Vow to address issues of reproductive, maternity healthcare

The three-day international conference on access to reproductive health services ended in Kathmandu, capital of Nepal, on Thursday with the adoption of a 20-point declaration.
Ministers, lawmakers and government officials from 12 South and South East Asian countries who attended the conference also vowed to work together to address the issue of reproductive and maternity healthcare, for want of which one woman dies in every minute across the world.
High officials and experts of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the World Health Organisation (WHO) also attended the conference.
UNFPA Asia Pacific regional office organised the conference to review the current status of implementation of Millennium Development Goals (MDG)-5 to reduce the maternal mortality ratio by three-quarters by 2015.
The declarations said legislators, lawmakers, policy makers, representatives of national organisations, religious leaders, civil society members and media professionals have the common responsibility with their governments to ensure health of women through providing accessible, affordable and sustainable reproductive healthcare at all levels.
In the declarations the delegates also expressed their concern at the relatively slow progress made in the region, in particular, in reducing maternal mortality and ensuring equitable access to healthcare services.
The declarations also called for actions so that no woman should die while giving birth.
At the conference, UNFPA officials lauded Bangladesh for its performance in family planning activities and overall reproductive healthcare services.
At the same time they cautioned Bangladesh for the high rate of unmet need of contraceptives and dependency on short-term methods.
Pakistan at the conference showed interest in applying the experience of Bangladesh in the area of advocacy for family planning and contraceptive uses.
Delegations from Afghanistan, Bangladesh. India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, Maldives, Philippines, Mongolia, Lao PDR, Indonesia, UNFPA and WHO attended the conference.
The five-member Bangladesh delegation included Mozammel Hossain, a ruling Awami League (AL) lawmaker and chairman of parliamentary standing committee on social welfare ministry, Prof M Amanullah, an AL lawmaker and former state minister, BD Mitra, additional secretary to health ministry, and Afsana Taher of UNFPA Bangladesh attended the conference.
Members of Bangladesh delegations at the conference said at present the country's total fertility rate (2.7) and contraceptive prevalence rate (55.8) are good considering that 87 percent of its population are Muslim.
"But the future challenges are to meet the increased demand for contraceptives, simplify lengthy procurement procedures, overcome the short fall of reproductive health commodities, and develop national strategy on RHCS," they added.
They also stressed the need for cooperation and coordination among the countries specially at the time of present global economic meltdown to address the burning issue of reproductive and maternity health care.
The UNFPA and WHO officials urged the ministers and lawmakers to extend their hand to meet the goal of MDG-5 by 2015.