Achievement at a glance
On 29 June 2015, the New Zealand Parliamentarians’ Group on Population and Development (NZPPD), in partnership with NZFPA and UNFPA, convened an Open Hearing on engaging boys and men in sexual and reproductive health and rights initiatives at the New Zealand Parliament. The Open Hearing received written submissions and oral presentations on the theme. Parliamentarians from NZ and Pacific SIDS, were informed about the extent boys and men are engaged in Sexual Reproductive Health and Reproductive Rights (SRH&RR) related activities in Pacific Island Countries SIDS, and what impact such engagement has had, and their roles with respect to encouraging the engagement of men and boys in SRH&RR.
Challenges faced in implementation
Funding limitations for sustained engagement with parliamentarians
Next steps
UNFPA provides on-going funding and technical support to strengthen programmatic initiatives in the Pacific SIDS to engage men and boys in SRHR initiatives.
Measurable outcomes
Beneficaries
Parliamentary representatives from Kiribati, PNG, Samoa, Tonga and Tuvalu; women, men and young people from those islands.
Actions
The parliamentarians from Kiribati, PNG, Samoa, Tonga and Tuvalu are well informed about opportunities to promote in their countries indicatives to engage men and boys in SRHR. The Tonga Parliamentary Standing Committee on Population and Development is a platform to promote coordination among parliamentarians to support gender and health policies and legislation that facilitate the engagement of men and boys in SRH&RR. The women, men and young people of Kiribati, PNG, Samoa, Tonga and Tuvalu also benefitted from existing and upcoming programmes on male involvement in RH, which will continue to receive UNFPA support.