Ministers review gains made in improving health

Rumbidzayi Zinyuke In Victoria Falls

As the 30th anniversary of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) draws near, Partners for Population Development (PPD) member countries have taken stock of the efforts each of them has made to achieve the goals they set to accelerate access to Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) for women and young people.

To address issues of maternal deaths, unmet need for family planning services, and gender-based violence, countries made national commitments in five areas that included universal access to sexual and reproductive health, financial resources to finish the ICPD Program of Action, demographic diversity to drive economic growth and achievement of sustainable development and gender.

Yesterday Governments of the PPD member states reaffirmed the need for a multi-sectoral approach and leveraging on South-South cooperation to ensure the attainment of such goals.

This message came out during the opening ceremony of the 20th International Inter-Ministerial Conference on Population and Development currently underway in Victoria Falls.

South Africa’s Minister of Social Development and chair of the PPD board Ms Lindiwe Zulu who was represented by acting director general in the Department of Social Development said many developing countries were facing challenges in meeting their as Sustainable Development Goals.

“As the Global South, we must intensify our efforts to consolidate our collective efforts in galvanising support for each other, together with our development partners, in sharing best practices, and ensuring that no-one is left behind,” she said.

“The UN Secretary General’s Report highlighted that the world is only about 15 percent on track in meeting the SDGs targets by 2030, meaning that the majority of these are either stagnated or we have completely regressed.”

She said the conference had given member states a chance to review many of the gains they had recorded, whilst also frankly reflecting on the gaps and challenges in the implementation of the Nairobi Commitments, ICPD Plan of Action and SGD Agenda 2030.

“I wish to encourage multiple resource mobilisation for South-South and Triangular Cooperation including third-party cost-sharing, parallel financing, and in-kind contributions, which have been proven to be feasible and effective in the past decades among the PPD member countries,” Ms Zulu added.

Health and Child Care Minister Dr Douglas Mombeshora said Zimbabwe had established a multi-sectoral national taskforce which periodically met to coordinate, monitor and evaluate the implementation of the Programme of Action (PoA).

“The taskforce employs a whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach to ensure that all stakeholders contribute towards meeting the commitments we have made. The existing National Family Planning forum and the Sexual Reproductive Health forum, coordinated by Zimbabwe National Family Planning Council provides technical leadership to all service providers in the country. Through these platforms, public-private-partnerships have been developed and implemented, leading to improved quality Family planning and reproductive health service provision for our citizens,” he said.

Zimbabwe’s unmet need for family planning is still high at 10 percent while teenage pregnancy rate is as high as 22 percent.

Minister Mombeshora said multi-country collaborative programmes would help to respond to operational questions pertaining to family planning and sexual reproductive health issues.

Gambian Vice President Mr Muhammad Jallow who was represented by Minister of Public Service Mr Baboucarr Bouy emphasised the importance of giving women and girls the power to make informed choices about their sexual and reproductive health.

“As we commemorate the 30th anniversary of the ICPD, it is crucial that we reflect on our achievements, assess the challenges that we may face and we commit ourselves to the principles enshrined in the programme of action. In Gambia, through dedicated efforts of the National Population Commission secretariat and with support from the UNFPA, we have conducted a review of the Addis Ababa declaration on population and development. This review process signifies our commitment to the principles and goals set for the ICPD programme,” he said.

He said his country’s journey towards the review had been marked by a comprehensive approach that included consultations with key stakeholders and national validation workshop.

“Through these various avenues, we sought to engage a wide range of stakeholders including government policy, civil society organisations and of course fellow population and development partners. This inclusive approach has allowed us to gather diverse perspectives and experiences, ensuring that our review process reflects the voices and aspirations of the people,” the Vice President said.

However, countries like Yemen, plagued by civil war have not been able to meet some of the ICPD goals.

Minister of Health and Population in Yemen Mr Qasem Buhaibeh said his country still had a long way to go.

He said all the indicators of the Sustainable Development Goals had taken a backseat since the beginning of the civil war in Yemen.

“Life should be enjoyed but that is not the case in Yemen. We missed the attainment of most development goals,” he said.

UNFPA East and Southern Africa regional director Ms Lydia Zigomo said ongoing discussions during the conference should be focussed on accelerating global and national development frameworks.

“Leading up to ICPD30, there are a series of national and regional consultations planned with a hope to galvanise a strengthened support to further the achievement of the ICPD PoA, despite emerging challenges that threaten to derail progress and sideline the centrality of sexual and reproductive health, and gender equality in development,” she said.

“I hope that the meeting will take on an SSTC lens by looking at how SSTC can accelerate the achievement of ICPD PoA. An outcomes or recommendations from this conference will feed into the global and regional consultations reports aiming to reaffirm the ICPD PoA objectives.”