Call for strategy applauded

Apr

29

Tuesday, 29 April 2014 

Family Planning is applauding the Health Select Committee’s second call for the implementation of a sexual and reproductive health strategy.

The Health Select Committee has published its response to the Government’s response to the Committee’s November 2013 report into improving child health outcomes.

Chief executive Jackie Edmond says there needs to be a cross-sectoral action plan on sexual and reproductive health – as recommended by the Select Committee in its November 2013 report and reiterated in its media release today.

“New Zealand does not have a strategy or a national approach to sexual and reproductive health,” Ms Edmond says.

“Family Planning has been calling for some time for a sexual and reproductive health strategy and action plan. A national plan or strategy will bring services together to prioritise key areas and allow the sector as a whole to address inequalities and inequities – for individuals and at a population level.”

Ms Edmond says the sector is wide and diverse and includes specialist providers such as Family Planning and sexual health clinics, generic providers such as GPs and community health centres and Māori providers. “In order to improve health outcomes and reduce disparities, the sector has to work together with shared priorities.”

Ms Edmond says when the Select Committee report was released last year there was a sense of possibility that a co-ordinated strategy would eventuate but the Government’s response indicated little would change. “We’re hopeful that this second call by the Select Committee will see Recommendation 6 implemented and funded.”

Recommendation 6:

Develop a co-ordinated cross-sectoral action plan with the objective of giving New Zealand world-leading, evidence-based sexuality and reproductive health education, contraception, sterilisation, termination and sexual health services, distributed to cover the whole country. 

Select committee considers that successive Governments have not tackled this after successfully to date, despite its being a key area to improve New Zealand’s high rate of teenage pregnancy, sexually transmitted infections and unplanned pregnancy.

–