For Immediate Release:	October 19, 2005
For More Information:	Alice Frade, Portuguese Family Planning Association (APF), Alicefrade@apf.pt, 351-91-790-8514
Sponsor Organization:	Portuguese Family Planning Association (APF)
“In Portugal, we are going to have a new and different approach to the issues in question.”
Lisbon, Portugal - On October 18-19, 2005, 200 young decision makers from across Portugal will meet in Lisbon to discuss the crisis in sexual and reproductive health facing young people both here in Portugal and in the developing world. These representatives from Parliament, political parties, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) will engage with experts from the United Nations Population Fund, the World Health Organization, and international sexual and reproductive health rights NGOs from many counties, including Colombia, Finland, and the United States. This meeting is being hosted by the Portuguese Family Planning Association (APF), the Inter-European Parliamentary Group on Population and Development, the Portuguese Parliamentary Group on Population and Development, the Portuguese Parliament, and the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the U.S. (SIECUS), with the support of the Summit Foundation. Portugal has obligations under international agreements to ensure sexual and reproductive rights and health, particularly for young people. In 1994, 179 countries, including Portugal, agreed to support the International Conference on Population and Development Programme of Action (ICPD) in Cairo, Egypt. Among a wide range of detailed recommendations, the ICPD urges governments to protect and promote the rights of young people to reproductive health education, information, and care, including access to the information and services they need to understand their sexuality and protect the from unwanted pregnancies, sexually transmitted diseases and subsequent risk of future infertility. Recently, the international community officially recognized that meeting the goals of ICPD is imperative to achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Derived from the Millennium Declaration adopted by world leaders at the United Nations Millennium Summit in 2000, the eight MDGs call on countries to increase their efforts and collaborate to achieve the following: 1. Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger; 2. Achieve universal primary education; 3. Promote gender equality and empower women; 4. Reduce child mortality; 5. Improve maternal health; 6. Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases; 7. Ensure environmental sustainability; and 8. Develop a global partnership for development. Despite the dire consequences for young people and their communities, there has been and continues to be a distinct gap between the importance placed on sexual and reproductive health issues in Parliamentary political groups across Europe and the international commitments made by their governments. This is true not only of their domestic policies, but also in terms of their international and bilateral aid budgets. “Young people worldwide are facing HIV/AIDS, unplanned pregnancies and unsafe abortion, sexual violence, and other threats to their health and rights. We can stop this suffering,” explained Alice Frade, International Cooperation and Development Officer, APF. She continued, “to save and promote lives in the world, especially in the Lusophone Community and in our own country, Portugal must live up to its international commitments and laws, both by providing accessible, quality education and services for our young people here and by investing in sexual and reproductive health and education programs in developing countries.” These young decision makers are committed to raising awareness among policy-makers and the public of the need to meet the ICPD and MDG commitments. The entire group will be signing a declaration on sexual and reproductive rights and health, and in a working session on the 19th, a sub-group will meet to strategize initiatives to promote Portugal’s increased involvement in these issues. Pedro Nunno Santos, young socialist leader and a Member of Parliament said, “This is a huge opportunity to introduce in the Portuguese political agenda the issues of the sexual and reproductive rights and health. Santos believes that after the conference that, “In Portugal, we are going to have a new and different approach to the issues in question.” - ### -