International.

On 2-4 September 2009, about 400 participants from around the globe gathered in Berlin at the Global Partners in Action: NGO Forum on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Development--Invest in Rights, Health and Future. Funded by UNFPA and the Government of Germany, the forum was the sole global meeting held in recognition of the 15th anniversary of the ICPD PoA, which was led by NGOs for NGOs, and " which put an emphasis on ensuring significant participation from the global South and from young people.

ARROW played a key role in the NGO Forum, being one of the co-chairs of the Steering Group. During the forum, ARROW facilitated the Asia-Pacific meeting, which brought together all the participants from the region to discuss the critical input the region would want to see in the outcome documents of the meeting. ARROW also organised two satellite sessions prior to the forum, one focusing on religious fundamentalisms and another on advocacy for resource mobilisation on sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) (co-organised with the Asia Pacific Alliance). ARROW also served as the co-facilitator of the drafting committee of the Berlin Call to Action, one of the outcome documents which is envisioned as an advocacy tool for NGOs to share with government and funders after the meeting. The Berlin Call to Action moves the ICPD agenda ahead by: a) shifting the SRHR agenda from a public health perspective to a human rights perspective; b) ensuring SRHR is underscored and recognised within the new aid architecture, and the range of SRHR services is provided for at all levels of the health care system; c) addressing the needs of young people; d) addressing the meaningful partnerships among NGOs, governments and funders; and e) addressing the importance of allocating funding for SRHR through both national governments and international agencies.

Contact: Sivananthi Thanenthiran, Programme Manager for Infocom and Research, ARROW. Email: [e-mail]. my For the conference report and the Berlin Call to Action, visit www.globalngoforum.org