Welcome to the International Policy Symposium on the Connection between Population Dynamics, Reproductive Health and Rights and Climate Change

Summary of Meeting

International Policy Symposium on the Connection between Population Dynamics, Reproductive Health and Rights and Climate Change

March 1, 2010

This meeting was organized by Commat (the Commonwealth Medical Trust) and the Population and Sustainability Network (PSN), together with the British Medical Association (BMA) and Partners in Population and Development African Regional Office (PPD ARO).  Co-sponsoring organizations included Population Action International (PAI), the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Population, Development and Reproductive Health (APPGPDRH), the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF), the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), Marie Stopes International (MSI), and University College London (UCL), and the event was also financially supported by the UK Department for International Development (which made the attendance of three African ministers possible) and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).

The symposium included a mix of policymakers, programme managers and implementers as well as researchers.  The participant list included government ministers from Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania and UK parliamentarians representing the leading parties in the UK and including the Shadow Secretary of State for International Development.  

Having senior policymakers at the seminar created an extraordinary opportunity to link research and programmes with policy options and challenges.  It fostered discussions of responsibilities of developed and developing countries, national leadership and responsibility versus development assistance, and evidence-based programming and the challenges of scale up.

The agenda was divided into four sessions – first, an introduction to the issues, including the moral mandate, the links between health and climate change, where do population dynamics fit into climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies, rights-based approaches and a view from the Ugandan Minister of Finance and Planning, the Honourable Professor Ephraim Kamuntu. He reminded the audience that the developing world contributes the least greenhouse gas emissions, that they will be most affected by climate change, and that they are least able to deal with the negative effects. Striking impressions from this session included a slide from Anthony Costello (UCL) showing “the end of geography” with the rise of the sea nearly engulfing Dhaka, and a slide showing deaths from HIV in South Africa due to slow mobilisation to deal with that pandemic.  The message to climate sceptics:  scepticism kills.   Paul Wilkinson (LSHTM) explained how family planning is important in its own right – it doesn’t need climate change for justification, but climate change adds urgency.  Moreover, things that are “good” for climate change tend to also be “good” for health. 

Vivienne Nathanson (BMA) emphasized the importance of rights and said the key is “empowerment”. Jonathan Porritt (Founder Director, Forum for the Future, and Symposium keynote speaker) reminded the audience that we need to get beyond the “crass” consumption versus population debate.  Inadequate funding for family planning, and the need for an increased investment in this area was mentioned in the first session, and was a theme that continually reappeared throughout the day.

The second session focused on programme priorities.  Jotham Musinguzi from PPD ARO chaired and Siri Tellier (retired UNFPA) spoke about the connection between climate, population, family planning and women.  She made the point that whether the global population reaches 11 billion or 8 billion in 2050 (the high and low variant projections) is important.  She also compared the populations and emissions of the USA and Niger, saying that the population of Niger would need to reach 16 billion to reach the total emissions of the USA.  At the same time, Niger will have a difficult time coping with its population that is doubling in size every 20 or so years.   Karen Hardee (PAI) spoke about challenges of adaptation, including experience with National Adaptation Programmes of Action (NAPAs), the link between adaptation and sustainable development and the implications for family planning/reproductive health of adaptation funding. The point that population is recognized by NAPA countries but that isn’t translated into projects was clear as was the need to understand adaptation funding, vis a vis development planning, as it relates to family planning/reproductive health. 

Negash Teklu of the Consortium for Integrated Population, Health and Environment (CIPHE) spoke of integrating Population, Health and Environment (PHE) in Ethiopia. Participants were very interested in the PHE approach and asked about the role of community participation, women’s empowerment and the possibilities for scale up. Vik Mohan of Blue Ventures presented compelling evidence about combining family planning with marine conservation in Madagascar, and the importance of having a good relationship with the community.    

The third session gave the floor to the policymakers from Africa and the UK.  The Ugandan Minister of Finance and Planning noted that his country is already feeling the effects of climate change – they now have a ministry for Disaster Preparedness, which Uganda has never before needed. He also identified that family planning must be given greater visibility. The Minister of Health from Tanzania (Honourable Professor David Mwakyusa) said that he sees the health effects of climate change – eg malaria in new areas and emphasized that culture matters.  He noted the importance of understanding peoples’ concerns, for example, that white bednets were considered “funeral shrouds” and had to be changed to another colour, and that mothers worried about their children sleeping under medicated bednets that killed mosquitoes. This made the point that technology is not always enough, and behaviour also needs to be addressed, and this point is relevant for family planning too. He said that the government of Tanzania has realized that family planning needs renewed attention and that the president will be announcing the renewed focus this month.  The Minister of Medical Services from Kenya (Honourable Professor Peter Anyang Nyong’o) said that his government is ready to do integrated programming but that they need guidance on how to implement such programmes. If there is to be a holistic approach, how do we sequence and implement the interventions? He emphasized the need for global solidarity on climate change.  Andrew Stunell, MP (Liberal Democrat) from the UK, noted that money for climate change is, in fact, ODA, which won’t change until the next funding cycle, although the financial crunch is likely to affect how much money is available.  He assured the audience that the UK will reach the 0.7% target. The UK’s policy is to spend on the poorest countries (China is finally being taken off this list).  Another MP Sally Keeble (Labour) noted that it is difficult to separate climate and development policies and that it will be important to have policies from developing countries that developed countries can support.  Andrew Mitchell, MP, (Conservative), outlined what a Conservative government would do for development.  He emphasized that there is an agreement among the parties on the need for international development – and on the need to support reproductive health.  Discussion included the issue of corruption, which the parliamentarians from Africa noted sometimes had Western complicity.  Viscount Craigavon a cross-bencher from the House of Lords, gave a vote of thanks and closed this session.

In the final session, which was chaired by IPPF Director-General Dr Gill Greer, Jotham Musinguzi, Susannah Mayhew (LSHTM), Malcolm Potts and Karen Newman (PSN) gave provocative presentations concluding the issues that arose during the day, and considering an agenda moving forward. Susannah Mayhew recognized that today everyone had been committed to a rights-based approach to the issue. But further to this, she emphasized the importance of the right to development, for developing countries. She also stressed that rapid population growth impedes poverty eradication. Jotham Musinguzi called for stronger leadership and political commitment from the South. He also suggested that lessons learned in the South need to be shared: If something is working in Kenya, it may well work in e.g. Uganda. Malcolm Potts (University of Berkeley) asked the question “What is it that reduces fertility?” and argued that fertility decline is largely driven by a woman’s ability to access modern contraception. 

Karen Newman, coordinator of the Population and Sustainability Network, acknowledged that the relationship between climate change and population is complex, controversial and critical. She summarized the main points coming out from the day, including valuable consensus generated at the Symposium on the importance of a rights-based approach to tackling the links between population dynamics and climate change; the need to secure additional funding for family planning services that respect and protect rights; the need for climate change adaptation funding streams to be flexible enough to recognize family planning as part of effective adaptation strategies, and the need for political leadership to ensure that issues related to population growth are addressed in tandem with efforts to reduce consumption.

This summary was based on a draft prepared by Karen Hardee for colleagues in PAI