PALIKIR, POHNPEI – May 01, 2024. Chairwoman of the Congressional Committee on Health and Social Affairs, Senator Perpetua S. Konman was recently in Norway as a panelist for the International Parliamentarian’s Conference on the Implementation of the International Conference on Population Development (IPCI/ICPD) Programme of Action.
The three-day IPCI/ICPD conference was hosted in Oslo from April 10 – 12, 2024, by the Norwegian All-Party Parliamentary Group on Sexual and Reproductive Rights and the European Parliamentary Forum for Sexual and Reproductive Rights. Chairwoman Konman was invited by the hosts to represent the Congress of the Federated States of Micronesia and serve as a panelist and speaker at the IPCI/ICPD.
This year marked the 30th Anniversary of the ICPD, a significant milestone in both the FSM and international community implementation of the 1994 Cairo Programme of Action setting a concrete global plan of action on sexual and reproductive health rights.
On April 11, 2024, Chairwoman Konman was a featured panelist on the Policy and Megatrends panel with parliamentarians from France, Egypt, Zambia, Peru and Bangladesh. Her panel presentation focused on the FSM’s progress under the 1994 Cairo Programme of Action, and the measures proposed or implemented to mitigate the geographical and environmental vulnerabilities of the nation to climate change in order to ensure the resilience of communities, particularly regarding sexual and reproductive health. Konman highlighted the FSM National Gender Strategic Policy and the July 2023 Constitutional amendment submitted by Congress and passed in the constitutional referendum, recognizing “the right of the people to a healthy environment.”
The IPCI/ICPD’s global platform enabled Konman to highlight the state health departments improved diagnostic capabilities and the FSM Department of Health and Social Affairs programs supporting sexual and reproductive health. The Chairwoman shared activities implemented under the Maternal and Child Health Services Program, Family Planning Program, Personal Responsibility Education Program, and community mental health services. She reported on the national outcome measures and national performance measure statistics regarding maternal mortality, teenage pregnancy, contraception use, deliveries with low-birth weights, infant deaths, counseling on STDs, and HPV vaccination.
Chairwoman Konman, a medical doctor by profession, was able to provide a unique perspective from both a legislative and a health professional lens on the challenges facing the nation. Her noted challenges are in terms of access to quality health care especially for our outer-island and remote communities, impact of climate change on women and girls, opportunities for progress namely in terms of capacity building, and identifying areas where increased global support will be helpful.
Chairwoman Konman’s work at the IPCI/ICPD is instrumental to the Nation’s assessment of its progress toward meeting the U.N. 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. Konman successfully advocated for key recommendations at the IPCI/ICPD that will be considered at the 57th Session of the U.N. Commission on Population Development. The Oslo Statement of Commitment: “Life or Death is a Political Decision” can be found here.
The FSM Department of Health and Social Affairs and the UNFPA Pacific Office provided invaluable support and assistance for the IPCI/ICPD. The UNFPA was the co-organizer and secretariat of the IPCI/ICPD.
* * *
.jpg)
