World Parliamentarians pledges support for quality health care

From Mrs Lydia Asamoah, GNA Special Correspondent, Addis Abba, Ethiopia

Addis Ababa, (Ethiopia), Oct. 28, GNA -Parliamentarians from the world over have recommitted themselves to generate the political will and resources to promote high quality health systems.

They pledged to use the next five years to ensure that excellent health schemes are in place especially for women and children.

"As Parliamentarians, we have special responsibilities to pass supportive and enabling legislation, to approve budgets, to advocate with our leaders, to promote national dialogue, to mobilise the public, to report on implementation, progress and impact, to voice and address the desires and frustrations of our constituents to whom we are accountable and who need to see actions on the ground, and not words on paper", they said in a draft paper at the opening of the 4th international Parliamentarians conference in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

The two-day conference being organised by the Forum of African and Arab Parliamentarians on Population and Development and the United Nations Population Fund (UNPFA) commemorated the 15th anniversary of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) which first took place in Cairo in 1994.

More than 400 parliamentarians, ministers of state and government officials and partners from civil society groups from more than 115 countries are attending the conference, being hosted by the House of the Peoples' Representatives of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia.

In the draft document, the parliamentarians in a 26-point commitment, expressed among other things their determination to eliminate restrictions in laws and practice that still restricted access to sexual and reproductive health as well as create a platform with civil society, non-governmental organisations, the private sector and foundations for effective joint monitoring and implementation of the ICPD programme of action.

"We will also increase investment to protect and empower the youth, including quality education and skills development, particularly for adolescent girls, access to quality reproductive health information and services, creation of gainful employment opportunities and ensure youth participation at all levels thereby realizing the demographic dividend.

"We will also strengthen parliamentary capacity for oversight and budget analysis, particularly gender budgeting sensitivity to age differences, to increase accountability to achieve Millennium Development Goals (5)."

Earlier at the opening, Mr Teshome Toga, Speaker of the House of the Peoples' Representatives of Ethiopian Parliament said questions of population, reproductive health and maternal health in general indeed matter in the eradication of extreme poverty and promotion of development.

He said the ICPD agenda acknowledged that population concerns must be centred on improving the quality of life for all people.

"That is achieved by integrating population policies and programmes into country development strategies, protecting human rights, especially the right to sexual and reproductive health and the natural resource on which life depends. There is an acknowledged link between sustainable development, reproductive health and gender equality.

He urged the conference to also address the issue of climate change since it had a link with population dynamics, sexual and reproductive health.

Mr Toga said governments must be encouraged to take ownership of programmes and design and implement the needed interventions as they see fit in order to meet the ICPD goals within the next five years.

Importantly, they must be held accountable for the results rather than the processes, he added.

Ms Thoraya Ahmed Obaid, Executive Director, UNFPA said during the past 15 years, the ICPD programme of action had paved the way for the needed reforms to advance human rights in the world.

"It is essential that we keep the human rights front centre as we celebrate the 15Th anniversary of the ICPD," she said.

Ms Obaid advocated that countries should invest more in sexual and reproductive health programmes, end discrimination and violence against women, respond to demographic challenges, build bridges with women and youth and protect the most vulnerable in society.

GNA