JOHANNESBURG, South Africa — It is important to maintain a forward-looking agenda on sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) this year and beyond. This was stated by the Dutch Special Ambassador for Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights & HIV/AIDS, Lambert Grijns, in a meeting with UNFPA Regional Director Dr. Julitta Onabanjo in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Mr. Grijns said the language in the Addis Ababa Declaration on Population and Development produced at the Africa Regional Conference on Population and Development Beyond 2014 in October 2013 was progressive, despite the reservations expressed by some of the Member States on the issue of sexual rights and orientation.
He discussed with Dr. Onabanjo how UNFPA and governments such as the Netherlands could help ensure successful outcomes at the forthcoming Commission on Population and Development (CPD) in April as well as the UN General Assembly Special Session in September. UNFPA was currently working to communicate ICPD messages and guidance to its Country Offices to assist advocacy on these matters with host governments.
Training for all UN Member States is to take place in New York ahead of the CPD in preparation for the conference, and a short retreat for African countries is also planned for New York.
UNFPA was working to ensure that all reservations made at the Addis Ababa Declaration on Population and Development are withdrawn before the Commission on Population and Development. The African Union Summit of 30-31 January 2014 finished without the finalization of the African Common Position.
Looking to the debates on the post-2015 development agenda, it was noted that within the post-2015 framework, gender, gender-based violence (GBV) and a youth goal were important for UNFPA.
The goal at the Commission on Population and Development is an outcome document that the UN Secretary-General is to present at the UN General Assembly Special Session. At the Commission on Population and Development, it is expected that the African Group will refer to the Addis Ababa Declaration.
Dr. Akinyele Dairo, UNFPA Regional Adviser on Maternal Health, said that UNFPA’s focus in the East and Southern Africa Region (ESAR) is on the reduction of maternal mortality and using family planning to harness the demographic dividend. With regards to HIV & AIDS, UNFPA ESAR has focused on primary prevention in young people in the region and highlighting the linkages between HIV and SRH.
The meeting was attended by Kelly-Jo Bluen, Policy Officer, Embassy of the Netherlands to South Africa; Lina Mousa, Deputy Regional Director for East and Southern Africa; Navchaa Suren, Officer in Charge, UNFPA South Africa Country Office; Dr. Akinyele Dairo, Senior Maternal Health Advisor, Regional Office; and Daniel Malin, Special Assistant to the Director, Regional Office.
