The CAPPD held its annual general meeting on Tuesday, May 30. The meeting served as an opportunity for all membership to come together and share reflections on the successes of the previous year and share opportunities to further advance sexual and reproductive health and rights in the year ahead.
Members also heard from Cecilia Espinoza, policy and advocacy lead at IPAS.
As COVID-19 continues to impact people globally, we are seeing the troubling effects of the pandemic on access to sexual and reproductive health and rights. COVID-19 has exacerbated gender and social inequities, leading to increased rates of sexual and gender-based violence and new barriers for those seeking sexual and reproductive health services. These effects are disproportionately impacting women, girls, adolescents, people of colour, LGBTQI2S+ persons, and displaced populations.
From June 24-28, CAPPD co-chair, the Honourable Senator Marilou McPhedran, represented Canada on a parliamentary delegation to Zambia.
At the Nairobi Summit on ICPD25, a new global platform for parliamentarians was officially launched. The Global Parliamentary Alliance for Health, Rights and Development (GPA) is an international parliamentary initiative aimed at amplifying the efforts of parliamentarians as they work to achieve the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals and the International Conference on Population and Development Programme of Action in their home countries and abroad.
On Thursday, March 21, the Canadian Association of Parliamentarians on Population and Development (CAPPD), in association with CARE Canada and Action Canada for Sexual Health and Rights invited parliamentarians to participate in a strategy session on ´Human Rights in Emergencies: Addressing the needs and realities of women and girls´.
On April 11, 2019, the Canadian Association of Parliamentarians on Population and Development (CAPPD), together with Action Canada for Sexual Health and Rights and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) hosted a parliamentary breakfast recognizing Canadian leadership on sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR).
In advance of Canada’s 2019 budget, Action Canada for Sexual Health and Rights has created a list of three things to look for to advance sexual and reproductive health and rights in Canada and internationally.
Get the full list here: Budget 2019 Primer – PDF
This year marks the 25th anniversary of the 1994 Cairo International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD). The conference generated a remarkable Programme of Action recognizing sexual and reproductive rights, women’s empowerment and gender equality as crucial to sustainable development. The Nairobi Summit on ICPD25 will bring together United Nations (UN) agencies, governments, civil society, and advocacy groups for a high-level conference to advance the implementation of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) Programme of Action.
The Honourable Jean Wyllys, the only openly gay congressman in Brazil, announced on January 25, 2019 that he is leaving politics because of defamatory social media campaigns and threats to his life and his family. The recently re-elected politician will not serve the new term and has left Brazil without plans to return due to pressure from Brazil’s far-right political atmosphere. Under President Jair Bolsonaro, members of the LGBTQI+ community have been disparaged and murder rates in Brazil have reached a high point.
In January 2019, Canadian Association of Parliamentarians on Population and Development (CAPPD) Chair Dr. Hedy Fry formally submitted a letter to Prime Minister Trudeau outlining the outcomes of the 2018 International Parliamentarians Conference on the Implementation of the International Conference on Population and Development (IPCI).