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Conference Proceedings 2000
Findings On Reproductive Health Of Refugees
And Displaced Populations
Washington DC | December 5-6, 2000
Closing Plenary Session
Presentations:
| Susan Purdin |
Where do we go from here? |
| Nadia Ali El Toum |
Personal perspective on taking
the conference into the future |
| Julia Taft |
Remarks |
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| Where do we go from here?
Abstract revision date: January 15,
2001
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When we began yesterday morning we
talked about how all this started just a few short years ago with the realization
that millions of refugees, who have the same wants and needs as any of
us, were not allowed access to even basic reproductive health services.
What has happened since has been nothing short of revolutionary - no one
dares to argue that refugees don't need reproductive health services. In
fact, we now see that the majority of health programs have at least some
reproductive health services. But what is there is still not enough and
it's not always good enough.
We've learned many lessons since the
1993 study and we've learned even more in this conference. The presentations
covered many aspects of many topics and we have an obligation to put effective
ideas into practice.
Some of the key points that I've identified
from listening to people at this conference are:
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If we will just ask people, and listen
to them, and work with them (rather than pretending we know what they need),
programs will yield better results.
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Appropriate interventions can improve
reproductive heath status. We need to start with good quality services,
then promote utilization.
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We need to continue to collect reliable
data - using standard definitions and sound methodology. We need to share
our findings about what works and what doesn't work. We need to base programming
decisions on evidence of success.
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Collaborative efforts yield far-reaching
results.
- Multi-year funding is essential to
sustain beneficial outcomes.
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| Personal perspective on taking
the conference into the future |
| Presenter |
Nadia Ali El Toum
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Yesterday when I entered this hall I found
more than 300 people, from different countries, of different colours, different
ages, males and females, all with one goal which is reproductive health.
I said to myself "don't worry about refugees and IDPs, women and children
in our countries; there is the RHR Consortium take care of them." On behalf
of all participants, I would like to thank the RHR Consortium and Women
Commission for giving us this great chance to participate in this conference
where a large number of research results have been presented and discussed.
I would like also to draw more attention to helping refugees and IDPs,
women and children: they are suffering, they are crying, seeking help and
assistance. Please please help them, and do reproductive health! |
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| Remarks |
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It's a wonderful and very special privilege
to be honored by the RHR Consortium. We've come a long way since the founding
of the RHRC in 1995. Activities supporting refugee women and children have
become more the norm of our collective efforts to protect the rights and
lives of those most vulnerable. Thanks to much of your work--you representing
the organizations who are the backbone of our assistance efforts--the reproductive
health needs of refugees and displaced persons are no longer considered
secondary to their other needs for shelter, water and sanitation. But we
all know that we still have a long way to go. We know far too many displaced
women are still too often at risk of sexual violence and that the HIV/AIDS
pandemic's continued devastating spread places displaced persons at great
risk. And we know that many of those traditional "relief cowboys" still
don't like to talk about delivery logistics for establishing safe settings
for women who have been raped. So we know what challenges remain. The good
thing is, we know how to meet them. We know that we need more hard research
and more data to help us better design our programs. We know that we need
greater attention to preventing the spread of AIDS among displaced persons.
We need to provide displaced adolescents with adequate reproductive health
information and services so that this far too valuable generation can have
some manner of control over their lives. These are the reasons PRM are
particularly proud to support the work of UNHCR, UNFPA, individual NGOs
and consortia in meeting these critical needs of refugees around the world.
I'm thrilled that my work and that of my staff is being honored here. And
I'm thrilled to see so many of you continue your unwavering commitment
to meeting those needs as well. |
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