The 39th regional council of the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) started on Monday in Gammarth (Tunis northern suburb), on the theme “ Planned Parenthood and Sexual and Reproductive Health.”

During the opening session of the three-day meeting, Mrs. Kawthar El Khir said the event provides the opportunity to familiarise with the Tunisian vanguard experience in matters of demography, planned parenthood and reproductive health, all the more that Tunisia is the first country that has given a major importance to these problems in its health and social programmes.

Mrs. Najoua Miladi, secretary of state in charge of hospitals made an address in which she reviewed the major characteristics of the Tunisian experience in matters of planned parenthood and reproductive health.

She reminded, in this respect, that the rate of health control of pregnancy has exceeded 96% in Tunisia, the rate of deliveries under medical supervision reached 95% and the rate of coverage in contraceptive means is estimated at 60.1%. She added that the mothers’ mortality rate does not exceed 36.5% per one hundred thousand births.

Mr. Miladi added that the goals set by Tunisia consist in reaching a better level of the indicators related to mother and child care, endeavouring to reach the level of 100% for births under medical supervision nationwide, bringing down the child mortality rate to 15 per thousand births, creating inter-regional mother and child health services and strengthening services specialised in gynecology and obstetrics, intensive care of newborn children and early detection of disability among children.

The International Planned Parenthood Federation, which was created in 1952, endeavours to disseminate the culture of planned parenthood and reproductive health across the globe and help vulnerable and marginalised classes benefit from health care in this field.

Source: Agence Tunis Presse, 25 August 2008