Alle ind for reproduktiv sundhed – undtagen USA

Hedebølge i Californien. Verdens klimakrise har enorme sundhedsmæssige konsekvenser. Alligevel samtænkes Danmarks globale klima- og sundhedsindsats i alt for ringe grad, mener tre  debattører.


Foto: Kevin Carter/Getty Images
Redaktionen

By a nearly unanimous decision – with the United States alone in dissenting – countries in Latin America and the Caribbean have reaffirmed their support for an international population and reproductive health action plan adopted 10 years ago, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) reported.

Wrapping up a two-day meeting at UN office in Santiago, Chile, on Thursday, more than 300 delegates from 40 countries in the region and their development partners recommitted to the 20-year Programme of Action endorsed at the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development in Cairo.

The United States was the only country to disagree with a declaration linking poverty eradication to greater access to services for family planning, safe motherhood and HIV/AIDS prevention.

The United States disassociated itself from the declaration, citing differences related to HIV/AIDS, adolescents and abortion. The delegate from Washington voiced regret that there was no reference to abstinence and charged that the text ignored Cairo language linking adolescents rights to the role and responsibilities of parents.

Also addressing the forum, a 19-year-old member of a youth group representing 26 countries spoke of unfulfilled promises.

– While adults, men and women, decided in Cairo that young people should have access to sexual and reproductive health services, many of us still do not know that the condom could save our lives, she said. – We demand that the governments present here do not make us wait 10 more years until we can sit in your places and make the right decision, added she.

The declaration calls on Latin American and Caribbean countries to guarantee that young men and women have access to information, education and services required to develop skills to prevent HIV infection. Where possible, the text adds, nations should provide free treatments to persons with HIV/AIDS, while respecting their privacy and confidentiality.

Delegates also agreed that countries should ensure universal access to the widest possible range of family planning methods, particularly for the poorest sectors, indigenous peoples and marginalized social and ethnic groups.

Kilde: FNs Nyhedstjeneste