29th May 2003
Getting off this rock in the middle of the Atlantic can sometimes be a problem and if one is going to a meeting rather than on holiday the thought that the meeting had better be good frequently passes through my head. As I stood in Madrid airport, my hair plastered to my head with sweat, my case in Rio de Janeiro as far as anyone knew and my onward flight to Lisbon gone without me, this was certainly how I felt. But within an hour the case was found, TAP, the Portuguese airline put me on the next flight, and a glass of Dao and some supper cheered me sufficiently to make me glad I was going to another meeting of the Inter-European Parliamentarian's Forum on Population and Development (IEPFPD to its friends).
While the original members of this group were from western Europe and are donor countries to the developing world, over the last few years countries from Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union are now coming into the organisation.
The meeting was mainly to talk about the extent to which our overseas aid was helping with sexual and reproductive health, AIDS being a huge, but not the only, issue. My colleague, Deputy Jan O'Sullivan, gave a report in which we were very pleased she could talk about Ireland's commitment to six African countries. She and I had visited Ethiopia last year and to see the efforts of Ireland Aid there was marvellous. As I have written before, I returned there earlier this year to meet women parliamentarians and women doctors. I wanted to encourage them to get the women's organisations in Ethiopia together and to encourage them to explain health issues to their members. So many women in developing countries are illiterate we have to use imaginative methods of communication. Even with an educated population local organisations can be a great help - look what power the Irish Countrywomen's Association has! Recently I read a book by Nellie O'Cleirigh called "High Living and Hard Times". It consisted of articles about women's lives in Ireland in the past. The infant mortality rate in Ireland was 159 per 1,000 live births in 1903, much the same as Ethiopia now. I certainly hope we can help them reduce it to our levels in less than 100 years.
The Russian delegate was able to give a good report, too. Abortion was the only method of family planning there in the days of Communism and this lead to some women having dreadful numbers of abortions. In ten years they have promoted contraceptive methods and have halved the abortion rate and reduced the maternal mortality rate significantly as well.
The Albanian delegate's main concern was the trafficking of women and children through their country from east to west. If there was no market in the west these human beings would not be regarded as commodities by the criminals who buy them cheap in the east. Apparently, the trade is more lucrative than illegal drugs. Those of us from western Europe were certainly not happy to be part of this commerce. Some people think that prostitution is just good fun but for these women and children it is not
A story with a happier ending was another in which an Irish parliamentarian had a significant input. Earlier this year an organisation called "Body and Soul" produced a report in which it was alleged that doctors in Slovakia were sterilizing Roma women without their permission. When I read this I telephoned friends of mine in Bratislava who hit the proverbial roof and said they were sure it was untrue. I am a member of the executive of IEPFPD and we felt the report had to be investigated.
So off went four parliamentarians, including Deputy Damien English, to Slovakia early in May. They visited several Roma communities and talked to the women there who had complained that they were sterilized without their consent when a Caesarean Section was performed. Then the parliamentarians went to the hospitals and talked to the doctors. Not unnaturally the doctors said the medical files were private. At first they said only the women could see their charts but since the women could not read this was not very useful. The doctors relented and allowed the women examine their charts with someone to read their clinical notes to them.
Roma women are slow to go for prenatal care in Slovakia and our investigators felt that this might have been because they were not always treated with dignity by medical personnel if they did go. Many had their first pregnancy in their early teens. Their young age and lack of ante natal care lead to problems at delivery which might have been avoided in better circumstances. This lead to Caesarean Sections being performed as an emergency and consent to sterilization was sometimes given just before the operation which is not desirable. The Roma themselves do not believe it is safe to have more than two Caesarean Sections and some of the doctors seemed to feel so, too. Interestingly, however, the Caesarean Section rate amongst Roma women was lower than the rest of the Slovak population so that there was no subterfuge going on to sterilize Roma women as had been suggested in the "Body and Soul" report.
Finally, on examining their charts with a helper, the women who thought they had been sterilized found they had not been. Their infertility appeared to be due to infection. Off went our brave parliamentarians to local health officials and to the department of health to urge improved health care for the Roma and with a promise that they would be back to review progress!
Reproductive health being the interesting topic that it is I was asked by the delegate from Georgia, who was called George, to send him details of our programme here for screening babies for phenylketonuria.
It was a fascinating meeting. On arriving home someone took my case off the luggage carousel in Dublin airport, leaving me with a similar case. I liked my own clothes more than those in the case. Aer Rianta retrieved my case and got it to my house within an hour of my arrival there. Getting back on the rock can be difficult, too.
Senator Mary Henry, MD
