You are here
New Releases
Needs assessment of people with disabilities in Samoa
Women and young people with disabilities in Samoa experience a range of restrictions to accessing sexual and reproductive health (SRH) and gender-based violence (GBV) services on an equal basis with others and to realizing their rights to SRH legal capacity, and freedom from violence.
Needs assessment of people with disabilities in Vanuatu
Due to the limited implementation of the Convention of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and the national legal and policy frameworks on gender and disability rights, persons with disabilities living in Vanuatu experience extreme forms of marginalization and significant restrictions to their autonomy and self-determination. In particular, as this report reveals, they are prevented from fully realizing their sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) and their rights to legal capacity and to be free of gender-based violence (GBV).
Needs assessment of people with disabilities in Fiji
Women and young people with disabilities living in Fiji face significant barriers that hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others. In particular, as this report reveals, they are prevented from fully realizing their sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) and their rights to legal capacity and to be free of gender-based violence (GBV).
GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE AND SEXUAL AND REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC IN THE PACIFIC REGION.
What is Gender-Based Violence?
Gender-based violence is harm that happens to a person or a group of people because of their gender.
What is Sexual and Reproductive Health?
Sexual and reproductive health is health issues that have to do with your body, sex, relationships, and having and giving birth to children.11 This includes having the information you need to be able to make your own decisions about your body, when to have sex, and whether or not to become a parent.12 This also includes having access to family planning methods—or contraceptives— when you do not want to become pregnant.13
The acronym SRH is often used as a way to refer to sexual and reproductive health.
SPEECH by Dr. Jennifer Butler, UNFPA Pacific Director & Representative
Opening Remarks by
Dr. Jennifer Butler,
Director and Representative, UNFPA Pacific
Pacific Regional Sharing and Learning Meeting on Family Life Education Comprehensive Sexuality Education
Thursday, 7th October, 2021
[Salutations]
Minister for Women Youth & Social Affairs, Government of Kiribati; Honourable Martin Moreti
European Union Representative Mr. Silvio Lazzari,
Mr. Chris Golden, Director, Programmes and Operations IPPF Pacific
Senior government officials, Staff from Ministries/Departments of Education,
All the young people here and listening wherever you are
Civil society partners and our wonderful MC, Tura
Distinguished guests, and our valued regional partners across the Pacific. Mauri, Bula vinaka, Malo e lelei, Talofa lava, Iakwe (yuck-way), Gud morning. Warm Pasifika greetings to you all.
Almost one year ago, on the 3rd December 2020, we gathered in a similar setting to launch the International Technical and Programmatic Guidance on Out-of-School Comprehensive Sexuality Education in the Pacific. It was an exciting event. And more importantly, it became the catalyst for changing the landscape of Comprehensive Sexuality Education/Family Life Education in the region.
During this one-year journey, we have seen heightened political interest, the establishment of CSE/FLE committees, an increase in dedicated human resources, and the building of strategic partnerships with national level civil society partners to strengthen the operational environment for both in and out of school CSE/FLE.
- Kiribati has significantly advanced building teacher competencies to deliver CSE/FLE according to international standards
- Vanuatu and Samoa established new FLE multi-stakeholder committees.
- The Solomon Islands and Tonga have built strategic partnerships with civil society organisations to reach out of school young people,
- And in Fiji, RMI and FSM Ministries and Departments of Education have demonstrated commitment, resilience and resolve in mobilizing support for CSE/FLE.
The Pacific has worked with such agility and alacrity to ensure that two million young people have a future where they are empowered to make informed decisions regarding their sexuality and guaranteed well-being.
For that we applaud you.
As UNFPA, we are proud to be associated with this tremendous progress and believe that today’s meeting is only the start towards nurturing this momentum across the region.
We are also proud to be associated with the Spotlight Initiative to eliminate violence against women and girls. The Spotlight Initiative has provided the financial and political impetus which is critical in amplifying investments in CSE in the region. They understood the power of prevention and youth empowerment, and you are all contributing to its articulation.
