Sexual and reproductive health and rights constitute fundamental human rights,
form a vital aspect of the women’s empowerment
and are key to the achievement of gender equality.
The
2006 High-Level Meeting and comprehensive review of the progress achieved
in the implementation of the Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS will
take place on 31 May - 2 June at the United Nations in New York. The
meeting will involve all sectors of international community, governments,
civil society and the private sector. An unprecedented number of almost
800
civil society organizations have been granted accreditation, apart from
those already accredited by ECOSOC. The civil society will be provided
with the opportunity to exchange views with Member States during the
hearing organized on 31 May. The hearing will be chaired by the president
of the General Assembly or his representative and organized with
participation of people living with HIV and broader civil society. The
involvement of civil society will also include presentation slots in
plenary, roundtable and panel sessions. The panel discussions are expected
to focus on the following themes: ·
Breaking
the cycle of HIV infection for sustainable AIDS
responses ·
Overcoming
capacity constraints that inhibit current emergency responses and the
movement towards universal access to antiretroviral
therapy ·
Ending
the increased feminization of AIDS ·
Sustainable
and predictable financing for scaled-up AIDS
responses ·
Overcoming
stigma and discrimination and changing the way societies respond to people
living with HIV. A political declaration will be adopted at the culmination of the High-level Meeting on 2nd June. Meanwhile the civil society has been undertaking activities aimed at influencing the review process and the final declaration. In April the ASTRA Network sent an open letter to the Austrian Presidency of the European Union calling on the EU to strengthen its further commitments to more effective prevention of HIV/AIDS interlinked with sexual and reproductive health and rights policies as well as to address the crucial related issues during the UNGASS review.
REGIONAL UPDATES Czech Republic: number of abortions. Thanks
to the promotion of contraception and more effective pregnancy prevention
the number of abortions in the Czech Republic dropped in 2005 by 4 percent
compared with 2004. One fifth of the total number of abortions, which is
26,450, was performed because of health reasons. 35 percent of women who
terminated their pregnancy already have two children. Childless women who
applied for the procedure constitute 27 percent. The number of
miscarriages is about 30 percent of all early terminated pregnancies and
is quite stable. PUSH Poland: child support in case of the denial of legal
abortion. Polish
Supreme Court decided that the woman who was denied legal abortion after she had been
raped has the right to sue the proprietor of the hospital for costs
related to bringing up the child. The case was brought by a women who
wanted to terminate the 11-week pregnancy and had received the required
certificates from the gynecologist
and the prosecutor. When she called the hospital, the doctors
estimated the gestation for
14 weeks. The divergence of the opinions made it impossible for her to
have a legal abortion since the time limit for terminating the pregnancy
in case of rape is the end of the 12th week. When the baby was
born it became obvious that the doctors in the hospital were wrong. The
woman lost the case in civil courts, but the Supreme Court repealed and
the case went back to the lower court. This court, in turn, asked the
Supreme Court for a decision if the costs of child rearing in this woman's
case can be treated as "damage" which qualifies for compensation. The
answer of the Supreme Court is “yes”. Federation for Women and Family Planning Poland: The
conservative Polish government announced its plan to reactivate the
National Team for the Promotion of Natural Family Planning. The
crossministerial team will consist of gynecologists, obstetricians,
teachers and anti-abortion activists. Federation for Women and Family Planning Russia: HIV in St. Petersburg. According
to Rospotrebnadzor - a new organization working in infectious disease
surveillance and control in the Russian Federation over 1,000 new HIV
cases were recorded in St. Petersburg during the first quarter of 2006.
This means that the situation has not improved. In St. Petersburg the
percentage of people aware that they are HIV positive and who seek
assistance is lower than the national average - and is 56% compared to 63%
in all of Russia. Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report Ukraine: World bank suspends
HIV/AIDS project. The World Bank announced that it has suspended the
60 million USD project aimed at combating Tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS in
Ukraine because of lack of progress in the implementation and the
government’s failure to distribute the funds of which only 2% has been
spent during three years. Paul Bermingham, World Bank Director for
Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova said that this action is being taken by the
World Bank since "the project has failed to make any significant impact on
the growing threat of HIV/AIDS in Ukraine and the neighboring countries."
