many, including parliamentarians, to keep girls in school and create brighter futures for them. This was the view of participants in a recent webinar held under the auspices of the African Parliamentary Forum on Population and Development (FPA) and UNFPA East and Southern Africa Regional Office (ESARO).

Meaningful Dialogue Amplifies Youth Issues, Leads to Change

By Cecilia Russell
Young people are often the first to rebuild their communities. However, youths' diverse challenges cannot be addressed without meaningful dialogue, says Klaus Beck, Regional Director of UNFPA APRO ai.

Gender Lens Crucial to Leaving No One Behind (Part 2)

By IPS Correspondent
A crucial two-day meeting of Parliamentarians from the Asian, Arab and African regions will put human-rights-based legislative frameworks under the spotlight as the regions work to implement the ICPD Programme of Action.

Gender Lens Crucial to Leaving No One Behind (Part 1)

By IPS Correspondent
Parliamentarians' leadership in a post-COVID-19 recovery is crucial to achieving the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) agenda. The involvement of lawmakers in ensuring a more equal, just, and sustainable society will come under the spotlight during a two-day inter-regional meeting organized by the Asian Population and Development Association (APDA) and the Forum of Arab Parliamentarians on Population and Development (FAPPD,) and supported by UNFPA ASRO in early March 2022.

APDA, AFPPD Celebrate Forty Years of Championing Population and Development Agenda

By IPS Correspondent
The Asian Population and Development Association (APDA) has been ahead of the international community in addressing population and development issues, says the former Japanese Prime Minister and Chair of APDA Yasuo Fukuda.

Getting to Better than Normal in a Post-COVID-19 World

By Cecilia Russell
Girls in Asia don't want to go back to normal – they want to go "back to better than normal", says Zara Rapoport, a delegate during an online seminar on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on gender.

Arab Region Counts Cost of Devastating COVID-19 Pandemic

By Cecilia Russell
More than eight million people moved onto the poverty line in the Arab region, a conference of Arab and Asian parliamentarians heard. The hybrid conference, held simultaneously in Beirut, Lebanon, and via video conferencing to delegates in Asia and the Arab region, was a follow up on earlier discussions on the regions' ICPD25 Commitments.

Extent of Violence Against Women During Pandemic Exposed

By Cecilia Russell
COVID-19 restrictions exposed women and girls to heightened abuse – revealing the conditions in which gender-based violence became the shadow pandemic on the continent, a recent webinar attended by parliamentarians from Africa and Asia heard.

Internationally COVID-19 Extracted a Heavy Toll on Older People

By Cecilia Russell
Internationally COVID-19 extracted a heavy toll on older people – raising concerns in the Asia Pacific region where more than half of the world’s ageing population live.

COVID-19 – Possible Human Rights Crisis in Asia as Disparities Expected to Widen

By Cecilia Russell
The negative impact of the coronavirus pandemic is likely to be felt long after the COVID-19 health risk is resolved, a high-level meeting under the auspices of the Asian Population and Development Association (APDA), heard.

Report Shows Sri Lanka has Escalation of Violence During COVID-19 Lockdown

By Mantoe Phakathi
The coronavirus pandemic has resulted in the escalation of violence against women and children in Sri Lanka.

Philippines’ Senior Citizens Vulnerabilities Increase Because of COVID-19 Lockdown

By Stella Paul
In the Philippines, May has long been a month of joy when farmers harvest their rice crop and celebrate the Pahiyas harvest festival. But this year, the mood was somber. The food production and supply system also affected, thanks to the coronavirus lockdown, and the economy frozen. As a result, millions of Filipinos, especially senior citizens, are now looking at an uncertain future.

Global Impact of New Corona Virus and Population Issues

By Osamu Kusumoto
The new coronavirus (COVID-19) continues to wreak havoc across the world, as the number of infections and deaths rapidly rise. It has the potential to infect anybody regardless of age or gender. There are grave concerns that the economic fallout from COVID-19 may be comparable to that of the Great Depression. According to Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center, there are 2,064,668 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 137,124 deaths due to SARS-CoV-2 (the virus causing COVID-19). In Japan as of noon April 15, there were 8,100 cases of COVID-19 , 119 deaths, and 901 patients discharged from hospitals.

Djibouti Intensifies Awareness-raising Efforts Against FGM

By Mantoe Phakathi
Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is still widely practised in the African country of Djibouti. Despite efforts by the government and development agencies to curb this practice, culture, tradition and religion continue to slow down progress.

India and Japan’s MPs Act Quickly to Implement Sexual and Reproductive Health Plans after ICPD25

By Mantoe Phakathi
Parliamentarians from India and Japan have hit the ground running by acting soon after the recent Nairobi Summit on International Conference on Population Development (ICPD25).

Empower Young People to Sustain Our Planet, and Let Peace and Prosperity Thrive

By Crystal Orderson
Q: At ICPD25 we heard that women and girls are still waiting for the unmet promises to be met? DO you think this time around there is a commitment to ensure that these promises are met? The Nairobi Summit is about the Future of Humanity and Human Prosperity.

Art Helping Women to Highlight Gender-based Violence at ICPD25

By Mantoe Phakathi
While women find it hard to talk about their painful experiences, some have found a way of expressing themselves through art. Women, trained as artists, from Nairobi’s informal settlements Kibera and Kangemi, have produced a beautiful quilt that tells stories about their daily challenges.

This Time Around ICPD25 Commitments Will Be Met Says UNFPA …

By Crystal Orderson
The United Nations Population Fund, UNFPA Ethiopia country representative, Bettina Maas speaks to IPS at the ICPD25 Nairobi Summit and she says she is optimistic that this time around that the three critical commitments; bringing preventable maternal deaths, gender based violence and harmful practices, as well as unmet need for family planning to zero will be realized.
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