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

Response (Hon. Dr. Sumaryati Arjoso, Indonesia):Legislation was be<strong>in</strong>g drafted to streng<strong>the</strong>n governmentcommitment to education <strong>and</strong> family plann<strong>in</strong>g. Theexpectation was that family plann<strong>in</strong>g supplies could bem<strong>and</strong>ated only by law; policymakers who had previouslybeen reluctant were revers<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong>ir op<strong>in</strong>ions <strong>and</strong>support<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> family plann<strong>in</strong>g programme.Question/issue:In Indonesia, it seemed as if health <strong>and</strong> gender issuesdid not ga<strong>in</strong> media attention. The focus of <strong>the</strong> mediawas on politics <strong>and</strong> economics. Were <strong>the</strong>re some tipsfrom <strong>the</strong> media on how to attract attention to sensitiveissues, such as reproductive health, family plann<strong>in</strong>g <strong>and</strong>gender?Response:(Ms. Maria Hart<strong>in</strong>gsih, Journalist, Indonesia):“Bad news is good news” described <strong>the</strong> nature of <strong>the</strong>media. Editorial meet<strong>in</strong>gs were basically a debate <strong>and</strong>competitive <strong>in</strong> decid<strong>in</strong>g on what a newspaper wanted tohighlight <strong>in</strong> terms of angle <strong>and</strong> ideology. One suggestedstrategy to relay <strong>the</strong> issue of family plann<strong>in</strong>g through<strong>the</strong> media was to relate it to human security. Populationgrowth was a non-traditional human security threat.O<strong>the</strong>r suggestions <strong>in</strong>cluded organiz<strong>in</strong>g special events foryouth or specific marg<strong>in</strong>alized groups so that <strong>the</strong> mediacould report on <strong>the</strong> event <strong>and</strong> use it as an entry po<strong>in</strong>t tofur<strong>the</strong>r develop stories.Response:(Ms. Huma Khawar, Journalist, Pakistan): Healthservice promoters usually did not have a strategy <strong>and</strong>were not able to position a story <strong>in</strong> an effective way.Very often stories were lost <strong>in</strong> difficult abbreviations/acronyms with too much medical jargon. A story neededto be compell<strong>in</strong>g <strong>and</strong> <strong>in</strong>terest<strong>in</strong>g.Question/issue:The parliamentarian from Viet Nam stated thatparliament had made a strong commitment to<strong>in</strong>vestments <strong>and</strong> achieved much progress yet still facedmany challenges. What were <strong>the</strong> challenges <strong>in</strong> advocacy<strong>and</strong> implementation <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> Philipp<strong>in</strong>es? What were <strong>the</strong>challenges <strong>in</strong> <strong>in</strong>vest<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> policy <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> Philipp<strong>in</strong>es?Response (Hon. Mr. Rodolfo Biazon, <strong>the</strong> Philipp<strong>in</strong>es):One of <strong>the</strong> key challenges fac<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> Philipp<strong>in</strong>es wasdeal<strong>in</strong>g with Church opposition. The Church challengedhow government resources were <strong>in</strong>vested. A law neededto be <strong>in</strong> place to m<strong>and</strong>ate government <strong>in</strong>vestment <strong>in</strong>health <strong>and</strong> family plann<strong>in</strong>g.Question/issue:It was recognized that parliaments played an importantrole <strong>in</strong> fur<strong>the</strong>r<strong>in</strong>g family plann<strong>in</strong>g <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> idea was raisedto establish a caucus group of parliaments to network <strong>in</strong>all countries, work<strong>in</strong>g towards achiev<strong>in</strong>g MDGs.Response:Many networks <strong>and</strong> forums were currently operat<strong>in</strong>g,<strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> <strong>Asia</strong>n Forum of Parliamentarianson Population <strong>and</strong> Development (AFPPD), <strong>and</strong><strong>Pacific</strong> Parliamentary Assembly on Population <strong>and</strong>Development (PPAPD).Question/issue:In Nepal, <strong>the</strong> sale of condoms had stalled. Questionswere raised related to stories emerg<strong>in</strong>g that <strong>the</strong> mayor ofManila had banned over-<strong>the</strong>-counter sale of condoms.What were <strong>the</strong> media <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> Philipp<strong>in</strong>es do<strong>in</strong>g toconv<strong>in</strong>ce <strong>the</strong> Church or o<strong>the</strong>r religious groups to notsupport such action?Response (Ms. Maria Hart<strong>in</strong>gsih, Journalist,Indonesia):<strong>Family</strong> plann<strong>in</strong>g was a very sensitive issue <strong>in</strong> manycountries. The media had to be careful <strong>in</strong> how to raiseissues as <strong>the</strong>y could be misunderstood by leaders. Whenmedia released a story on implementation of Sharia law<strong>in</strong> local areas <strong>in</strong> Indonesia, <strong>the</strong>y were accused of be<strong>in</strong>gantagonistic to Islam. One must be careful when choos<strong>in</strong>gan angle; one way could be to look at reproductive health<strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> context of human rights.Response (Ms. Huma Khawar, Journalist, Pakistan):Writ<strong>in</strong>g for <strong>the</strong> English-language press meant lesspressure than writ<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> vernacular. In Pakistan,<strong>the</strong> Urdu press faced major problems. Also, <strong>the</strong>re wereno regional vernacular terms, which made it difficultto translate concepts <strong>and</strong> terms for <strong>the</strong> benefit of <strong>the</strong>regional press.Question/issue:Some questions were raised for <strong>the</strong> youth attend<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong>consultation: <strong>in</strong> walk<strong>in</strong>g through shopp<strong>in</strong>g malls <strong>in</strong> <strong>Asia</strong><strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Pacific</strong>, it was strik<strong>in</strong>g how <strong>the</strong> youth culturewas similar <strong>in</strong> dress, talk <strong>and</strong> body language across <strong>the</strong>region. In most countries, youth constituted at least 25per cent of <strong>the</strong> population. Because of <strong>the</strong>ir similarities,<strong>the</strong>re were opportunities <strong>and</strong> challenges to reach thatgroup. The parliamentarians on <strong>the</strong> panel were askedhow <strong>the</strong>y reached youth.Response:A study of youth cultures <strong>in</strong> many countries concludedthat <strong>the</strong> best service was to provide comprehensive,<strong>in</strong>tegrated reproductive health <strong>in</strong>formation <strong>in</strong> school33