...as health ministers pledge more attention (http://nationalmirroronline.net/new/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/UNFPA-Executive-Director-Dr.-Babatunde-Osotimehin-2nd-L-Princess-Mabel-4th-L-of-the-Netherlands-and-Denmark%E2%80%99s-Crown-Princess-Mary-3rd-R-at-the-opening-session-of-the-conference.jpg) (http://nationalmirroronline.net/new/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/UNFPA-Executive-Director-Dr.-Babatunde-Osotimehin-2nd-L-Princess-Mabel-4th-L-of-the-Netherlands-and-Denmark%E2%80%99s-Crown-Princess-Mary-3rd-R-at-the-opening-session-of-the-conference.jpg) UNFPA Executive Director Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin (2nd L) Princess Mabel (4th L) of the Netherlands and
Denmark's Crown Princess Mary (3rd R) at the opening session of the conference
Issues of family planning and girl's reproductive health took the centre stage at the just-concluded three-day Women Deliver Conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, with health ministers from countries around the world pledging to pay more attention to women's health and ensure that this is central to the post-2015 development agenda.
Women Deliver is a global advocacy organization that brings together voices from around the world to call for action to improve the health and wellbeing of girls and women. Nigeria was represented at the conference by the Minister of State for Health, Dr. Muhammed Pate.
Adopting the 'Call to Action' at the end of a forum tagged: "Meeting Our Commitments for Family Planning" the ministers resolved to hold themselves accountable for achieving universal access to family planning and promised to work towards the elimination of barriers to service delivery and commodities, especially for youth and vulnerable populations.
They also disclosed that within the framework of universal health coverage, they would further "ensure that health financing systems evolve to reduce financial barriers to accessing services and contraceptives among the most disadvantaged and poorest populations".
Apart from family planning, other top women health-related issues addressed at the conference include maternal health, adolescent girls, cervical cancer, intercourseuality and abortion among others. Keynote speakers emphasized intercourseual and reproductive health, gender equality and women's empowerment need to occupy a principal spot in the new framework that will succeed the Millennium Development Goals after 2015.
Reiterating the need for women empowerment, Helen Clark, Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme stated that "Countries where women have rights and opportunity denied cannot maximize their development potential – that can't happen if half the population is not equally empowered".
She however noted that progress towards the MDG goals and targets "has been very uneven – not least for girls and women". Gaps in girls' education have closed. Maternal deaths have been reduced by half since 1990, but 800 women still die every day".
Describing this as "a global emergency", she continued that "some 222 million women, predominantly poor and young, have an unmet need for contraception, leading to 80 million unplanned pregnancies and 20 million unsafe abortions.
"Gender inequality and disempowerment of women and girls lie at the heart of slow progress on MDG targets and the Cairo Programme of Action. That's why they must be focused on and tackled with renewed determination in a reinvigorated global development agenda," she added.
Several processes are however under way to assess the achievement of the MDGs and establish new development goals. Others are reviewing progress in carrying out the actions called for at the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD).
Two members of a high-level task force on ICPD, former President of Finland Tarja Halonen and Crown Princess Mary of Denmark, further elaborated on the group's call in April for much bolder action to protect intercourseual and reproductive rights, achieve universal access to intercourseual and reproductive health information and services, ensure all young people have rights, achieve universal access to intercourseual and reproductive health information and services, ensure all young people have comprehensive intercourseuality education, and eliminate violence against girls and women.
The princess however noted that "intercourseual and reproductive health and rights are central to economic growth and addressing climate change".
Dr. Osotimehin, Executive Director, United Nations Population Fund, UNFPA, in a later discussion on population growth, sustainability and women's rights revealed that women for long have been marginalized while their pleas and need for better and quality reproductive health fallen on deaf ears.
"In every particular circumstance, when you ask women how many children they want to have, they actually want less than the ones they have. What we have denied them is the right to make that choice.
"It comes back to the issue of freedom and choices, of exposure to education and access to services" he noted.
The global conference which had 4,500 participants from 2,200 organizations and 149 countries, ended with Osotimehin thanking the ministers for their commitment as reflected in the Call to action.
"You have also committed to the deadline of 2015," he said. "Let us go forth, ensuring that each country owns
National Mirror