Speaker of the National Assembly of Zambia,  Rt Hon. Mr. Justice Dr. Patrick Matibini, SC., BA, FCIArb, MP has today 13th July, 2020 officially opened the two day Round Table Meeting between selected Members of Parliament and line Ministries under Phase two of the Sexual Reproductive Health, Rights, HIV/AIDS and Governance Project of 2019 to 2022 at Parliament Buildings.
Speaking at the event, Dr Matibini explained that one of the objectives of Phase two of the Sexual Reproductive Health, Rights, HIV/AIDS and Governance Project is to enhance oversight and budget tracking of allocations to the health sector in general and to Sexual Reproductive Health Services in particular.
He urged Members of Parliament, as well as partners in the National Working Group to make use of the Parliamentary Budget Office which is equipped with technical expertise, that can be leveraged in public financial management processes.
In her welcome remarks, Clerk of the National Assembly, Mrs Cecilia N Mbewe said it was gratifying to note that the meeting assumed a multi-sectoral approach and had drawn multiple participants to reflect that aspiration.
Mrs Mbewe added that, the National Assembly of Zambia remains indebted to the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Parliamentary Forum and Sweden for their support, without which the project would not be possible.
Speaking at the same meeting, Chairperson of the National Working Group, Dr. Christopher Kalila, MP informed the participants that two important pieces of legislation were enacted during the previous project namely; the Gender Equity and Equality Act No. 22 of 2015; and the National Health Management Act No. 2 of 2018.
Dr Kalila also stated that the Zambian Parliament in collaboration with the SADC-PF had embarked on a new project that will run from 2019 to 2022. He added that the current project was officially launched on 10th December, 2019 after which the National Working Group was also successfully constituted.
Dr Kalila reiterated that discussions for the two day Round Table Meeting would focus on targeted SRHR issues with a view to investigating where challenges might be and proposing practical interventions to the identified challenges.
During this two day meeting, parliamentarians will take time to discuss, among others, topics such as, early and unintended pregnancies and safe abortions, comprehensive sexuality education and analyse legislative gaps on SRHR. Other stakeholders engaging in this discourse include representatives from line ministries, representatives of various United Nations agencies in Zambia and representatives of the Civil Society.