LEGISLATORS | UN | NEAPACOH

KAMPALA - A meeting of the Network of African Parliamentary Committees of Health (NEAPACOH) has called upon their respective governments, the United Nations agencies and other international organizations to commit more investments on the continent. 

According to the legislators, the investments should target to accelerate the achievement of the unfinished agenda of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). 

This was contained in a statement issued after a two-day physical and virtual annual meeting of NEAPACOH hosted by the parliament of Uganda in collaboration with the Partners in Population and Development (PPD) Africa Region Office and was held at the Imperial Royale Hotel in Kampala. 

This year’s theme, “Sustained Programs for the Achievement of ICPD Goals and the SDGs: Role of Parliamentarians” emphasised the crucial role of legislators in their respective countries to step up efforts to ensure all the previous commitments are fulfilled.  

Patrick Mugirwa, the program officer at Partners in Population and Development speaking at the closing of the NEAPACOH meeting at Imperial Royale Hotel in Kampala. (Credit: Eddie Ssejjoba)

The meeting, dubbed, ‘Kampala Call for Action’, was also geared towards promoting information exchange, facilitating policy dialogue and identifying key areas of follow up action. 

The participants recognised that COVID-19 is one of the greatest challenges in modern history, which they said had brought far-reaching negative impacts on all spheres of society. 

The effects, they said, include poverty, health and well-being, and disruption to economic and social development of all countries, especially developing countries. 

According to the legislators, Family Planning (FP) and reproductive, maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health have been among the most seriously affected essential health services by the COVID-19 pandemic.

It has also caused ‘heightened sexual and gender-based violence. The MPs expressed concern that many people in Sub-Saharan Africa suffer from acute and chronic respiratory conditions, which they said were a major cause of illness and death. 

They said there was a need to champion programs to address tuberculosis and chronic lung diseases in their respective countries and regions. 

Dr. Jotham Musinguzi, the director general of the National Population Council giving his remarks during the event. (Credit: Eddie Ssejjoba)

They committed themselves to developing and passing appropriate laws and policies that ensure universal access to health including wider sexual and reproductive health and family planning services. They also intend to support the initiatives for achieving zero unmet need for FP, zero preventable maternal deaths, zero unsafe abortions, and zero gender-based violence and harmful practices, such as child marriage and female genital mutilations. 

The meeting attracted participants from 16 countries including Benin, Burundi, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, South Sudan, Tanzania, Gambia, Uganda, United Kingdom, Zambia and Zimbabwe. 

The function was officially closed by Dr Jotham Musinguzi, the director general of the National Population Council (NPC).

He said that although COVID-19 had come with a lot of challenges, it had also provided opportunities of being innovative in cost-effectively doing things.  

He said the participation of many countries was an invitation ‘to join efforts in addressing the unfavourable reproductive health and FP indicators that continue to plague the region’.