1. Reproductive Health in the fight Against Poverty
Presentation by Frans A.J. Baneke
Executive Director, WPF, Netherlands
Chairman, EuroNGOs, Brussels
at Commonwealth People’s Forum
Malta, November 21st, 2005

2. What Reproductive Health (RH) is and is not
RH since ICPD/Cairo in 1994: globally agreed policies and funding

3. RH domestically and RH in development cooperation programs; the perspective of donor countries

4. How RH fits into the MDG’s:
MDG 3 Promote gender equality and empower women
MDG 4 Reduce child mortality
MDG 5 Improve maternal health
MDG 6 Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases

5. RH and poverty: the widest gap between rich and poor is in RH
RH and poverty: the widest gap between rich and poor is in RH. RH affects women and children disproportionally.

6. Europe as the largest donor of development assistance in general, and of RH assistance in particular (Europe = EU plus individual member states)
Europe as strong actor in every part of the global aid structure: UN, World Bank Group, Global Fund
Europe as a leading promoter of RH globally, and the need for allies: Commonwealth/EU-member states within, and Commonwealth countries from the South

7. RH and MDG’s in the September UN Summit

8. Why civil society is more important for RH than for many other themes: the reluctance of policymakers to touch sensitive issues

9. The role of EuroNGOs: platform, advocacy, project interventions
The desire of EuroNGOs to partner with NGOs from (Commonwealth) countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America

10. The crucial timing and importance of a statement from this People’s Forum to the Commonwealth Heads of State.

11. Suggested text for statement
We, …….., call on the Heads of State of the Commonwealth to reaffirm their commitment to safe motherhood, the sexual and reproductive health of women, child health and rights, and gender equality.
We call on you to mobilise additional resources and remove barriers in our countries so as to improve access to sexual, reproductive and neonatal health care, and HIV/AIDS prevention, counselling, treatment and care services.
We call on you to express the need for a target to monitor the implementation of RH programs agreed at the 2005 UN Summit defined as: reproductive health for all by 2015.
We call on you to recognize the special capacity and importance of civil society organisations in this field and to enter into partnerships with them.