I write this in the very interesting city of Nay Pyi Taw in Myanmar as I attend the 8th Asia-Pacific Conference on Reproductive and Sexual Health and Rights along with 20 or so other Filipino delegates. Thanks to the Philippine Center for Population and Development, one of my group’s partners on RH initiatives for sending me here.
This conference is held every two years and the last one was held in Manila. It will be remembered that the last Manila event became controversial because anti-RH groups picketed the event and petitioned the Court to stop it. They claimed that it violated the Constitutional prohibition against abortion because there were sessions that discussed abortion. Belatedly (because the three-day conference was already over), the Court denied the petition. The decision said that the event did not violate any law because there was no abortion being performed, and, discussing abortion is not a crime. We kidded international delegates that they had a taste of the kind of intolerance we face in the country.
This Myanmar conference is quite interesting as it brings together sexual and reproductive health and rights stakeholders from various disciplines; country experiences from both government and non-government organizations are shared; successful interventions are discussed; problems and challenges are surfaced and analyzed; and possible solutions are put forward and debated.
Noticeably, the SRHR situations in Asia and Pacific regions are similar and different at the same time. Common problems exist across countries like: adolescent pregnancy, high unmet need for family planning, inadequate financing for RH (remember the recent controversial defunding of contraceptives by Senators Legarda and Sotto?), discrimination against LGBT, violence against women, and adolescent reproductive and sexual health and right.
Some countries however, have SRHR-related problems peculiar to them. For instance child/forced marriages common in South Asian countries like Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Nepal; highly restrictive abortion laws such as what the Philippines has; criminalization of sex “work”; the declaration in 17 countries that same-sex relations are illegal; also the absence of a divorce law in the Philippines. SRHR contexts of countries are similar with some distinct peculiarities.
This conference also raised warning signals about emerging threats against SRHR brought about by changes in how we live our lives. Datuk Dr. Raj Abdul Karim of the Malaysian Council of Child Welfare, and Malaysian AIDS Council sounded the alarm on two problems: trafficking and sexual exploitation of girls and women in travel and tourism, and online sexual exploitation. Dr. Karim said that 47 percent of those trafficked for forced labor and sexual exploitation in domestic setting are women and girls. She also emphasized that in 2013, 74 percent of children victimized online was victimized by someone in their circle of trust like family and friends. Certainly these problems are SRHR-related issues needing attention.
Throughout the three days, interesting presentations were made highlighting different approaches and strategies in addressing the various identified SRHR problems. What stand out for me are the following which, when taken together or integrated could make for an effective framework that can be used by stakeholders in their interventions:
The presentations that focused on the importance and effectiveness of community women’s actions in organizing, educating, and facilitating the delivery of SRHR services to those who want and need these. When it comes to SRHR, women are the primary rights-holders. Empowering initiatives are key for the women and their communities in demanding for the realization of their health and rights. Implementation of laws and programs cannot be as effective if not understood and owned by those they seek to benefit.
This was expounded on by Shireen Pervin Huq, a well-known feminist from Bangladesh when she spoke about ‘Claiming Accountability for the Fulfillment of Women’s Rights’. The various presented community women-led programs proved that women are not mere beneficiaries, they are enablers of others and facilitators of achieving rights as well.
As important are initiatives highlighting the fulfillment of government commitments in addressing the SRHR of citizens. A major plenary presentation was made by former Department of Agrarian Reform, now president of the Zuellig Family Foundation Ernesto Garilao on ‘Bridging Leadership in Local Governance for Maternal and Child Health’. Garilao spoke of how their foundation works in developing perspectives and building capacities on reproductive health of Mayors of Local Government Units. The Zuellig Foundation initiative has shown some level of success in relation with maternal mortality rate reduction in certain LGUs. He ended by saying that mayors are key and they should be made health champions.
Influencing key government players is truly important but sustainability must also be looked into since officials have term limits. Thus, beyond influencing Local Chief Executives and other government decision-makers, relevant institutions like the Departments of Health, Social Welfare and Development, and Budget must also be engendered with the rights-based paradigm in implementing laws and policies especially those that deal with people’s welfare, like the RH law.
Quality SRHR care is the other very important cornerstone in effectively responding to needs on family planning, gender-based violence, adolescent pregnancy, etc. Quality care delivered primarily by public and private medical professionals, etc. is vital in the fulfillment of people’s health-related rights.
Women-led community initiatives that empower communities to demand for their rights, government officials and institutions committed to their role as duty-bearers in actualizing human rights, quality care from the service delivery sector, coordination between these players are the major factors in addressing people’s SRHR needs.
The Philippines’ RH Law has this in place. There is no reason why the law’s implementation cannot be fast-tracked now.
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