Family Planning in Asia and the Pacific - International Council on ...

monitor<strong>in</strong>g <strong>and</strong> evaluation <strong>the</strong>re should be transparencybetween <strong>the</strong> government, UN <strong>and</strong> NGOs with shar<strong>in</strong>g ofgood-quality data <strong>and</strong> <strong>in</strong>formation <strong>and</strong> even resources ifurgent need arises to effectively achieve common goals.Common platform of actionA common platform of action is needed to generatean <strong>in</strong>creased level of <strong>in</strong>terest, <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>in</strong>itiation of <strong>the</strong>government, work<strong>in</strong>g toge<strong>the</strong>r with <strong>the</strong> United Nations,NGOs <strong>and</strong> civil society for implementation of <strong>the</strong> secondFive-year Strategic Plan for Reproductive Health (2009-2013) so that all partners will engage <strong>and</strong> pool resourcesto work <strong>in</strong> partnership towards achiev<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> ICPDProgramme of Action <strong>and</strong> MDGs.Use of media <strong>and</strong> adolescent friendlySRH educationDemographics show that <strong>the</strong> proportion of <strong>the</strong> population<strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> age group 14-59 is <strong>in</strong>creas<strong>in</strong>g along with <strong>the</strong>proportion never married. There is a need for improv<strong>in</strong>gadolescent sexual <strong>and</strong> reproductive health education toprevent un<strong>in</strong>tended pregnancies <strong>and</strong> complications dueto abortions. It is also necessary to ensure widespreadavailability <strong>and</strong> access to contraceptives for <strong>the</strong> unmarriedwomen <strong>and</strong> young people <strong>and</strong> at <strong>the</strong> same time address<strong>the</strong> need to provide SRH education through use of media.“Prime-time” television <strong>and</strong> radio broadcast<strong>in</strong>g services forSRH health education are needed to reach <strong>the</strong> populationnationwide. For better conceptualization <strong>and</strong> acceptanceof RH messages, it is necessary to use ethnic languages toreach m<strong>in</strong>orities.IEC materials for ethnic m<strong>in</strong>oritiesThere is a need to establish a sense of <strong>in</strong>clusiveness <strong>in</strong>all doma<strong>in</strong>s of execution of <strong>the</strong> RH <strong>and</strong> birth-spac<strong>in</strong>gservices. Language barriers may impose considerableconstra<strong>in</strong>ts for ethnic m<strong>in</strong>orities; <strong>the</strong>y may need translation<strong>and</strong> <strong>in</strong>terpretation to underst<strong>and</strong> IEC materials <strong>and</strong>broadcasts. Pictorial presentation of RH messages needsto be developed for <strong>the</strong> less literate population.Focus<strong>in</strong>g on priority areasRH <strong>and</strong> birth spac<strong>in</strong>g are not st<strong>and</strong>-alone entities <strong>and</strong><strong>the</strong> MDGs <strong>and</strong> ICPD goals cannot be reached by justMOH <strong>in</strong> isolation. A paradigm shift from project modeto long-term programme implementation mode isnecessary <strong>and</strong> should be l<strong>in</strong>ked with national populationdevelopment strategies <strong>and</strong> poverty-reduction strategies.All stakeholders <strong>and</strong> m<strong>in</strong>istries concerned need tocooperate with <strong>the</strong> authorities; flexibility is given at <strong>the</strong>regional <strong>and</strong> township levels so that birth-spac<strong>in</strong>g <strong>and</strong>RH commodities can be managed close to clients.The most vulnerable population that needs <strong>the</strong> mostsupport <strong>in</strong> RH <strong>and</strong> birth spac<strong>in</strong>g, as identified by <strong>the</strong>situation analysis are <strong>the</strong> hard to reach population ofSaga<strong>in</strong>g Division, Magway Division, Nor<strong>the</strong>rn Shan,Kayah states, Nor<strong>the</strong>rn Rakh<strong>in</strong>e State, <strong>and</strong> also <strong>the</strong>peri-urban population surround<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> large cities ofYangon <strong>and</strong> M<strong>and</strong>alay where MMR is high. Theseareas need priority attention for RH <strong>and</strong> birth-spac<strong>in</strong>gservices.New advocacy paradigmPartnerships need to be built, resources pooled <strong>and</strong> allparties work<strong>in</strong>g toge<strong>the</strong>r as equal partners towards jo<strong>in</strong>timplementation of second Five-year National StrategicPlan for RH (2009-2013).There should be no stock-outs for birth-spac<strong>in</strong>gcommodities <strong>and</strong> every pregnancy should be wanted,treasured <strong>and</strong> planned by both partners with skilledsupport from health-service providers.Transparency about needs is required; resources are<strong>the</strong>re to be tapped.The dictum “waste not, want not” should be advocatedfor proper logistical management of commoditiesso that no commodity is thrown away because it hasreached its expiration date.Report<strong>in</strong>g to donors should be done <strong>in</strong> a timely <strong>and</strong>effective basis.ConclusionAll public health programmes require commitment, fund<strong>in</strong>g<strong>and</strong> coord<strong>in</strong>ated efforts. In particular, <strong>the</strong> grow<strong>in</strong>g dem<strong>and</strong>for family plann<strong>in</strong>g <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> grow<strong>in</strong>g AIDS epidemic<strong>in</strong> many parts of <strong>the</strong> world will require attention to <strong>the</strong>most basic of tasks: provid<strong>in</strong>g appropriate products to <strong>the</strong>people who need <strong>the</strong>m. Although <strong>the</strong> ICPD Programmeof Action recommends that governments should“meet <strong>the</strong> family plann<strong>in</strong>g needs of <strong>the</strong>irpopulations as soon as possible <strong>and</strong>should, <strong>in</strong> all cases by <strong>the</strong> year 2015,seek to provide universal access to a fullrange of safe <strong>and</strong> reliable family-plann<strong>in</strong>gmethods…”,no governments of countries around <strong>the</strong> globe can beexpected to meet <strong>the</strong> goals <strong>and</strong> objectives of ICPD s<strong>in</strong>gleh<strong>and</strong>edly.All members of <strong>and</strong> groups <strong>in</strong> society have <strong>the</strong>right, <strong>and</strong> <strong>in</strong>deed <strong>the</strong> responsibility, to play an active part <strong>in</strong><strong>the</strong> efforts to reach those goals 128 . While it is true that highqualityservice delivery, counsel<strong>in</strong>g <strong>and</strong> educational efforts288