Ona invites Gates to Phl conference

KUALA LUMPUR – Health Secretary Enrique Ona has invited philanthropist Melinda Gates to be a speaker at the 7th Asia Pacific Conference on Sexual Health and Reproductive Rights  (APCSHRR) which the Philippines is hosting on Jan. 21 to 24, 2014 at the Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay City.

Taking interest in the reproductive health law in the Philippines, Gates met with Filipino delegates in the just-concluded 3rd Women Deliver 2013 conference here.

Ona and Gates spoke during the same plenary session on “Global Progress on Family Planning.”

Honorata Catibog, head of the Family Planning Office of the Department of Health (DOH), said Gates, co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, was “amazed” at the passage of the reproductive health law in the Philippines despite strong resistance faced by the government and the law’s advocates.

“She was amazed that the RH bill was finally passed after so many years,” Catibog told The STAR.

She said Gates was interested to know potential areas where the Gates Foundation could help, although she did not make any specific commitment.

The meeting was also attended by Sen. Pia Cayetano, who was given the “Rising Star” award during the conference for promoting the rights of girls and women, and Benjamin de Leon and Chie Valido, president and senior advocacy officer, respectively, of the non-governmental organization Forum for Family Planning and Development Inc.

The conference was a continuation of the London Summit on Family Planning where the Philippines was among the countries invited.

During the July 2012 summit, Gates announced their foundation would increase its investments in family planning by $560 million in the next eight years.

The amount was double its current investment, bringing the figure to over $1 billion until 2020.

In her speech, Gates underscored the need to advance the targets, commitment and activities on women’s welfare.