Pacific First Ladies Address Population Concerns

 "One of the approaches that I could use as the wife of the Prime Minister would be perhaps now and again express my views and opinions to th e Prime Minister on a personal level", Lady Louisa Henry, wife of Prime Minister Sir Geoffrey Henry, of the Cook Islands was quoted as saying during the Pacific First Ladies Conference on the Family, Women and Opportunities.

Historic occasion

The Conference, convened by the Fiji Government in collaboration with the UNFPA Field Office, on 21-22 August 1997, will be recorded in the annals of the Pacific Islands’ history as the first ever official meeting of ‘First Ladies’ from 15 independent island countries in the Pacific, including the Maori Queen, H.E. Te Arikuini Dame Te Atairangikaahu leader of New Zealand’s indigenous people. ‘First Ladies’ in this context refer to the wives of Presidents or Heads of States of these ind ependent countries. This historic event also marked a new milestone in Pacific leadership where the wives of the Pacific leaders are prepared to take an active role to support and complement the efforts of their husbands and their countries. Indeed, the First Ladies, and Pacific women as a whole can play a big role in the socio-economic development of Pacific island countries (PICs).

Theme

The theme of the Conference was "The Family, Women and Opportunities". The major objective was to highlight the ‘advocacy role’ of the Pacific First Ladies in the areas of "Health, Education and Advancement of Women and Family in the PICs". The President of Fiji, Ratu Si Kamisese Mara, gave the Opening address, highlighting several important issues on the changes and the challenges Pacific families are currently facing in terms of values and the role of each member of the family especially the mother, and the slow and gradual erosion of family discipline. The First Ladies discussed issues such as reproductive health, family planning and sexual health; adolescent reproductive health; education and status of women; a nd migration and urbanization.

Pacific First Ladies Conference photo2

Some of the First Ladies at the Conference

The conference was a follow up to regional and global commitments made by PICs at the International Conference on Population and Development in Cairo in 1994 and the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995. The involvement of UNFPA was in line with the recommendations in these conferences to promote the role of women as the primary custodians of family welfare, but also to occupy a central role in development. In this respect, the Pacific First Ladies are in a unique posit ion to influence changes for the better on the status of women; strengthen and maintain family values; promote the commitment of women to family and national development; and advocate the elimination of all forms of discrimination and violence against wo men.

Declaration

A major outcome of the Conference was the adoption by the First Ladies of the Nadi Resolutions and Recommendations on "The Family, Women and Opportunities" as their statement of commitment towards issues and challenges relating to fami ly development and women empowerment. Resource persons were drawn from UNDP and UNFPA. The CST Adviser on RH/FP-SH presented a paper entitled "Reproductive Health: Implications For Family Development" at the Conference. ‘