Side event to the 67th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women
co-sponsored by UNFPA Thailand, and Thailand’s Department of Health, and Reckitt
 
The Life-Cycle Approach, building human capital through digital platforms
for family planning, sexual and reproductive health, and prevention of gender-based violence
 
15 March 2023
8:30-10:00 EST
19:30-21:00 Bangkok time
 

UNFPA has adopted the Life-Cycle Approach to Ageing. It has been a policy advocacy tool for Thailand through line ministries to generate human capital in the ageing society with low fertility. The idea is for the country to plan its policy according to its population's different stages of life with no one left behind. The Life-Cycle digital platform is one of the possible innovations that resonated from the approach that could accommodate young persons, especially women and girls of all backgrounds, to access necessary knowledge and services on Sexual and Reproductive Health, including Family Planning and prevention of Gender-Based Violence so that they are well informed on rights and choices and able to determine their own families and lives.                                      
 
The Life-Cycle Digital platform will further enhance women and girls of all ages in their reproductive and productive lives, expanding their choices, eliminating gender-based violence, and preventing discrimination and abuse. Furthermore, the Life-Cycle Digital Platform will be a safe space for all rights-holders to voice their needs and demands, a place where they could reconvene for all assistance programs, and the space to give younger and older women the ability to evolve over time.
            
UNFPA Thailand has initiated the "Teen Club", the first digital platform on SRHR and FP with the Department of Health, Private Partner-Reckitt, UNICEF, and young people since 2020 to increase access of young people to SRHR and FP knowledge and services. Furthermore, since 2022, UNFPA Thailand has partnered with multi partners under its UNFPA-SIF to develop Life-Cycle digital platforms that seamlessly connect and link all digital platforms that have already been made available to support women and girls together and, if necessary, establish new platforms in missing areas.      
 
This side event of the 67th session will correspond with the CSW's priority on innovation and technological transformation, as well as education in the digital age, in order to achieve gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls. Consequently, the focus of the side event will be the life-cycle approach and the development of human capital via digital platforms for family planning, sexual and reproductive health, and the prevention of gender-based violence. The side event will discuss the life-cycle approach and its interconnections with digital platforms for rights-based, social inclusion, safe space, and inclusive communication channels for sexual reproductive health and rights, which will enable youth, women, and girls at different stages of life, especially vulnerable groups such as teen mothers, those who are a risk to unintended pregnancy and Gender-Based Violence, to make informed decisions and exercise their rights with regard to sexual and reproductive health and family planning as well as advocate for positive norms on genders and advocate for the availability of right-based supportive and responsive system on GBV related issues.       
 
UNFPA will engage with the Ministry of Public Health, Ministry of Social Development and Social Security, young people, and private sector partners, including Reckitt, with shared SRHR and women's health objectives to discuss the life-cycle of women; the outstanding good practices in digital platforms to promote women's wellbeing throughout all phases of their lives; and to create, develop, and produce women-centric digital solutions. In this regard, UNFPA and key ministries working on women-related issues, especially the Ministry of Public Health, the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security, and a potential private partner, will host a side event during the 67th Commission on the Status of Women. This side event seeks to disseminate the concept of the life-cycle approach and best practices on digital platforms, as well as provide opportunities for issues in providing information on GBV/SRH key services via technology, ensuring each and all women are included. This session will also provide a forum for policymakers to discuss how they are mitigating the negative impacts on women's and girls' SRHR, as well as an opportunity to explore collaborative and concerted actions that the global community can take to improve digital platforms to address the challenges throughout the life cycle of women and girls.      
 
Objectives
To provide the opportunity for policymakers, CSOs working on the sexual and reproductive health of women and girls, representations of women and girls, and private sectors interested in women's health and gender equality to discuss and share their perspectives on how the Life Cycle approach through the establishment of life-cycle digital platforms could enable women and girls to access to informed choices and rights.
            
The discussion includes the concept of the Life-Cycle Approach to ageing and its implications on the digital platforms that focus on access to basic right-based information and services on SRHR and prevention of Gender-Based Violence against women, particularly to empower women and girls at all ages to be well-informed and exercise their sexual reproductive health rights and choices; increase positive gender norms in society; and key challenges that could prevent women and girls from accessing to digital platforms.
  
Recommended to attend: 
This session is recommended to UN organizations, governments, civil society organizations, youth, academia, and private companies, interested to learn more or collaborate.
 
Format, agenda, and speakers
The virtual event will be 90 minutes and include a diversity of speakers, from various geographies and types of entities.
 

Speakers

For opening remarks:

• Rachel Snow, Chief of the Population and Development Branch in the Technical Division  

Panelists:

• Dr. Boonyarit Sukrat, Director, Bureau of Reproductive Health, the Thai Ministry of Public Health's Department of Health.
• Ms. Raporn Pongpanitanont, Senior Expert on Family, Department of Women's Affairs and Family Development, Ministry of Social Development and Human Security, Thailand.
• Asso. Prof. Dr. Wiraporn Pothisiri, College of Population Studies, Chulalongkorn University, Thailand.
• Dr. Waraporn Chaemsanit, Thailand's Sexuality Study Association.
• Asso. Prof. Dr. Wasan Pattara-atikom, Principal Researcher, Thailand's National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA).
• Dr. Panote Prapansilp, Medical & External Affairs Director, Reckitt Thailand.  

Closing

• Dr. Asa Torkelsson Country Director UNFPA Thailand Country Office and Representative of UNFPA Malaysia Country Office

Moderator:  Siriluck Chiengwong, Head of Office, UNFPA Thailand

MC/Facilitator: Adhipat Warangkanand, Programme Coordinator on Population Change, Data and innovation, UNFPA Thailand

Event outline