PRESS
RELEASE
The ICPD+5 review
process
Dhaka Round Table Ends
with Call on Civil Society
to Engage ICPD
Adversaries, Make Language Accessible
DHAKA, Bangladesh, 30 July -- Defenders of
reproductive health and rights need to devote more resources to
advocacy, and make their messages more accessible, so they can build
a broader alliance in support of their agenda. This was among the
proposals of the Round Table on Partnership with Civil Society in
the Implementation of the ICPD Programme of Action, which ended here
today.
Convened by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and hosted
by Bangladesh’s Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the 27-30
July round-table meeting was part of "ICPD+5", a series of
international activities reviewing progress since the 1994
International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) in
Cairo.
The focus of this meeting was collaboration to promote the Cairo
goals, involving a broad range of partners from "civil society" --
non-governmental organizations (NGOs); community institutions;
religious leaders; private, business and professional associations;
trade unions; and activist groups, among others.
About 70 people from over 30 countries took part. They
represented NGOs, academic and research institutions, and other
sectors of civil society as well as governments. After four days of
discussions, the group adopted a set of proposals listing key
actions to carry forward the Cairo action plan.
Participants’ statements and comments on the proposals will be
incorporated into a final report on the round table. The report,
along with those of other round tables and technical meetings in the
ICPD+5 process, will be consolidated and presented to the
international forum that UNFPA is organizing next February in The
Hague, Netherlands. It will also serve as input to a document that
the United Nations Secretary-General will submit to a special
session of the General Assembly to review ICPD implementation, to be
held from 30 June to 2 July 1999.
The key future actions were proposed by four working groups on
related themes: Partnership to create an enabling environment for
carrying out the Programme of Action; Social mobilization to promote
and carry out the Programme; Partnership for capacity-strengthening,
accountability, coalition-building and financial stability; and
Partnership to promote full access to reproductive health
services.
Among the proposals put forward by the working group on social
mobilization was that civil society groups should try to make the
language of the ICPD accessible and engaging. They should also
devote more time and money to effective advocacy for social
mobilization, train their staff to work with the media, enlist the
support of journalists, and use celebrities and opinion leaders to
promote their messages.
ICPD supporters should study their adversaries and try to engage
them in dialogue. They should prepare to challenge different types
of opponents, train effective spokespersons, and counter
misinformation with facts. When confrontation can be avoided, they
should try to seek common ground.
"Assumptions about adversaries need to be carefully examined, for
a presumed opponent may in fact be a potential ally. Good examples
come from the religious community," the group’s draft report
says.
Public dialogue should be encouraged to address controversial
issues and cultural taboos, the report continues. Advocates should
be sensitive to cultural and ethnic concerns without sacrificing
their commitment to justice and health.
Civil society groups, including NGOs, should face hard issues
sensitively and courageously, without fear of being marginalized or
losing financial support, the draft states. They should work to
allay the concerns of potential allies -- the private sector’s fear
of reprisals and loss of profits, and politicians’ apprehension
about pressure from religious and single-issue constituencies, for
instance. To do this, NGOs should conduct careful research and
distribute the findings, including a human touch.
The working group on the promotion of access to high-quality
reproductive health services proposed that more effort be put into
building a political consensus in support of policies that will
enable countries to carry out the Cairo programme. Advocacy by civil
society can help bring different political parties together for that
purpose, the group’s report says.
To finance good services, the group proposed, governments should
ensure core grants and international agencies should earmark more
funds for reproductive health care. Sustainability should be built
into such services, it added, with a gradual introduction of
charges; clients should be empowered to pay for services at
commercial outlets. But while costs should be recovered to the
extent possible, a solely commercial approach to providing services
is not appropriate; care for the poor must be guaranteed. Foreign
assistance should be maintained, the draft states.
The working group on capacity-strengthening, accountability and
financial sustainability proposed there be an independent body in
each country to set standards and regulate NGO operations in service
delivery. In States where such bodies are absent, NGOs could
establish them voluntarily to maintain their good reputation, with
the help of donors. The group also proposed the creation of a formal
mechanism linking NGO partners, governments, communities and donors
to ensure exchange of information on their work and financing.
Governments and NGOs should be mutually accountable; a programme
monitoring system would help that process.
Regarding financial sustainability, the working group proposed
that "NGO-NGO mentoring" should be encouraged, with bigger groups
training and exchanging skills with others. Improvement in the
quality of care is a precondition of sustainability; services will
be sustained if they satisfy their clients, the group’s draft
states. Professional associations should help develop standards of
conduct for reproductive and sexual health workers, the group added.
While partnerships with the private sector should be increased,
governments should not devolve their responsibility for providing
good services.
The working group on partnership to create environments enabling
the implementation of the Cairo programme proposed that civil
society groups: create common forums for dialogue; re-examine
assumptions, priorities and agendas; listen to and respect each
other; identify key issues for legislation and policies, as well as
key players; and form joint plans of action locally, nationally and
internationally.
Forums for dialogue, the group’s draft report states, may be
initiated by governments or civil society groups; the international
community can play a catalytic role.
At a closing ceremony, the Director of UNFPA’s
Technical and Policy Division, Mohammed Nizamuddin, gave an overview
of the round table and its outcome. Bangladesh, he said, was chosen
as the venue because of its noteworthy involvement of civil society
groups in reproductive health including family planning.
The UNFPA Representative in Bangladesh, Alain Mouchiroud, said
things are moving in the right direction in the country, although
more should be done to end discrimination against women and girls,
especially in nutrition. The Government, NGOs and donors should
identify and address issues that are critical to the State’s
population problems, since no one can afford costly delays, he
said.
"We cannot do that without relying on the knowledge of all
components of civil society," he added, endorsing the participants’
recommendations. "We need to open our doors, our ears, our minds;
not to rely only on the `specialists’ or so-called experts."
Muhammed Ali, Secretary of the Ministry of Health and Family
Welfare, said Bangladesh has taken steps to follow up on the Cairo
programme and has addressed some of its problems, such as infant
mortality and high fertility. It is promoting the education of women
and girls and consolidating services in the health and population
sectors.
"Efforts should continue to be made to make this world a better
place for the poor, for women, for children and for all those who
need support to improve their condition," he said.
The round table began with opening addresses on 27 July by the
Speaker of the Parliament of Bangladesh, Mr. Humayun Rashid
Chowdhury; the Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Janab
Salahuddin Yusuf; and UNFPA’s Executive Director, Dr. Nafis Sadik.
UNFPA has organized two other round tables as part of the ICPD+5
review process. The first --on adolescent reproductive and sexual
health -- was held from 14 to 17 April in New York. The second -- on
ensuring reproductive rights and implementing reproductive health
programmes, including women’s empowerment -- was held from 22 to 25
June in Kampala, Uganda. A fourth round table, on macro-economic
issues and population, will be held in Bellagio, Italy, in November.
UNFPA is also sponsoring several technical meetings on ICPD-related
subjects
The Cairo conference -- the subject of the review process -- was
held from 5 to 13 September 1994 in Egypt under the themes of
population, sustained economic growth and sustainable development.
It was organized by UNFPA and the United Nations Population
Division. The Programme of Action was adopted by 179 countries. More
than 4,200 representatives of over 1,500 NGOs from 133 countries
attended the independent NGO Forum ‘94 held parallel to the official
meeting.
(For information purposes only. Not an official
document.)
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