The focus of project was to stop the spread of the TB and HIV/AIDS among
drug users, sex workers and prisoners by using proven methods of
prevention, diagnosis and treatment. Although the project has been
suspended, the World Bank remains committed to supporting Ukraine's
efforts to prevent transmission and hopes for reconstructing the project
so it could be implemented effectively. Uzbekistan: safe maternity. The
regional conference "Making safe maternity a reality" organized in
Tashkent by UNFPA hosted
governments representatives as well as UNFPA, WHO and INICEF officers,
from Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan
and Uzbekistan. During the meeting the strategies to mainstream maternal
mortality reduction to reproductive health programmes were discussed and
the first step was made towards working out the National Roadmaps for
attaining the millennium Development Goals related to maternal and newborn
health. According to MDG document the maternal mortality rate should be
reduced by three quarters before 2015 and by two thirds the mortality
ratio of children under five. PUSH
GLOBAL
UPDATES United Kingdom: Free condoms in night taxis. The Safe Ride Home project aimed at reducing the number of sexually transmitted infections will be launched in several cities across UK in the next few months. Taxi drivers are provided with free condoms in discreet, black envelopes which they could give to the passengers on their request on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. The program was already tested in Brighton last year. European Union: Guidelines on safety and quality of human
cells and tissues. In
February the Commission of European Communities adopted technical rules
for dealing with human cells and tissues, including reproductive cells,
throughout the Union. The new rules set out the requirements related to
donation, procurement, processing, preservation, storage and distribution.
The document also introduces the traceability standards which will ensure
that the cell or tissue can be followed from the donor to the patient and
back. "Hundreds of thousands of EU citizens every year undergo some form
of treatment based on the use of human tissues and cells, and they must be
able to trust in the safety and quality of this process. The legislation
that we have set down will ensure that this is the case - wherever the
tissue and cells come from or are received within the EU" - said Markos
Kyprianou, Health and Consumer Protection Commissioner. The decision on
which cells and tissues are permitted is under responsibility of the
state.
More: http://europa.eu.int/comm/health/ph_threats/human_substance/press_tissues_cells_en.htm Reproductive Cell Donation in the European Union. In
February the European Union published the report on the legal regulations
concerning the reproductive cell donation in EU Member States. The report
is based on the questionnaires and addresses the issues of
confidentiality, anonymity, non-remuneration, compensation, consent for
egg cell donation as well as importation and exportation of reproductive
cells. The report covers the situation in 22 member states and shows
significant differences between the legal regulations. For example, in 12
states the importation and exportation of the cells remains unregulated by
the law. http://europa.eu.int/comm/health/ph_threats/human_substance/documents/tissues_frep_en.pdf
European Union: Fund for research on embryonic stem cells – petition. World Congress for Freedom of Scientific Research and Luca Coscioni Association launched a petition calling on the European Parliament to ensure that the Seventh Framework Programme on Research at least to confirm the funding of research projects on stem cells obtained from supernumerary embryos and that eligibility to funding be extended to research projects on nuclear transfer. The petition was signed by Noble Prize winners, scientists and several members of EU Parliament. HIV-protective gel available by 2010.
The
researchers attending the Microbicides 2006 Conference in Cape Town, South
Africa, said that microbicide
which will help women protect themselves from the HIV virus could be
available by 2010 if the clinical trials involving thousands of women
prove successful. According to Rita Ramjee, Director
of the HIV Prevention Research Unit of the South African Medical Research
Council, the results from five clinical trials should be available by
2008. 2010 would be the earliest date for the microbicide to be available
on the market provided that the governments speed up the approval
processes. The microbicides
delivered in the form of gels, films and sponges, can be especially useful
in societies where men are reluctant to use condoms.