And we will do all we can, with Governments, partners, young people and United Nations sister agencies to advocate for the inclusion of CSE as a key priority area for young people, and a significant component of achieving the demographic youth dividend across the Pacific in the development of the United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF) 2023-2027.
Such longitudinal investments have changed the narrative on youth empowerment in the region. Investment in CSE/FLE is about shifting systems, reshaping gendered social norms, youth empowerment, about ensuring rights and choices for all young people, and eliminating violence against women and girls. It is not a time-bound project or programme.
It is an absolute pleasure to see familiar faces here today. It is important to use this time to reflect on what we have learned over the past year, where and how we need to recalibrate, and what we need to amplify and replicate on our forward march, ensuring rights and choices for all young people across the Pacific, wherever they may be, whoever they may love, leaving no one behind.
On Monday 11th October, we will join the world in commemorating the International Day of the Girl Child under the theme “digital generation, our generation”. I encourage you all to use this platform and explore the innovations that will help us all reach young people, especially adolescent girls, with CSE/FLE within the context of COVID19, and their evolving preference for digital platforms as sources of information.
UNFPA is grateful to work with all of you, and we are so appreciative of our partnerships with Governments across the region, with civil society and with the ICPD25 Youth Champions. And we are so fortunate to work in close partnership with IPPF SROP and Family Planning New South Wales (FPNSW). We will continue to learn, to adapt, to advocate and to serve.
As I conclude, I must extend our deepest appreciation to the European Union for funding the Spotlight Initiative, as well as to DFAT (Australia) and MFAT (New Zealand) for their investment in sexual and reproductive health and rights, including Comprehensive Sexuality Education.
Vinaka vaka levu, malo aupito, tanku tumas, ko raba.
UNFPA Publication on Good Practices in South-South and Triangular Cooperation (SSTC)
This is a collection of 18 good practices on South-South and Triangular Cooperation (SSTC) documented and shared by UNFPA regional and country offices. Among the cases you will find here are for instance an excellent set of SSTC initiatives on the census. There is also an interesting case of determining the social returns of investment. Of course, there are many other cases in various areas of the UNFPA mandate.
These good practices are the latest additions to the growing compendium of UNFPA documentation of SSTC initiatives. Together, they are a reflection of the success of UNFPA’s instrumental role as facilitator of SSTC and of its capacity to leverage SSTC as a programme accelerator for results. They can also be used for advocacy, to inform programme design, and to find ideas for potential SSTC partners. The cumulative total of 63 documented SSTC practices can all be found in the South-South Galaxy, the UN system-wide SSTC platform. They are also linked to the UNFPA website for SSTC and the SSTC Community in myUNFPA. Please check them out and share them with your colleagues and partners. Equally important, please continue to document and share with us your SSTC success stories.
End of Programme Review Report on the Upscaling Jadelle Rollout Programme in Solomon Islands
This report presents findings from the End of Programme Review of the Upscaling Jadelle Rollout (UJR) Programme implemented by UNFPA Pacific Sub regional Office (PSRO) in Solomon Islands, covering a period between mid-2016 through the end of 2019. This programme was bilaterally funded by the DFAT post in Solomon Islands. The report provides detailed review of the programme, particularly with regards to effectiveness, impact (positive and negative, primary and secondary, medium to long-term, direct or indirect and intended or unintended) and sustainability of the programme. It highlights key results, challenges and lessons learned as well as makes recommendations when implementing similar programmes in the future.
DFAT: Transformative Agenda 2020 Annual Report
With an AUD $30 million investment by the Government of Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), UNFPA Pacific Sub-Regional Office (PSRO) seeks to reduce unmet need for family planning over a 51-month period (2018-2022) in six priority countries: Fiji, Kiribati, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga and Vanuatu.
