Climate change, food security affecting Asian countries - Healthcare Minister

http://www.dailynews.lk/2008/12/15/news21.asp

“Every minute, a woman dies during pregnancy and childbirth because she did not receive adequate care and prompt treatment.

“By increasing interventions for safe motherhood, we can save the lives of half a million women and seven million infants each year, and at the same time prevent millions of women from suffering from infections, injury and disability,” said Minister of Healthcare and Nutrition Nimal Siripala de Silva at the International Conference of Parliamentarians of South East Asian Region countries. The conference was held in Hanoi, Vietnam on December 12.

The Minister said: Since its inception in 1981 in Beijing, the AFPPD has come a long way taking up many burning and vital issues in order to support the formulation of multi sectoral policies related to population and development in the countries of our regions.”


“These meetings have brought greater understanding and cooperation among the parliamentarians of our countries and they have helped us learn from the experiences of one another and on the whole to steer our policies in complimentary ways.”

“You have selected an important and extremely relevant theme for deliberations this year - “The climate and food security challenges in the light of population growth”, Minister de Silva said.

“I wish to emphasize that climate change and food security are two of the most significant issues that threaten the lives of the people of our countries, and in some instances they could threaten even our very survival as nations. Therefore we appreciate the work of the Asian Forum of Parliamentarians to make us well aware of these issues and help to prepare ourselves well in advance to meet the challenges that are upon us.”

“Perhaps nowhere is the need for reproductive health services more urgent than in the fight against HIV/AIDS and in family planning. Reproductive health services that empower women and young people with life-saving information and skills will help prevent HIV from spreading and further reduce suffering and social and economic setbacks.

The UNFPA reminds us very rightly that directing more resources to all these issues is critical in attaining the Millennium Development Goals, the internationally agreed framework to halve poverty by the year 2015,” he said.

“We are living in very uncertain times. Obviously, recent information on the meltdown in the American banking industry drew everyone’s attention, but the actual literal meltdown of ice in the North and South poles and of the Himalayas do not get sufficient attention but if the risks to humankind will be far greater than any bank collapse.”

“Countries of South East Asia are at different stages of development of their national food and nutrition policies. UN information indicates that countries like Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Myanmar have already established their national policies and work plans.

Bhutan has included food security as a part of its primary healthcare programme. In Thailand we know that their food security policy is a major part of the health development plan and the healthy lifestyles strategy while DPR Korea and Timor Leste have concentrated on nutrition management in crisis situations,” the Minister said.

He said however the most critical issue in the Region right now is the increase in food prices and food insecurity. Rising food prices have been transmitted to the South East Asian countries but still the increases are slightly less than that seen internationally. A quick comparison indicates that the rise in Bangladesh has been the sharpest, while being moderate in Nepal with the lowest rise being in Indonesia.

The onset of the price increases have also varied, with some affected as early as 2006 and others not until mid 2008. The effect depends partly on the price but also on other factors such as recent natural disasters. Consumers in the countries with the highest national per capita incomes such as Indonesia, Thailand and Sri Lanka had been less responsive to the change in prices than countries with lower GNPs.”