EPF believes that parliamentarians have a duty and a responsibility to promote and defend the sexual and reproductive health and rights of all individuals, including their right to decide freely and responsibly the number and spacing of their children ; to defend and advance gender equality, gender equity and women’s empowerment; and to eliminate all forms of discrimination, coercion and violence against women. The ICPD Programme of Action and the Key Actions of its five-year review are essential in achieving the Millennium Development Goals.

 1 March 2010- EPF Health MDGs Parliamentary Conference - Launch of Global Health Parliamentary Taskforce

The European Parliamentary Forum on Population and Development (EPF) and the Brussels partners of the Action for Global Health Network (AfGH), together with MEP Eva Joly, Chair of the European Parliament's Development Committee, and the Gree/EFA Group in the European Parliament hosted the EPF Parliamentary Conference and the AfGH Cross-Europe High Level Conference: "Delivering the Right to Health with the Health Millennium Development Goals" which took place on the 1st and the 2nd of March 2010, in the European Parliament in Brussels. Both conferences explored what concrete actions European decision-makers can undertake to ensure that the health MDGs are achieved and all citizens in developing countries have access to quality health care.
On the 1st March 2010, the EPF Parliamentary Conference gathered approximately 80 participants, among them 40 Parliamentarians from more than 20 Parliaments in Europe as well as from Africa and Latin America and various speakers such as experts and representatives of International and European bodies, leading actors of global health as well as selected representatives of innovative funding mechanisms and other key global health advocates from civil society organisations. Keynote speakers included EPF President, Hilde Vautmans, MP Belgium (President of the Liberal Group in the Belgian Parlaiment), Hon. George Tsereteli, EPF Vice President (Vice-President of the Georgian Parliament), Hon. Françoise Castex, MEP (EPF Executive Committee and Vice-President of EPWG) and Miguel Angel Martinez Martinez, MEP (Vice President of the European Parliament) as well as represnetatives from international organisations such as: Susanne Weber-Mosdorf (WHO Assistant DG) Dr Christof Benn (GFATM), Jean-Claude Boidin (Head of Unit - European Commission, DG Development), Joëlle Tanguy (GAVI), Sietske Steneker (UNFPA) as well as numerous civil society representatives.

The participants took stock of the progress and remaining challenges in the field of global health, including: the growing inequity in access to health, the 20 year delay which developing countries experience in gaining access to vaccines and the meagre 1% annual reduction of maternal mortality. Speakers stressed the necessity for European donors to live up to their potential in a crucial year ahead of the MDG review summit in September in NY and the replenishment of global financing instruments in relation to health. Participants agreed on the opportunities to advance the global health agenda given the upcoming EU Global Health Communication with the Lisbon Treaty enabling a closer inter-parliamentary cooperation between EU and Member State levels of decision-making. Speakers also highlight that the current antipathy towards the financial world presents a new opportunity for advancing towards the creation of Financial Transaction Tax to finance global health cooperation. Parliamentarians can lead the process, mainstreaming these concepts within their parties, particularly given that the Minister who will make key decisions in relation to ODA levels and support for meeting the health MDGs between now and 2015 are most likely already their colleagues within their own political parties.

The participation of Southern MPs allowed a constructive discussion on the pros and cons of budget support and the need to empower Southern parliamentarians to effectively supervise the programming and implementation of national development plans and funds. Other cross-cutting issues were addressed, such as the empowerment of women and girls, the interrelation of all MDGs and the lack of skilled health workers. Participants could envisage the way forward with a overview of the roadmap that AFGH presented the next day, the opportunities that the Lisbon Treaty gives to national MPs to interact in European policies and the launch of EPF Taskforce on Global Health as an effective platform to foster information exchange, best practices and to plan future activities.

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Programme: EN ES FR
Powerpoint Presentations:
Session1: Dr. Christoph Benn, Stephan Kreischer
Session 2: Joëlle Tanguy
Session 3: Hon. Victor Terreros, MP
Session 4: Neil Datta