What to expect during Minister Kitir’s term?

30/11/2020

Meryame Kitir, photo RTL

The policy declaration and note of new Minister for Development Cooperation Meryame Kitir builds on the lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic. This crisis demonstrates the importance of strong public sectors, such as health care, education and social protection.

ODA makes up a crucial lever to ensure sustainable recovery, so the declaration reads. The Belgian government has committed to a growth path to reach 0.7% by 2030.

Parliamentarians for the 2030 Agenda and UNFPA launch SWOP on harmful practices

30/11/2020

SWOP 2020 report UNFPA

The Parliamentarians for the 2030 Agenda and UNFPA jointly launched the 2020 State of the World Population report in Belgium through an online interactive webinar. Invited speakers to the launch included newly appointed Minister of Development Cooperation, Meryame Kitir, director for Plan International Niger Ramatou Kane, co-director of GAMS Belgium, Stephanie Florquin, as well as representatives of the Directorate-General Development Cooperation. Els Van Hoof, chair of the parliamentary group took on the moderation.

UNFPA Brussels director, Sietske Steneker, presented the report, aptly entitled ‘Against my will’, discussing the harmful practices against women and girls around the world. These harmful practices include female genital mutilation, child marriage and sex selection. They are exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and the absolute number of girls subjected to these practices is still growing, even after decades of hard work by advocates and grassroots organisations.

Audit shows decreasing Belgian support for health and reproductive health in its international cooperation

13/12/2019

The share of Belgium’s total expenditure on international cooperation spent on health and reproductive health has fallen to 11% in 2018, the lowest percentage in 4 years. A downward trend is found over the course of the previous legislative period, from 14% in 2015, 12.7% in 2016 and 12.4% In 2017. The trend is shown in the audit of the 2018 ODA expenditure by DGD, conducted by Sensoa, the Flemish centre of expertise on sexual health, which compared the 2018 expenditure with previous years.

‘How can we explain to young people today that we could not prevent them from becoming infected?'

11/12/2019

World Aids Day Seminar in the Belgian Senate. Copyright Sensoa.

For World Aids Day, the ‘Parliamentarians for the 2030 Agenda’ invited UNAIDS Brussels Representative Dr. Jantine Jacobi, Burundian youth representative Fabien Ndikuriyo, Stéphanie Drèze of MSF and Dr. Gert Scheerder of Sensoa to discuss the HIV epidemic worldwide, in Belgium and in Belgium’s partner countries.

Belgian All-Parliamentary Group ‘Parlementarians for the 2030 Agenda’ launched

30/10/2019

On October 10th, at the federal parliament in Brussels, the ‘Parliamentarians for the 2030 Agenda’, Belgium’s APPG on sexual and reproductive health and rights, kicked off for a new legislative period. The group unites parliamentarians from all colours, invested in advancing gender equality, health and rights internationally, as put forward in the ICPD Programme of Action and the SDGs.

The group, likely to make up around 30 members, will see to Belgium’s international role to achieve the ICPD PoA and the SDGs, and more specifically SDG 3, to achieve health and wellbeing for all, and SDG 5, to achieve gender equality and women’s empowerment. They will do so by convening regularly, informing the public, participating in international delegations, visiting the field, inquiring the government and drafting resolutions.

Belgium makes bold statements in support of universal access to SRHR at CPD52

9/4/2019

Adolescent girls. Copyright IPPF EN

“Belgium is determined to build a world in which no one, not a single child, not a single young person, not a single woman nor a single girl is left behind.” These were the closing words with which Belgium reconfirmed its strong commitment to the full implementaton of the International Cairo Programme of Action (ICPD) at the 52nd CPD, 1-5 April 2019.

UN Member States reaffirm their commitment to the ICPD Program of Action

9/4/2019

On April 1st the UN Commission on Population and Development unanimously adopted a political declaration reaffirming the importance of the ICPD Program of Action. 2019 marks the 25th anniversary of the adoption of the Program of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development by 179 UN Member States in Cairo, Egypt in 1994.

“No more time for dry-runs” NGOs critical of Belgium’s uptake of the Sustainable Development Agenda

9/4/2019

To date, no fundamental change in governance has been seen, Perspective 2030, the Belgian coalition of NGOs monitoring the realisation of the 2030 Agenda of which Sensoa is a member, stated. The coalition published a critical report that took stock of Belgium’s efforts since signing on to the Agenda in 2015.

UN Commission on Status of Women reaches consensus after week long battle

25/3/2019

The 63rd Session of the Commission on the Status of Women took place on March 11th-22nd at the UN Headquarters in New York. The Agreed Conclusions, focusing on the theme of social protection, access to public services, and sustainable infrastructure were adopted after a week of long and late negotiations.

Presentation of ‘the State of African Women’ in Belgium’s federal parliament – a report

11/3/2019

C RightByHer

On Thursday the 28th of February in Brussels, the ‘The State of African Women’ report was presented on the eve of International Women’s Day at the federal parliament. Gina Wharton, policy advisory at IPPF European Network presented the research report by the Dutch KIT Royal Tropical Institute, a report that is part of an awareness project that goes by the title ‘Right by Her’. The research report maps the realisations as well as the gaps in the ratification and implementation of the Maputo Protocol by African states. This protocol is a legally binding instrument in which the rights of African women have been recognised by the member states of the African Union.

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What to expect during Minister Kitir’s term?

Parliamentarians for the 2030 Agenda and UNFPA launch SWOP on harmful practices

Audit shows decreasing Belgian support for health and reproductive health in its international cooperation

‘How can we explain to young people today that we could not prevent them from becoming infected?'

Belgian All-Parliamentary Group ‘Parlementarians for the 2030 Agenda’ launched

Belgium makes bold statements in support of universal access to SRHR at CPD52

UN Member States reaffirm their commitment to the ICPD Program of Action

“No more time for dry-runs” NGOs critical of Belgium’s uptake of the Sustainable Development Agenda

UN Commission on Status of Women reaches consensus after week long battle

Presentation of ‘the State of African Women’ in Belgium’s federal parliament – a report

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