CAIRO, EGYPT— Leading experts and specialists from the Ministry of Health, the Egyptian universities, and representatives of civil society organizations and institutions, participated in the Scientific Conference on the Latest Techniques applied in the area of Family Planning Methods held in Cairo the 20th and 21stof June 2010.
The Medical Conference, entitled “Scientific Conference on Contraceptive Technology — Clinical Best Practices”, was organized by the Ministry of Health, in cooperation with the United Nations Population Fund in Egypt, and through partnership with the Regional Centre for Training on Family Planning and Reproductive Health, Ain Shams University.
The conference discussed over two days a number of key issues tackling the best practices in the area of family planning services and women's health worldwide, while applying the latest findings in the area of family planning methods. The aim is to be able to provide Egyptian women with a variety of choices through the inclusion of a broad range of modern family planning methods into the current package provided by family planning clinics. Participants also overviewed means to activate the media role in raising awareness about the concept and culture of “two children per family” among the citizens.
The Minister of Health, Dr. Hatem El Gebaly, who sponsored the conference, stressed in the opening session that vigorous efforts are being exerted to keep pace with the latest scientific developments, in order to contribute to the upgrading of services provided to all citizens.
The Minister also pointed out that the Plan of the Ministry aims at disseminating the right concepts about family planning methods and encourages women to maintain their right in practicing family planning and selecting the most suitable method, based on a thorough knowledge and understanding of the aspects of use.
In his speech, Dr. Ziad El Rifai, UNFPA’s Representative, highlighted the fruitful cooperation between the Ministry of Health and UNFPA in assisting the government of Egypt. Their aim is to achieve the national goal of increasing contraceptive prevalence and reducing the total fertility, through improving the quality of family planning services and fulfilling the reproductive rights.
In his session about the role of UNFPA in Egypt, Dr. Magdy Khaled, the UNFPA’s assistant representative, referred to the achievement of Egypt regarding the Millennium Development Goal number 5, Target 1: Reduce by three quarters the maternal mortality ratio, and efforts exerted towards the second target: Achieve universal access to reproductive health. Acknowledging the accelerated reduction in Maternal Mortality achieved by the government, reference was also made to the strong voice raised at the Women Deliver Conference, held in Washington DC 7–9thJune, for repositioning family planning, emphasizing and strengthening its role in saving women’s lives.
