At the 26th African Union (AU) Assembly*, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, President of Liberia, in her capacity as Chair of the High Level Committee of Heads of State and Government of the AU on the Post-2015 Development Agenda, delivered a final report to member states stressing that Africa is the only region of the world with a common position of every aspect of the post-2015 development agenda.

This month, the mosquito-borne virus Zika has been declared by the World Health Organization (WHO) a public health emergency of international concern. Just as the Ebola crisis appeared to be under control in West Africa another re-emerging infectious disease in Latin America has joined the global health priority list. But there is more to it, as Zika brings along very specific implications for women’s sexual and reproductive health and rights by triggering an urgent debate on contraception, abortion, gender inequalities and women’s rights.  

The latest news on the global indicators and the High Level Group for post 2015 monitoring.

On the 7th of January 2016, the Guttmacher Institute and the Lancet announced the composition of the body of fourteen experts who will serve as commissioners on the Guttmacher-Lancet Commission on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights.

New trends in international development and its fast-changing landscape are playing a crucial role in reshaping the aid policy and the development cooperation at European and global level. The Independent Commission for Aid Impact (ICAI) just published an analysis of the UK development assistance in the context of the current global environment and the newly adopted 2030 agenda for Sustainable Development.

The tenth edition of the European Development Days (EDD) will take place in Brussels on the 15-16th June 2016. Its focus will be on the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Sexual and reproductive health and rights and related issues will feature in particular in PEOPLE and PEACE themes.

We are happy to share with you a timeline of upcoming key international event for 2016 to support planning members and partners’ work in the next 12 months. The timeline is based on the information available as of 30 January and therefore is subject to change.

EuroNGOs is looking for a Network Coordinator, maternity cover, based with its Secretariat in Brussels, starting on mid-March 2016.  

On the 14th of January 2016 the newly elected Steering Committee - Tania Dethlefsen (DFPA, Denmark), Daniela Draghici (SECS, Romania), Katrin Erlingsen (DSW, Germany), Ventzislav Kirkov (BFPA, Bulgaria), and Annika Malmborg (RFSU, Sweden) - gathered in Copenhagen at the Danish Family Planning Association office for its first face to face meeting.

2016 brought some changes into the Secretariat’s structure. As we enlarge our team, we are pleased to welcome Helena Szczodry, our new Administrative Assistant, who started at the beginning of the month. Helena will be dealing with general administration and events management and will be the focal point for our mailing lists Europopl and Worldpopl, the website, membership fees and logistics of the annual conferences, AGMs, workshops and Steering Committee meetings.

With record numbers of displaced people worldwide in 2015 and increased coverage of the so-called ‘refugee crisis’ in Europe, UNHCR mid-year trends show that the lion's share of the global responsibility for hosting refugees and asylum seekers continues to be carried by countries immediately bordering zones of conflict, many of them in the Global South.

Our Dutch member Rutgers has organized a meeting this month to build on the lessons learnt from 10 years of implementing Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) programs in Africa and Asia and outline the way forward for future action.

Our Belgian member Sensoa and the Sexual Rights Initiative prepared a stakeholder submission for the 24th session of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) that was held from 18-29 January 2016. The human rights records of fourteen countries including Belgium was reviewed during UPR24. Sensoa advocated for strong recommendations on sexual and reproductive rights.