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

Hon. Mr. Malakai Tabar, Chairman, ParliamentarianGroup on Population, Development <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong>Millennium Development Goals, Papua New Gu<strong>in</strong>eaHon. Mr. Malakai Tabar emphasized <strong>the</strong> need forencourag<strong>in</strong>g responsible government officials to takeaction, supported by evidence <strong>and</strong> data. The newlyestablished Committee on Population, Development<strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> MDGs was highlighted as one way throughwhich <strong>the</strong> country could move forward. He reiterated<strong>the</strong> need for committee members to make effective useof <strong>in</strong>formation <strong>and</strong> surveys. The need to advocate onall levels of government, <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g prov<strong>in</strong>ces <strong>and</strong> ruralareas, was also addressed.Hon. Mr. Raymond Palat<strong>in</strong>o, Congressman,Philipp<strong>in</strong>e Congress.Hon. Mr. Paymond Palat<strong>in</strong>o presented experiences froma recent meet<strong>in</strong>g of young parliamentarians to advocatefor RH <strong>and</strong> family plann<strong>in</strong>g for youth. It was evidentthat youth did know about RH <strong>and</strong> FP so effortsfrom <strong>the</strong> past had been not wasted. He stressed <strong>the</strong>importance of mak<strong>in</strong>g commitments to mobilize o<strong>the</strong>rparliamentarians <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> need to reach <strong>the</strong> public. Hemade a call for <strong>the</strong> use of new social media for generat<strong>in</strong>gdebate, dialogue <strong>and</strong> focus on family plann<strong>in</strong>g.Question-<strong>and</strong>-Answer SessionMs. Huma Khawar, Journalist, PakistanMs. Khawar stated that <strong>the</strong> consultation was an exampleof a meet<strong>in</strong>g where media were treated as partners. Sheraised a question related to parliamentarians be<strong>in</strong>gaccessible to <strong>the</strong> media. Media often experienceddifficulties <strong>in</strong> access<strong>in</strong>g parliamentarians.Response (Hon. Mr. Rodolfo Biazon, <strong>the</strong> Philipp<strong>in</strong>es):Politicians sought <strong>the</strong> attention of media, as <strong>the</strong>y needed<strong>the</strong> media for exposure. However, public exposureneeded to be susta<strong>in</strong>ed, which meant establish<strong>in</strong>g closerelationships with <strong>the</strong> media. A politician could notgenerate public support without advocacy <strong>and</strong> that wasnot possible without media.Response (Hon. Dr. Sumaryati Arjoso, Indonesia):Media played a role <strong>in</strong> ensur<strong>in</strong>g good governance;parliamentarians had to have good access to media.Response (Hon. Mr. Malakai Tabar, Papua NewGu<strong>in</strong>ea):Media played a strong role <strong>in</strong> governance <strong>and</strong> <strong>in</strong>address<strong>in</strong>g issues such as corruption; however, <strong>the</strong>rewere also differences between media <strong>and</strong> government.The media needed to follow up on key issues.Ms. Maria Hart<strong>in</strong>gsih, Journalist, IndonesiaMs. Hart<strong>in</strong>gsih addressed <strong>the</strong> issue of religiousconservatism. It was evident that <strong>the</strong> political <strong>in</strong>fluenceof religious leaders had become stronger <strong>in</strong> manycountries. The examples from Iran were very encourag<strong>in</strong>g.However, <strong>the</strong> region also faced <strong>the</strong> opposite situation,with religious leaders <strong>in</strong> Indonesia hav<strong>in</strong>g issued a fatwaforbidd<strong>in</strong>g free distribution of condoms.Response (Hon. Dr. Sumaryati Arjoso, Indonesia):In Indonesia, it was very sensitive to talk aboutcondoms <strong>and</strong> safe abortion. Many believed thatpromot<strong>in</strong>g condoms meant promot<strong>in</strong>g extramarital sex.Parliamentarians <strong>and</strong> o<strong>the</strong>rs should cont<strong>in</strong>ue to conductadvocacy, <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> media could play an important role <strong>in</strong>that process.Response:(Hon. Mr. Rodolfo Biazon, <strong>the</strong> Philipp<strong>in</strong>es): Religion<strong>and</strong> culture were factors that needed to be addressed.One way to do so could be through consultation with<strong>in</strong>terfaith groups (ma<strong>in</strong>ly Christian but also Muslim).There were examples of fatwas that had been issued <strong>in</strong>support of family plann<strong>in</strong>g, expressed <strong>in</strong> terms of birthspac<strong>in</strong>g.Discussion po<strong>in</strong>tsQuestion/issue:The parliamentarian from Timor-Leste, who was on <strong>the</strong>Committee on Reproductive Health <strong>and</strong> Education,noted some of <strong>the</strong> similarities between Timor-Leste <strong>and</strong><strong>the</strong> Philipp<strong>in</strong>es <strong>and</strong> raised questions related to <strong>the</strong> ma<strong>in</strong>factors of <strong>in</strong>creas<strong>in</strong>g population size <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> countriesrepresented on <strong>the</strong> panel. The role of <strong>the</strong> Church as afactor was also raised. F<strong>in</strong>ally, experiences related topromot<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> use of condoms as a contraceptive methodwere questioned.Response (Hon. Mr. Rodolfo Biazon, <strong>the</strong> Philipp<strong>in</strong>es):Some <strong>in</strong>sight <strong>in</strong>to <strong>the</strong> population <strong>in</strong>crease <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong>Philipp<strong>in</strong>es was provided. In three generations, <strong>the</strong>population had <strong>in</strong>creased six-fold. The reasons for that<strong>in</strong>crease were rooted <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> culture <strong>in</strong> rural Philipp<strong>in</strong>es.Rural Philipp<strong>in</strong>es once constituted of 80 per cent of<strong>the</strong> country’s population: farmers or those who workedon farms needed to produce many children to share<strong>the</strong> work. However, <strong>the</strong> proportion of rural versusurban populations had subsequently reversed, withonly 40 per cent currently be<strong>in</strong>g rural <strong>and</strong> 60 per centurban. Throughout that transition, <strong>the</strong> Church hadbeen promot<strong>in</strong>g large family size. In 1972, a policy offree distribution of contraceptives was an attempt toaddress population growth; it had been <strong>in</strong>itiated aspart of martial law. Dur<strong>in</strong>g 14 years of martial law <strong>the</strong>population growth rate dropped to 2 per cent annually.32