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Calls for Proposals
The Calls on the following budget lines are usually open
for organisations and projects interested in SRHR. For further details on
any of these Calls or corrigenda see the EuropeAid website:
https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/europeaid/online-services/index.cfm?do=publi.welcome
Pre-accession
countries:
Support to Civil Society
In: Serbia, until:
10.03.2011, budget: minimum grant size: 50,000 €, maximum grant size:
100,000 €
Non-State Actors and Local Authorities in
Development:
In: Lebanon, until: 14.02.2011, budget: minimum grant
size: 50,000 €, maximum grant size: 80,000 €.
If you work in
the field of SRHR and need further assistance, please don’t hesitate to
contact us at: euadvocacy.assistant@dsw-brussels.org.
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EU News: Second Action Plan of the Joint Africa-EU
Strategy foresees increased commitments for Maternal and Child
Health
29-30 November
At the third Africa-EU Summit in
Tripoli, Libya, governments from both continents signed the Second Action
Plan of the Joint Africa-EU Strategy. The document establishes a framework
for partnership between EU and Africa in various areas, health being one
of the priority action areas under the MDG partnership. Concerning
maternal and child health, the document aims to extend the Campaign for
Accelerated Reduction of Maternal Mortality in Africa (CARMMA). Next to
facilitating the integration of CARMMA into national health strategies, it
also provides technical support of the strategy in accordance with the
ICPD Programme of Action. Through a forum the Action Plan further aims to
collect and disseminate best practices on Maternal, Infant and Child
Health on regional and continental level. The complete Second Action Plan
can be found at:http://www.africa-eu-partnership.org/site!
s/default/files/doc_jaes_action_plan_2011_13_en.pdf
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EU News: European Commission reassert plans to
earmark €1 billion MDG initiative to achieving MDGs 4&5 at World Aids
Day EP hearing
30 November
As part of World Aids Days awareness
building, the European Parliament’s Subcommittee on Human Rights in
association with the Committee on Development hosted a hearing entitled,
‘Human Rights and Aids: the role of the EU’, bringing together MEPs and
representatives from the European Commission (EC), UNAIDS, Human Rights
Watch and Via Libre. Question time with EC Official Jean-Claude Boidin,
Head of Unit for human development, social cohesion and employment (DG
Development), allowed for short discussion on the EC’s €1 billion MDG
initiative. Mr Boidin informed the hearing that the initiative will be
mainly used to increases resources available to improve progress towards
MDG 4 (child health) and MDG 5 (maternal health). Furthermore, he
highlighted the inextricable tie between the global fight against AIDS and
development, recognising that special attention must be given to women and
children as they are the most vulnerable, especially as 80% of all women
globally with HIV/AID! S live in sub-Saharan Africa. To listen to the
complete hearing, please go to:http://www.europarl.europa.eu/wps-europarl-internet/frd/vod/player?eventCode=20101130-0900-COMMITTEE-DROI&language=EN&byLeftMenu=researchcommittee&category=COMMITTEE&format=wmv#anchor1
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EU News: EU World AIDS Day statement emphasises need
to integrate HIV/AIDS and Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights
1 December
The EU released a statement on World
AIDS day which recognised the importance of ‘integrating HIV/AIDS and SRHR
policies and programmes, at local, regional and international levels’.
According to the statement, it is crucial that women are empowered to say
no to unsafe sex in order to protect themselves from HIV or the
transmission of any other sexually transmitted infection. Furthermore the
statement reaffirms the EU’s support for lagging behind MDG 5 for maternal
health, particularly as ‘HIV/AIDS is a contributing factor to the nearly
400,000 maternal deaths occurring every year, especially in sub-Saharan
Africa.’ To read to full statement, please go to:http://www.eutrio.be/files/bveu/media/documents/SIDA/ST16575-EN10__2_.pdf
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EU News: MEP Sophie In’t Veld wages war on maternal
mortality
1 December
On the website of the ‘European Voice’,
the European affairs weekly newspaper, MEP Sophie In’t Veld, President of
the European Parliament Working Group on Reproductive Health, HIV/AIDS and
Development (EPWG), released an article waging war against maternal
mortality. She acknowledges that funding for maternal mortality has often
been neglected and this devastating problem needs urgent attention.
