In September 2008, the PPD ARO hosted the 2008 Regional Meeting of Parliamentary Committees on Health in East and Southern Africa, at Munyonyo, Kampala, Uganda, from 16-18 September 2008. This meeting gathered members of Parliamentary committees responsible for health from twelve countries in East and Southern Africa, with sixteen technical, government and civil society and regional partners to promote information exchange, facilitate policy dialogue and identify key areas of follow up action to advance health equity and sexual and reproductive health in the region.
This high-level meeting was hosted by PPD ARO in partnership with the Regional Network for Equity in Health in East and Southern Africa (EQUINET), the African Population Health Research Centre (APHRC), Venture Strategies for Health and Development, the German Foundation for World Population (DSW), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), and the Southern and East African Parliamentary Alliance of Committees of Health (SEAPACOH). The PPD ARO believes that only with strategic partnerships like these, that the programme to improve SRHR, population and development on the African continent can progress.
At the 2008 Regional Meeting of Parliamentary Committees on Health in East and Southern Africa, representatives from Parliamentary committees agreed to a number of resolutions, including commitments they will pursue for the next two months, and the next year. They agreed that “parliaments must work towards national, regional and international commitments made to protect and advance the right to health and the commitment to equity in health, primary health care and sexual and reproductive heath rights (SRHR) at all levels in East and Southern Africa” including the 2000 African Union Heads of state Abuja declaration and Plan of Action and the Maputo Plan of Action (2006), which work within the framework of the commitments and plans made in relation to the Millennium Development Goals and the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD).
In particular, the group noted, “the importance of implementing the Maputo Plan of Action to enhance SRHR to enable governments to achieve population goals to provide the necessary conditions for economic and social empowerment and development” and resolved to “ensure that such comprehensive SRHR services include Reproductive Health supplies (for commodity security), government funding for antiretrovirals (ARV) for adults and children, community mobilization on SRHR that involves men, especially in vulnerable communities and for adolescents and youth and education of girl children.”
And within the coming year, the group pledged to “prepare and make budget submissions that . . .Include necessary resource allocations for SRHR and for RH supplies (for commodity security)” and “obtain national population and reproductive health policies and national action plans and request report on progress in their funding and implementation.”
The PPD ARO will reconvene participants in 2009 to follow-up as well as support the linkages between Parliamentarians, Ministers and the technical people in their countries that can support these efforts.
Download the Regional Meeting of Parliamentary Committees on Health in East and Southern Africa meeting report at: http://ppdafrica.org/docs/parliamentreportsep08.pdf
Download the Regional Meeting of Parliamentary Committees on Health in East and Southern Africa resolutions at: http://ppdafrica.org/docs/ParliamentResolutionsSEP08.pdf