UN Population Division, Department of Economic and Social Affairs,
with support from the UN Population Fund (UNFPA)
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| UN Population Division, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, with support from the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) |
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AFPPD INFORMATION SERVICE Issue #1 January 1997 ***** Water Resources and Population The 1996 program of the Asian Forum of Parliamentarians on Population and Development (AFPPD) devoted itself towards educating and involving parliamentarians in the areas of food security and population. National, regional and sub-regional meetings were organized in India, Vietnam, Malaysia, Australia, and an international meeting was held in Switzerland. Nearly 300 members of parliament were involved in last year's program. In 1997 the Asian Forum and its cooperating agencies will focus on the important relationship between water resources and population. AFPPD and the Asian Population and Development Association (APDA) in Japan will organize an Asian regional seminar of parliamentarians on water resources and population in Kobe, Japan on 17-18 March 1997. This meeting will be followed by national level meetings in several countries in the Asia/Pacific region. ***** South-South Cooperation in Family Planning UNFPA and the Rockefeller Foundation are main partners in a South-South Partnership project in family planning. This partnership has been promoted to encourage countries in the southern hemisphere to share experience and support amongst themselves. Several southern hemisphere have gained the expertise and financial capabilities to support projects in other southern countries. For example, Thailand is providing support to some projects in Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos, while India is supporting projects in Nepal, the Maldives and some African nations. A secretariat has been established in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Mr. Jyoti Singh, Special Advisor to the UNFPA and Ms. Sara Siems, Associate Director of the Population Program at the Rockefeller Foundation in New York, visited Bangkok to discuss the South-South Cooperation project with the Department of Health and Family Welfare in Thailand, and also met the AFPPD Secretary General Sen. Prof. Dr. Prasop Ratanakorn, and the AFPPD Executive Secretary Shiv Khare. They discussed the possible role of parliamentarians in promoting South-South cooperation as well as resource mobilization. A parliamentary delegation from Australia and New Zealand will visit Thailand and Vietnam to receive first-hand information about the operation of the South-South Partnership project in Health and Family Planning. The executive board of the South-South Partnership Project will also meet in Bangkok in the first week of March 1997. ***** Dr. Prasop Ratanakorn at APPF in Vancouver This January Sen. Prof. Dr. Prasop Ratanakorn, AFPPD's Secretary General and Chairman of the Senate Committee on Public Health, attended the Asian Pacific Parliamentary Forum Meeting in Vancouver, Canada. There he discussed the AFPPD program with Asian and Pacific colleagues in Vancouver. He was accompanied by a group of Thai Senators and members of the House of Representatives. ***** AFPPD Chairman in Dhaka, Bangladesh Mr. Shin Sakurai, Chairman of AFPPD, visited Dhaka, Bangladesh in December 1997. There he met the Hon. Speaker of the Parliament, Minister of Foreign Affairs and members of the Bangladesh parliament. He discussed the AFPPD program and also the renewal of a National Committee of Parliamentarians on Population and Development in Bangladesh. Mr. Sakurai expressed his appreciation for the high-level of participation by Bangladesh parliamentarians in the past activities of AFPPD. ***** AFPPD Chairman Visits Bangkok Mr. Shin Sakurai, MP Japan, also visited Bangkok in December 1996 and had a lunch meeting with the Secretary General of AFPPD, Sen. Prof. Dr. Prasop Ratanakorn, and Executive Director, Mr. Shiv Khare. They reviewed the achievements of 1996 in the area of food security and population and discussed the agenda for 1997. ***** Africa and Middle East Forum to Meet in South Africa The Forum of Africa and Middle East Parliamentarians on Population and Development (FAMEPPD) will convene its general conference in Cape Town, South Africa. The conference will be hosted by the National Parliament of South Africa. Mr. Lavu Mulimba, Chairman of the Steering Committee of FAMEPPD, visited Cape Town to discuss the arrangements with officials and parliamentarians of South Africa. Between 60 and 70 members of parliament from Africa and the Middle East are expected to attend the meeting which will be supported by the UNFPA and IPPF. The Asian Forum has been providing all possible support for the formation of the Forum of African and Middle East Parliamentarians on Population and Development. Mr. Shiv Khare, Executive Director of AFPPD, has been attending the steering committee meetings, the most recent of which was held in Amman, Jordan. ***** Cambodia Planning a Parliamentary Meeting Sometime in February 1997 the National Assembly of Cambodia is planning to host a meeting of parliamentarians from country's three neighboring states- Thailand, Vietnam, and Laos. ***** Past and Future National Parliamentary Meeting AFPPD Malaysia and the Indian Committee of Parliamentarians on Population and Development (IAPD) propose to organize a national seminar of parliamentarians on water resources, population and development in 1997. IPPF South Asia region also plans to organize a parliamentarians meeting in one of the South Asian countries this year. In addition, IPPF and UNFPA organized a national parliamentary meeting in Nepal and Sri Lanka in 1996.