Chaired by the Speaker of the National Assembly of <a href="https://absafricatv.com/south-africa-rethinks-heritage-through-memorials-and-street-names/” title=”South Africa rethinks heritage through memorials and street names”>South Africa, Hon. Thoko Didiza, who is also the Chair of the Parliamentary Network for Women’s, Children’s and Adolescents’ Health, a side event at the 69th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference in South Africa brought together Parliamentarians and health leaders from across the Commonwealth to examine how legislative action, oversight and leadership can improve health outcomes and build more resilient communities.
The session highlighted the vital role of Parliaments in advancing the health and wellbeing of women, children and adolescents through effective governance and collaboration.
The Chairperson of the CPA Executive Committee, Hon. Dr Christopher Kalila, MP (Zambia) spoke gave his perspective as a medical practitioner. He said the Commonwealth’s diversity provides an important opportunity for Parliaments to learn from one another and strengthen parliamentary action on health. Dr Kalila noted that health has been added as a new focus area in the CPA’s strategic plan, creating opportunities for greater collaboration between parliamentary networks, Committees and other structures.
The South African Speaker called on Commonwealth Parliamentarians to move from commitments to concrete and measurable outcomes to improve the health and well-being of women, children and adolescents. She said that the discussions should not end with the engagement but should instead inform concrete parliamentary action and contribute to the outcomes of the 69th CPC.
The Executive Director of the Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health (PMNCH), Mr Rajat Khosla, warned that progress in reducing maternal, newborn and child mortality has slowed and, in some contexts, is reversing. He highlighted the disproportionate burden carried by Africa, with approximately 70% of maternal, newborn and child deaths occurring on the continent. He also pointed to declining development assistance, rising out-of-pocket healthcare costs and the closure of health programmes as growing threats to progress.
The engagement also highlighted practical interventions undertaken by Parliaments in different Commonwealth jurisdictions. The Speaker of the Parliament of Botswana, Hon. Dithapelo Keorapetse, MPoutlined legislative and policy interventions aimed at addressing challenges affecting women, children and adolescents, including period poverty, parental leave, national health insurance and protections relating to child marriage and child labour.
TheSpeaker of the Yukon Legislative Assembly in Canada, Hon. Yvonne Clarke, MLA highlighted the importance of listening to communities and creating meaningful opportunities for people to engage with Parliament. She emphasised that health outcomes cannot be considered in isolation from housing, childcare, education, safety and economic security, particularly for Indigenous communities and people living in remote areas.
The South African civil society perspective highlighted a critical implementation gap, that the challenge is not necessarily a lack of progressive policies and commitments, but the extent to which these are implemented and translated into meaningful improvements in people’s lived experiences.
Representing the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI), Dr Gugulethu Ngubane noted that South Africa has a strong policy framework and provides free primary healthcare for women and children, yet barriers to access and fragmented responses continue to affect outcomes. This highlights the need for stronger collaboration between Parliamentarians, government, civil society and communities so policies are implemented effectively and reach those they are intended to serve.
The discussion further emphasised the importance of involving young people from the outset in decisions affecting their health and well-being. The engagement also considered the role of Parliamentarians in strengthening accountability for health expenditure, protecting essential health budget lines and ensuring that communities and civil society can track how commitments and re
- Images – copyright Parliament of South Africa/CPA Secretariat. For further images please click here.
- Watch the side event panel on South African Parliament TV by clicking here or view below on YouTube:
This article was originally posted by the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA)
