Coming to Women Deliver 2013? Make sure to join the side event “European and Central Asian Caucus: The Multi-faceted European and Central Asian region*: reconciling affluence with persisting unmet need“ that features ASTRA!

Time and date: Wednesday, 29^th May. 7.30-9.00 pm (tbc), room 410.

The session is organised by IPPF EN in collaboration with European Parliamentary Forum (EPF) and will provide a strategic update on the state of ICPD and women’s health and rights in the European and Central Asian region, showing the multi-faceted perspectives of a region combining countries of affluence (but facing economic crisis) and countries with persistent unmet needs in SRHR. How to reconcile these different angles in a strong European voice to be heard and recognized in the negotiation on ICPD+20 (esp. upcoming UNECE meeting) and beyond 2015? Voice from the CEE region will be presented by ASTRA Network. Hope to meet you there!

*European region in this caucus is defined as geographic Europe including East, West, Balkans and Caucasus Europe as well as Central Asian countries.

ASTRA Youth will join 5,000 global health and development experts at the 3rd Women Deliver global conference, which takes place on 28-30 May in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Marina Latifova from Azerbaijan, Tetiana Slobodian from Ukraine, Aysel Askerova from Azerbaijan and Martyna Zimniewska from Poland will represent the regional voice among thousands of participants from around the world, including government leaders, policymakers, healthcare professionals, NGO representatives, corporate leaders, and global media outlets. More than 120 concurrent sessions, high-level plenaries, skills-building workshops, and ministerial and parliamentarian forums will inspire and inform the participants’ work to build a better world for girls and women. 

The Women Deliver 2013 conference is one of the key dates in the international population and development calendar. With the 2015 Millennium Development Goal deadline rapidly approaching, the time is now to deliver for girls and women. Women Deliver 2013 will serve as a global platform for ensuring that the health and rights of girls and women remain top priorities now, and for decades to come.

Full programme can be accessed here. Visit the website (WD2013.org) and follow @womendeliver on Twitter for more information.

“The story of Polish daughter and mother P and S is deeply complicated. P, a teenager, was raped and became pregnant as a consequence. She wanted to terminate the pregnancy and had a right to under Poland's laws. But powerful forces—doctors, judges, clergymen, and the police—bonded by a culture of hostility and discrimination, and fueled by an exceedingly restrictive and unclear abortion law, tried to prevent that lawful abortion, in part because she was young and vulnerable, through a litany of tactics that brought emotional agony to the adolescent and her mother.”

In 2012, the European Court of Human Rights issued P. and S. v. Poland, a landmark decision that slams Poland’s flawed abortion policies and sets groundbreaking standards for the rights of adolescents to reproductive health services. The judgment sheds light on the country’s reproductive health policies and calls for urgent reform. Poland has one of the most restrictive abortion laws in Europe which forces numerous women to turn to illegal, underground abortions and which often makes is difficult to obtain a lawful procedure. The victorious case was led by Federation for Women and Family Planning lawyers.

Center for Reproductive Rights issued a fact sheet on the P. and S. v. Poland case which describes the case history, the important legal precedents,  relevant human right provisions and suggested remedies. More information available online.

Ponton Group of Sex Educators (Polish member of ASTRA Youth) and Campaign Against Homophobia (KPH) started in February 2013 the nationwide project ‘Safe Chair? Campaign for Quality Gynaecological Care’. The concept of the project was created when Ponton members realized that knowledge and awareness of sexual and reproductive health in the society were very low and the quality of gynaecological services is a great unknown, worth exploring. Girls and women are often afraid of doing check-ups or they are not aware of the necessity of visiting gynaecologists. They also do not have knowledge on their patients’ rights.

In order to examine the current state of gynaecological services in Poland and take into consideration also the perspective of adolescents, non heterosexual, transgender and disabled patients, Ponton and KPH decided to create a nationwide online survey collecting patient’s experiences and opinions about the standard of Polish gynaecological services. So far almost 2000 responses were received. The survey is targeted at all current, former and prospective gynaecological patients from the age 12 and of all diversities (including LBTQ persons and persons with disabilities).

The survey is about experiences, opinions and expectations of gynaecological patients. Moreover, it consists of three separate surveys: for persons visiting the gynaecologist regularly, for persons who get irregular check-ups and persons who have never had a gynaecological check-up before. There are 3 surveys as the aim is to embrace experiences of first two groups as well as find out about the approach and expectations about the visit of persons who have never had a check-up. A period calendar with the logo of the project and posters were also designed and printed. The survey is active till 28th May 2013 and the organisers can’t wait for the results! The final outcomes will be published in the report in September 2013.

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“While we are encouraged by the achievements of ICPD implementation, the challenge is that too many people around the world are still denied their sexual and reproductive health and rights. These fundamental freedoms and human rights lie at the very core of human dignity.”— H.E. Tarja Halonen, former president of Finland, co-chair of High-Level Task Force for ICPD

The High-Level Task Force for ICPD is urging governments and the international community to take much bolder action to meet and build on commitments they made at the International Conference on Population Development (ICPD) in Cairo in 1994. As the 20-year review of progress toward ICPD goals gets underway, the Task Force today released its position paper entitled “Policy Recommendations for ICPD Beyond 2014: Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights for All.” The paper proposes specific steps that must be taken to ensure that sexual and reproductive health and rights, gender equality and the empowerment of women, adolescents and youth become central components of ICPD Beyond 2014, as well as the post-2015 and Sustainable Development Goals agenda. The Task Force is also calling for increased accountability mechanisms to ensure concerted action by governments to achieve these goals.

The High-Level Task Force for ICPD is an independent body created in 2012, comprised of internationally respected government ministers, parliamentarians and civil society leaders and chaired by former Presidents Tarja Halonen of Finland and Joaquim Alberto Chissano of Mozambique. One of the High-Level Task Force members is Wanda Nowicka, former president of Federation for Women and Family Planning (ASTRA and ASTRA Youth Secretariat). It is the only high-level group in the world dedicated to the ICPD review process. The Task Force recommendations released today reflect the demands of key constituencies from every region of the world. 

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