Kaiser HIV/AIDS Report, Associated Press UNFPA: 700,000 more midwives needed. On
7th April, the World Health Day, the United Nations Population
Fund called for increased investment in the health sector, including
sexual and reproductive health. It also paid special tribute to midwives
who play a crucial role in saving the lives and improving the health of
mothers and infants worldwide. „Despite their importance – UNFPA message
says – they often face poor working conditions, inadequate supplies and
support and, as female health workforce, are subject to gender
discrimination.” In many countries there is a shortage of midwives. In
order to provide universal access to good quality care at birth and to
achieve the Millennium Development Goal of improving maternal health
700,000 more midwives are needed. UNFPA News Vatican: Easing ban on condom use? The
interview given to Italian L’Espresso newsweekly by Cardinal Carlo Maria
Martini, retired archbishop of Milan, in which he stated that using
condoms by spouses of which one is HIV positive is choosing “the lesser of
two evils” preceded the news that the Vatican plans to release a document
allowing condom use within marriage to prevent HIV infection. This
information was denied by cardinal Javier Lazano Barragan, head of
Pontifical Council for Health Pastoral Care, who said that the council
will only draft an internal study on the subject. He added that it will be
the Pope who will make the
decision whether the Vatican will release the document or not.
Kaiser Daily USA: Abstinence AIDS plan criticized by GAO.
The
US Government Accountability Office issued a report which analyzed the
results of the US Global Leadership on HIV, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Act
of 2003 (President’s Emergency Plan for Aids Relief known as PEPFAR). The
law supports an approach often described as ABC – Abstain, Be Faithful or
Use Condoms - and requires that at least 33 percent of prevention funding
be spent on “abstinence-until-marriage” programs. Although in theory the
program should be designed to meet the local HIV prevention needs, in
practice the requirements limit the ability to allocate the funds in a way
that would address the prevention priorities of the supported countries.
According to the GAO report this has been experienced by 17 of 20 country
teams of US workers. Two-thirds of the teams reported that the guidelines
created confusion about how to implement the ABC model under PEPFAR. The
US government’s emphasis on abstinence in a program aimed at combating
HIV/AIDS undermines the effectiveness of the 15 billion dollars prevention
project and hampers efforts in the countries that are meant to be
helped.
PUSH, The Center for Health and Gender Equity
REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS ON THE
AGENDA Call for Support. A
call to sign-on to a set of civil society recommendations for the
political declaration of the high level meeting on AIDS to
be held in New York on 31 May - 2 June 2006. The document includes
proposed language for 60 priority issues for the Political Declaration
that reflects the work, discussions and consultations of a broad and
diverse group of thousands of civil society organizations. It has
drawn on reports of civil society consultation meetings and processes,
reports from civil society country monitoring of UNGASS implementation,
specific language proposed by civil society for the Universal Access
consultations processes, and many more existing recommendations coming
from civil society groups around the world. The recommendations are
therefore based on their priorities and commitment of all these groups.
Copies of recommendations are available at: www.icaso.org.
The organization’s endorsement/sign-on should be sent to the email: universalaccess@icaso.org The on-line discussion forum on Integration of Family
Planning Counselling and HIV/AIDS services: The Department of Reproductive
Health and Research in collaboration with partners form the Implementing
Best Practices are organizing on-line global discussion forum focused on
"Client and provider perspectives on integration of Family Planning
Counseling and HIV/AIDS services". The forum will be available on 1-26
May. Each week the forum discussion will focus on specific aspect of the
issue: week 1 will be a follow-up of the video conference
held on March 2006 during which the project was initiated; week 2 will
focus on provider perspectives/barriers to including FP counseling in
HIV/AIDS counseling; week 3 will focus on client perspectives on FP
counseling in HIV/AIDS settings; week 4 will be devoted to discussions of
future directions/challenges/barriers. More information on the forum and on how to participate at: http://www.fpandhiv.org/videoconference/ibpforuminvitation.php 9th Congress of ESC: 9th Congress of The European Society of Contraception "Improving Life Quality Through Contraception And Reproductive Health Care" takes place in Istanbul, Turkey, on 3-6 May 2006. ASTRA's letter on HIV/AIDS prevention policy to EU
presidency. In
an open letter sent to Mr. Wolfgang Schüssel, Austrian Presidency of EU,
ASTRA called on EU to strengthen further commitments during the UNGASS
review to effective HIV/AIDS prevention strongly interlinked with SRHR
policies and programs. Among other issues addressed in the letter ASTRA
also urged EU to encourage Member States, Applicant and Neighboring
countries to promote SRHR and to provide young people with information,
education and services on issues related to HIV/AIDS.
