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The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has formed a network of Caribbean Parliamentarians on Population and Development to promote population and reproductive health issues at the government level in the region.The group’s formation came out of a two-day meeting held in Suriname when the UNFPA brought together over twenty parliamentarians from ten countries and territories across the Caribbean to discuss population and development issues.“One of the main outcomes of that meeting was the establishment of a network of Caribbean Parliamentarians on Population and Development. The members of the network have committed to promoting population and reproductive health and rights as well as gender issues and to place them on the public agenda,Arian Foster Dolphins Jersey,” Harold Robinson,Stefen Wisniewski Eagles Jersey, UNFPA Director of the sub-regional office for the English and Dutch Speaking Caribbean, said.According to Robinson, the initiative fulfills one of UNFPA’s main strategies to establish partnerships to tackle major issues that impact people’s lives and the achievement of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) agenda and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).“They also committed to work to remove the barriers to achievement of the internationally agreed targets for poverty reduction and to become more involved in the international arena on issues related to the ICPD and the MDGs,Jarvis Landry Dolphins Jersey,” he said.As a first step, the group elected Deborah Mencias-McMillan from Belize as Coordinator of the network,Joe Barksdale Chargers Jersey, Malaka Parker, from Antigua and Barbuda as Secretary, and Volda Lawrence, from Guyana, as their representative to the Board of the Inter-American Parliamentary Group on Population and Development (IAPG).The IAPG was established as a neutral forum for the exchange of information and experiences and to stimulate an open dialogue in areas such as reproductive health and rights, including family planning, migration,Matt Darr Dolphins Jersey, environment,Andre Branch Dolphins Jersey, gender equity and equality, women’s empowerment and population policies with a rights-based approach.The IAPG works with legislators and other elected officials and decision makers across party lines to raise awareness through advocacy, information dissemination,D.J.Fluker Chargers Jersey, networking, capacity building,Matt Slauson Chargers Jersey, and technical assistance.The group currently focus on five key issues; Reproductive Health and Rights, HIV/AIDS, Adolescents and Gender-based Violence.The Parliamentarians acknowledged that there were barriers (including cultural,Leodis McKelvin Eagles Jersey, legislative, economic and in some instances geographical) to achieving the internationally agreed on targets for poverty reduction throughout the Region, and pledged to lead the way in creating the political will to eliminate these barriers. The group also agreed that they would play an active role in ensuring that the Region is represented in the Global Movement of Parliamentarians and at the International Parliamentarian conferences on the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) Programme of Action.Convener of the meeting, veteran and highly respected Caribbean Parliamentarian, the Dame Billie Miller, encouraged the parliamentarians to do all within their powers to enlist other parliamentarians as advocates for population and development issues.“These may not be the sexiest or most vote catching issues,” she told them, but “they are the most compelling, as they impact every aspect of the development process.”“Every human being has inherent worth and a right to reach his/her full potential, but this will not happen without addressing the issues of sexual and reproductive health including family planning and maternal mortality, education and gender equality,” said Robinson.“As Parliamentarians, you know the challenges your constituents face and are therefore in a unique position to influence legislation to provide the legal framework to ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive health services, promote programmes that benefit your constituents in terms of protecting their health, and to act as custodians of the ICPD Programme of Action and the MDGs.”While recognizing that there is still a long way to go, some of the Parliamentarians said that with the establishment of the network, the countries of the Region were one step closer to achieving the MDGs. (Information supplied by Panos Caribbean)