Hyderabad: Asia Pacific conclave on reproductive and sexual health

[Guest guest]

Asia Pacific conclave on reproductive and sexual health

16 September 2007

Exploring New Frontiers in Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights

is the theme of the 4th Asia Pacific Conference on Reproductive and

Sexual Health and Rights (APCRSH) being held in Hyderabad, India,

from October 29-31, 2007.

This conference will bring together more than 1200 participants

including NGOs, government officials, donors, UN representatives,

media persons and parliamentarians to discuss issues related to

sexual & reproductive health and rights.

The conference aims to develop new strategies for future research and

programming on the subject. It will also enhance understanding of the

importance of rights-based programmes on such sensitive issues in the

Asia Pacific region.

There will be special focus on young people and adolescents. Sexual

and Reproductive Health (SRH) is seen as central to achieving the

Millennium Development Goals too.

With 700 million adolescents (10-19 years) living in Asia, the

subject is extremely relevant for the region. Not only are their

numbers large but they are experiencing rapid changes in attitudes

and expectations in a fast-changing world. Therefore, developing

programmes to address their SRH needs poses a major challenge.

In India there has been considerable debate on the relevance and

importance of sex education in schools. The conference will enable

educationists and thinkers to get a wider regional and international

perspective on the subject.

The integration of family planning, HIV/AIDS and SRH envisioned at

ICPD (International Conference on Population and Development held in

Cairo in 1994) is gradually taking place in the Asia Pacific region

despite constraints of funding, organizational barriers, and limited

training opportunities for health service providers.

The biennial Asia Pacific conference on sexual and reproductive

health enables donors, target groups, activists and civil society to

get together to take stock of current trends and research. Beginning

in 2001, conferences have been held in Manila, Bangkok and Kuala

Lumpur. These conferences were able to generate new energies and

provide directions thus leading to a more focussed and synergised

approach.

The Hyderabad conference will deal with expanding and empowering the

SRHR movement, moving beyond tokenism, equalizing sexual relations,

responding to emerging issues in SRHR, addressing unmet need for SRH

services, and making pregnancy safe and wanted through a more

expanded `informed choices' in services.

The rapid fertility decline and demographic transition experienced in

most of Asia has been accompanied in several countries by heightened

discrimination against girls. It is manifested through prevailing pre-

natal sex selection and female feotecide resulting in increased sex

ratio imbalance.

Son-preference, the combination of traditional methods of neglect of

girls and misuse of modern technology, urbanization, rising

educational levels and standard of living has lead to an increasing

deficit of young girls across the region, often so in the affluent

sections of the populations.

Needless to emphasize, a country's sex-ratio can be a telling

indicator of its social well-being. Skewed sex ratios at birth have

already resulted in a demographic gap in parts of China and in India,

with the far-reaching consequences, including growing violence

against women and girls, bride trafficking and early marriages.

Despite legislative responses, recent available data shows that the

practice persists and its spill-over effects are impacting

neighbouring countries too.

The India Consortium on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights

includes Mamta Health Institute for Mother and Child and Population

Foundation of India, New Delhi, Centre for Health Education, Training

and Nutrition Awareness, Ahmedabad, Centre for Operations Research

and Training, Baroda, Child In Need Institute, Kolkata, Family

Planning Association of India, Indian Society for the Study of

Reproduction and Fertility (ISSRF) and the Humsafar Trust, Mumbai.

http://southasia.oneworld.net/article/view/153204/1/