http://www.astra.org.pl/articles.php?id=121 Journal of Sexualities, Gender + Justice - call for papers. The Journal of Sexualities, Gender + Justice invites submissions on the topic of Just love, and encourages analyses across plural and different sexualities and genders, including but not limited to heterosexual, queer, intersex, transgender, masculinities and femininities and analyses that address the appearance of law in different sites, such as word and image, popular culture, cinema, policy, daily life, judgments and legislation. Submissions due 30 June 2006. More information on the Journal, the topics and style of submissions available at: www.jsgj.org
United Nations General Assembly Special Session on
HIV/AIDS: The
High-Level Meeting will take place on 31 May - 2 June 2006 at the United
Nations in New York. The
main focus of the meeting is to review progress in implementing the 2001
Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS, focusing on both constraints and
opportunities to full implementation; consider recommendations on how the
targets set in the Declaration may be reached and to renew political
commitment. The EuroNGOs Conference on advancing sexual health and
rights:
The
EuroNGOs Conference and Membership meeting on “Advancing Sexual &
Reproductive Health and Rights Internationally: What Role for the Enlarged
EU?” will be held on 8-9 June Family Planning and Sexual Health Association (FPSHA), Lithuania 7th Congress of FIAPAC: The seventh Congress of International Federation of Professional Abortion and Contraception Associates “Freedom and rights in reproductive health” will take place on 13-14 October in Rome, Italy. The free communications and the abstracts for posters in English are welcome until 1st of July. The preliminary programme and information concerning registration are available at: http://www.fiapac.org/e/RomePrelProgr2.htmlYouth seminar on fighting homophobia.
The youth seminar "Fighting
homophobia in School" will be organized on 2-5 June ACCEPT Changemakers Innovation Award.
The Changemaker Innovation Award is the competition on "How to Improve
Health for All." open to all types of organizations (charitable
organizations, private companies, or public entities) from all countries.
Online competition submissions are accepted until May 24,
2006 at noon, U.S. Eastern Time. More information on the criteria and
phases in the competition available at:
LINKS
The
Righttodecide.org website, launched in
September 2004, is no longer updated. However, throughout the web
many alternative sources of information on Sexual and Reproductive
Rights and Health remain available. The
Center for Health and Gender Equity and Health GAP (Global Access Project)
are launching PEPFAR Watch, a
new website intended to share information about U.S. global AIDS
policy. The new site is found at www.pepfarwatch.org. The
PEPFAR Watch is intended to be a central source for news on U.S. global
AIDS law, policy, programs, and funding streams; analysis, critique,
and debate on U.S. global AIDS policies. and related concerns around
sexual and reproductive health, treatment access, voluntary counseling and
testing, and other critical issues
PUBLICATIONS The World Health Report 2006 - Working together for
health, published by WHO on World Health Day
2006,
contains an expert assessment of the current crisis in the global health
workforce and ambitious proposals to tackle it over the next ten years.