Achieving this overall objective builds on three synergistic programme outcomes: increased and improved supply of integrated sexual and reproductive health (SRH) information and services, particularly for family planning; increased demand for integrated SRH information and services, particularly for family planning; and a more conducive and supportive environment for people to access and benefit from quality SRH, especially contraceptive choice.
This annual report covers activities under the programme from January to December 2020. It highlights major changes; key achievements, challenges and lessons learned; progress towards the results framework and management issues.
2021 Vanuatu Health Facility Readiness and Service Availability (HFRSA) Assessment
Vanuatu conducted its Health Facility Readiness Availability (HFRSA) Assessment in October and November 2020. The assessment focused on Hospitals, Health Centers, Dispensaries and Clinics nationwide. These health facilities from both the public and private sector are categorized as Service Delivery Points with roles to deliver on basic to more advanced medical care and treatment including services on Sexual Reproductive Health and Sexual Gender Based Violence, with an ability to administer the Ministry of Health Essential Drug List. These facilities are located across 33 of the 83 islands in the country.
This HFRSA assessment is the first of its kind ever to be done by the MOH in Vanuatu and the wealth of data it has been able to amass from the survey using the latest technology has been missing from MOH policy and planning in decision-making over the last 41 years. The assessment has opened up a window of opportunity for the MOH to reflect back on its strengths and weaknesses over the breadth of health services it has provided to the people of Vanuatu.
The HFRSA assessment has come at an opportune time to inform the Health Sector Strategy, RMNCAH Policy, Strategy and Implementation Plan, and recovery from Tropical Cyclone Harold and preparedness for Covid-19. This has enabled MOH to rethink its course and the best way forward in terms of its limited recurrent funding resources, insufficient trained and skilled health workers, inadequate service delivery support for the more basic services as water, lighting, housing, trainings, supervision, quality of medications and making the right decisions at the right time, to improve the lives of people across Vanuatu, which is fundamental to improve the health status of the population.
Out of School Comprehensive Sexuality Education in the Pacific
The importance of comprehensive sexuality education in improving the sexual and reproductive health of young people and reducing gender-based violence is well documented. Comprehensive, quality, rightsbased programmes have been demonstrated to support young people to develop self-esteem and crucial life skills; empower them to make informed decisions and thus reduce rates of sexually transmitted infections, unintended pregnancies and sexual and gender-based violence. While many Pacific countries have taken great strides to provide sexuality education to young people in school, there is a lack of knowledge about the education that is provided to young people outside of school and access to quality, rights-based and gender sensitive comprehensive sexuality education is not universal across the Pacific. The Transformative Agenda, a programme funded by the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) through UNFPA, identified comprehensive sexuality education as the main strategy for increasing demand for integrated sexual and reproductive health information and services in order to reduce unmet need for family planning and ultimately transform the lives of adolescents and youth. As such, IPPF with support from UNFPA, conducted a mapping of sexuality education and related programmes delivered by various groups across Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu. A survey with organisations delivering sexuality education was conducted to understand what is currently being delivered outside of the school setting. Additionally, through online surveys, a review of existing resources and focus groups conducted with young people across the Pacific, it was possible to identify the content and programming gaps in delivering comprehensive sexuality education. It was found that while a range of organisations are delivering some form of sexuality education to young people outside of school settings, the curricula delivered are not equipping young people with adequate knowledge and skills to inform their decision making and cope with everyday challenges related to sexual and reproductive health. Organisations reported significant gaps in their curricula while young people reported receiving incomplete information or missing certain topics entirely. It is crucial that young people are empowered to make informed decisions about their lives, by providing them with the necessary skills, knowledge and confidence. IPPF and UNFPA are committed to supporting Pacific national Governments, civil society organisations and feminist movements to ensure that every young person has the skills, confidence and knowledge to successfully navigate the challenging transition to adulthood and realise their full potential, through collaboration with multiple and diverse stakeholders in the Pacific region.