Alarmingly there are 75 million unwanted pregnancies and 358,000 women die
as a direct result of pregnancy every year. Ms In’t Veld calls for
maternal health to be an instant priority on the global development agenda
and urges that ‘even in times of dire economic recession, we must invest
in empowering women to be able to practice birth control’. For the full
article, please see:http://www.europeanvoice.com/article/2010/11/the-forgotten-relative-of-hiv/aids/69584.aspx
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EU News: European Development Days feature prominent
debates on maternal and child health in developing countries
6-7 December
During the European Development Days
in Brussels, a two-day event organised by the European Commission and the
Belgian Presidency of the Council of the EU, high-level panellists and
technical experts came together on different occasions to discuss the need
for more investments in maternal and child health. In a high-level debate
on ‘The Post-Lisbon Landscape: Development at a Crossroads’, the United
Kingdom’s Secretary of State for International Development Andrew Mitchell
stated that in times of crisis, the EU should not turn its back on the
poorest people, and that the UK will “continue its support to development
cooperation, especially to MDG 5”. In a special seminar on ‘Women and
Children at the Heart of Healthy Communities’, jointly organised by Marie
Stopes International (MSI), the International Planned Parenthood
Federation (IPPF), Save the Children, the World Health Organisation (WHO),
Sensoa and Be-Cause Health, senior experts from international
organisations and fr! om developing countries discussed how health systems
strengthening can help achieve development goals with regard to maternal
and child health. For more information on the programme and speakers of
the Development Days, and to replay some of the sessions in video format,
please see:http://eudevdays.eu
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EU News: European Commissioner for Development,
Andris Piebalgs, hightlights importance of increasing SRHR
investments
9 December
The Group of the Progressive Alliance
of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament hosted a hearing on
‘Health Care Systems in Africa,’ to commemorate the success of a report
written on the same topic by the Group’s Vice-President MEP Veronique De
Keyser, whom chaired the meeting. Speakers included European Commissioner
for Development Andris Piebalgs, British MEP Michael Cashman, MEP Patricia
Toia and Civil Society representatives from Burkina Faso and Burundi.
Andris Piebalgs, speaking solely on health issues, drew particular
attention to the worrying maternal health indicators, stating they
demonstrate a need to ‘change strategy; beef it up and be more effective
on the ground’. Furthermore he spoke on the worrying decrease in
investments over the decade on SRHR and said he thinks the unmet need to
SRHR can be addressed via more inclusive domestic growth and more focussed
and goal orientated sector budget support. To access the meeting material,
please see the fo! llowing link:http://www.vdekeyser.be/2010/12/08/dans-la-continuite-de-l%E2%80%99adoption-de-son-rapport-%E2%80%9Csoins-de-sante-en-afrique-sub-saharienne%E2%80%9D-veronique-de-keyser-organise-un-colloque-le-9-decembre-2010-au-parlement-europeen/
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EU News: Joint commitment to health MDGs is
reiterated at EU India Summit
10 December
At the 11th EU India Summit in Brussels,
the Republic of India was represented by the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan
Singh and the EU was represented by Herman Van Rompuy, President of the
European Council, and Mr. Jose Manuel Durão Barroso, President of the
European Commission. The outcome of the summit has been summarised in a
joint statement recognising bi-lateral, regional and global issues. Point
12 of the bi-lateral issues reiterates both sides joint commitment in
obtaining the MDGs, particularly those concerning health and education.
The full statement can be retrieved at:http://www.consilium.europa.eu/uedocs/cms_Data/docs/pressdata/EN/foraff/118404.pdf
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Resources: Annual Report on the European Union’s
development policies is launched during European Development
days
7 December
The ‘Annual Report on the European
Union’s development and external assistance policies and their
implementation in 2009’, was officially launched during the European
Development Days. The report, which is a general overview of the EU’s aid
spending, policy implementation, performance and results evaluation with
some short articles, makes several references to the EU’s role in the
international fight to improve maternal health. It clearly expresses
overall trends of maternal mortality to be off-target. However, on a more
positive note it pinpoints that the €80 million from the 9th European
Development Fund (EDF) spent of health programs in DR Congo has improved
access and quality of health care, thus reducing the rates of infant and
maternal mortality. When analysing the Development Cooperation Instrument
(DCI), the report shows that during 2009, under the theme ‘Investing in
People’, sexual and reproductive health (SRH) was a health priority and
€16 million was committed to! support civil society organisations to
advocate for SRH services. The full report can be downloaded at:http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/multimedia/publications/documents/annual-reports/europeaid_annual_report_2010_en.pdf
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Resources: DSW releases new online Guide to European
Population Assistance Funding
9 December
The German Foundation for World
Population’s (DSW) new ‘Guide’ is an interactive online database of
European funding programmes and development policies. Designed as a
functional aid for resource mobilisation, this tool is relevant to actors
in both the North and the Global South to better understand the diversity
of European funding opportunities for SRHR. It now covers 31 European
donors and 42 grant programmes. The latest edition of the online Guide has
been restructured according to an applicant organisation’s eligibility,
making it easier for applicants to identify which programmes are directly
available, and which can be accessed through partnerships. Readers will
also find several useful tips and suggestions to increase the success of
their proposals. The online version of the ‘Guide’ can be accessed for
free at:http://www.euroresources.org/guide
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