The report reveals an estimated shortage of almost 4.3 million doctors,
midwives, nurses and support workers worldwide but most severe in the
poorest countries, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. Focusing on all
stages of the health workers' career lifespan from entry to health
training, to job recruitment through to retirement, the report lays out a
ten-year action plan in which countries can build their health workforces,
with the support of global partners. The report is available at: http://www.who.int/whr/2006/en/index.html Resource Book for Working Against Trafficking in Human
Beings in the CIS and the Baltic Sea Region,
Angel Coalition, 2005. The publication is a tool for networking and
collaboration against trafficking in human beings in CIS and the Baltic
Sea Region, as especially as regards repatriation and rehabilitation of
victims. The book available to download at: http://www.angelcoalition.org/pdf/2005ResourceBookENG.pdf Reproductive Health and Human Rights. Integrating Medicine, Ethics, and Law. Rebecca J. Cook, Bernard M. Dickens, Mahmoud F. Fathalla. Oxford University Press, 2003. The authoritative guide to principles of reproductive health worldwide providing accessible, non-technical explanations of specific health issues and integrating medicine, ethics, law, and human rights in case-studies drawn from a variety of contexts. The book equips readers to handle challenges in their own health care circumstances. Human Rights In The OSCE Region: Europe, Central Asia and
North America, Report 2006 (Events
of 2005), International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights.
Gender issues are included in the country chapters. The full report on
human rights violation will be published in June 2006. Parts of the report
(the chapters by country) are already posted by IHF of it on its website:
@@@ @@@ @@@ All issues of ASTRA Bulletin are available on: www.astra.org.pl. To unsubscribe please mail to: info@astra.org.pl. Please refer your friends willing to subscribe to ASTRA group to: info@astra.org.pl ASTRA members:ASTRA coordination and secretariat: Federation for Women and Family Planning, Warsaw/Poland, http://www.astra.org.pl; Family Planning Association of Albania, Tirana/Albania, afpa@albaniaonline.net; Women's Rights Center of Armenia, Yerevan/Armenia, wrcarm@arminco.com; Women's Independent Democratic Movement of Belarus, Minks/ Belarus, http://www.cacedu.unibel.by/widm; Bulgarian Gender Research Foundation, Sofia/Bulgaria; B.a.b.e (Be Active, Be Emancipated), Zagreb/Croatia, http://www.babe.hr; CESI - Centre for Education and Counselling of Women, Zagreb/Croatia, http://www.zamir.net/~cesi; Family Planning and Sexual Health Association of Lithuania, Vilnius/Lithuania, lithfpa@takas.lt; Latvia's Association for Family Planning And Sexual Health, Riga/Latvia, http://www.papardeszieds.lv; Eastern European Institute for Reproductive Health, Targu Mures/Romania, icozos@eeirh.org, AnA: Romanian Society for Feminist Analysis, Bucharest/Romania, http://www.anasaf.ro/; Institute of State and Law, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow/Russia, olga@khazova.msk.ru; Novogorod Gender Center, Novgorod/Russia, kevi@adm.nov.ru; NGO "Women Health and Family Planning", Kiev/Ukraine,http://www.whfp.kiev.ua; Habeas Corpus Working Group/Hungary, http://www.habeascorpus.hu; IPAS, Chapel Hill/USA, http://www.ipas.org; NGO Pro Choice Bratislava, Bratislava/Slovakia, http://www.prochoice.sk; Center for Reproductive Rights, New York/USA, http://www.reproductiverights.org, International Centre for Reproductive Health,Ghent/Belgium, http://www.icrh.org, Bulgarian Family Planning and Sexual Health Association, Sofia/Bulgaria http://www.bfpa-bg.org, Women's Center,Tbilisi/Georgia, http://www.womancenter.org.ge , Gender Education, Research and Technologies, Sofia/Bulgaria marinova@mbox.cit.bg, Reproductive Health Training Center, Chisinau/Moldova, www.medicalabortionconsortium.org; Women's Room - Women's Center for Sexuality and the Prevention, Research and Combating of Sexual Violence, Zagreb/Croatia, zenska.soba@zamir.net, ANO "Women's Health"/Russia; Charitable SALUS Foundation/Ukraine, www.salus.org.ua Editorial Committee: Elwira Chrusciel, Evgenia Kulikova, Monika Malicka, Wanda Nowicka, Entela Shehu, Aleksandra Solik. Supported by: Open Society Institute and International Women's Health Coalition __________________________________________________________________________________________ |