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G8 Parliamentarians’ Conference urges G8 Leaders not to reduce ODA levels in light of the economic crisis and to deliver on commitments in women’s and girl’s health

Two weeks before the G8 Summit in L’ Aquila, Italy, more than 100 Parliamentarians, representatives and experts of International Organisations and civil society organisation gathered for the fifth annual G8 Parliamentarians’ Conference, held in Rome, Italy from 22-23 June 2009. This year the participants from the G8-countries, as well as from Africa and Asia, focused their discussions on “Strategic Investments in Times of Crisis – The Rewards of Making Women’s Health a Priority”.

This conference stands in the tradition of four respective Parliamentary Conferences in conjunction with the G8 Presidency of the UK (2005), Russia (2006), Germany (2007) and Japan (2008). It was kindly hosted by the Italian Parliamentary Working Group on Global Health and Women’s Rights and organised by GCAP Italy, Action Aid, the Italian Association for Women in Development (AIDOS), the German Foundation for World Population (DSW) and the European Parliamentary Forum on Population and Development (EPF) in co-operation with Action Canada for Population and Development (ACPD), the Asian Population and Development Association (APDA) and Interact Worldwide. The Conference provided a unique opportunity for the Parliamentarians present to interact and strategise on meeting G8 commitments with fellow devoted Parliamentarians from around the world, as well as Government representatives and international organisations such as UNFPA, WHO, IPPF, Population Council and the International Women’s Health Coalition (IWHC).

In her opening speech, Hon. Danielle Bousquet, MP, France and Member of the EPF Executive Committee warned that the current economic and financial crisis must not be used to compromise on the fight against poverty, hunger and women’s and girl’s sexual and reproductive health and rights in developing countries. Hon. Sibylle Pfeiffer, MP chairperson of DSW´s Parliamentary Advisory Committee from the ruling German Christian Democratic Party, and Hon. Wakako Hironaka, MP and Vice-Chair of the Japan Parliamentarians Federation for Population delivered speeches on the outcomes of the G8-Summits 2007 and 2008 in Heiligendamm and Tokyo respectively and the actions which have been undertaken on improving global health, sexual and reproductive health and HIV/AIDS. Italian Senator Francesca Marinaro, Chair of the Italian Parliamentary Working Group on Global Health and Women’s Rights emphasised that the outcome document will be submitted to the Italian G8 Sherpa to ensure adequate consideration by the G8 Heads of State and Government. Hon. Keith Martin, MP and Hon. John Rafferty, MP, both from Canada announced they would ensure G8 leaders will be held accountable to their health-related commitments and progress will be mapped at the upcoming G8 Summit which is planned to take place in Canada in 2010.

Various experts such as Adrienne Germaine, President of the IWHC, Gill Greer, Director General of IPPF, Sietske Steneker, Director of the UNFPA Brussels Office, Dr. Heli Bathija from the WHO and Dr. Jörg Maas from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation provided strong evidence on the rewards of investing in women’s and girl’s health and the evidence of success in making women’s and girl’s health a reality. Investing in women’s and girl’s access to reproductive health and family planning programs, would contribute to a  22% reduction in infant mortality, and to a 31% reduction in maternal mortality, experts emphasised. Various Members of Parliament from Africa, such as H.E. Akua Sena Dansua, Minister for Women and Children Affairs (Ghana) highlighted the need to ensure accessibility of health care services and adequate human resources to address women’s health needs.

Participants welcomed the UN Human Rights Council Resolution on “Preventable Maternal Mortality and Morbidity and Human Rights” adopted on 17 June 2009 which acknowledges that maternal mortality and morbidity is a human rights issue and endorsed the resolution produced by the UN Commission on Population and Development (CPD) in April 2009 recommitting national governments to priority actions with regard to SRHR.

Parliamentarians agreed that enough time has been spent on repeating the “litany that every minute a woman dies for causes related to pregnancy and delivery” and that now is the time to act through strong, well focused and effective programs, that donor as well as recipient governments alike have a shared responsibility for reaching the MDGs with donor governments to create clear objectives, timelines and resources and for the recipient countries to put in place effective measures that will ensure the transparent and effective use of development aid.

The parliamentarians concluded with a very strong and forward-looking statement, entitled the "Parliamentary Appeal to G8 Heads of State and Government" which will be delivered to the G8 Heads of State and Government. The declaration amongst others calls upon the G8 Heads of State not to reduce ODA levels in light of the economic crisis and to reaffirm existing commitments to fund US$ 60 Billion through Official Development Assistance for addressing the health-related needs in development countries over five years including support for health systems strengthening and efforts to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and malaria based on concrete action plans and clear timetables, to invest in maternal and infant health as being the most cost-effective way to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, and to promote gender equality by enacting development policies which protect young girls and their rights, educate young girls and boys, empower women and involve men in becoming active participants in the above.