Brussels, 10/10/06: A Seminar on Health, Education, Reproductive Health Supplies and the European Development Policies took place on Tuesday 3 October 2006 in the Palais des Académies in Brussels, Belgium.

The Seminar was the culmination of a series of activities organised by a consortium of sexual and reproductive heath and rights non-governmental organisations and the European Parliamentary Network on Population and Development working together in the campaign Countdown 2015. The goal of the Countdown 2015 campaign is to see the implementation of the ICPD Programme of Action, which would be an enormous contribution to the realisation of the Millennium Development Goals.

The Seminar featured two expert panels on European development policies and reproductive health.  MEP Anne Van Lancker (Belgium), Chair of the EPWG and member of the EPF executive committee, challenged the EU to do more to ensure vulnerable populations would not be left out of future decision-making on development. Representing the area of Social and Human Development within the European Commission Directorate for Development, Lieve Fransen (Head) and Lena Sund spoke about changes in the Commission's framework for development and the importance of communication between Brussels and the EU member states. Mari Simonen, Deputy Executive Director of UNFPA announced the launching of their Global Programme for Commodities Security and John Skibiak, Director of the Reproductive Health Supplies Coalition spoke about reproductive health commodities and the importance of global coordination. Gill Greer, newly-appointed Director General of IPPF closed the Seminar with a statement that called attention to the ultimate goal of all these activities: improvements in the lives of people.

The highlight of the seminar was the presentation of a Call to Action signed by 125 Parliamentarians that urged the governments of the EU member states and the European Commission to ensure that sufficient resources are allocated to achieve the goals of the MDGs. The Call to Action was presented to MPs from Finland and Portugal, the countries that are the present and next but one holders of the EU presidency. The Call to Action will be delivered to the Finnish Prime Minister and will be taken up in Portugal when their presidential term begins.

Click here to read the presentation given by EEPA Director, Mirjam van Reisen, to the Seminar.

Click here to read the Call to Action.