Portugal

Country Profile

Political and civil society interest in sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) has increased markedly in Portugal in recent years. This has been demonstrated by the government’s intensified partnership with UNFPA, initiatives of the Portuguese EPF member (GPPsPD) and the Portuguese UNFPA Goodwill Ambassador.

The Portuguese All-Party Group on Population and Development has also been very active in advocating for SRHR, namely by hosting seminars and conferences within Parliament on SRHR and, more specifically, on Reproductive Health Supplies (RHS); on 24 June 2010, following a proposal from GPPsPD, Parliament approved the Parliamentary Resolution 71/2010 specifically about SRHR and MDGs 4 and 5.

However, although political will has been increasing and made explicit by the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation and in official documents, funding support has lagged behind. In 2007 Portugal spent only about 1% of its official development assistance (ODA) on Population, HIV/AIDS and Health programmes – far short of the 10% recommended to achieve universal access to reproductive health in the context of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). And since SRHR is not specified as a funding line, it is not clear what proportion of this amount is directly supporting SRHR programmes or RHS.

After the 2011 elections, the new government hasn’t yet made any statement about FP, but the Minister of Foreign Affairs has said that its main focus will be on economic cooperation, given the current financial crisis. Health and prevention programmes at national level, including support to NGOs, are facing significant cuts in funding.

It remains a challenge to position RH/FP within the Portuguese national NGDO platform, as its focus tends to be on poverty eradication, education and emergency responses. However, the new All-Party Group is preparing a Plan of Activities with a focus on RH/FP in Portuguese development cooperation as a way to reinforce the country’s multilateral commitments on human rights, based on health and equality.

In September 2011 a representative of the Portuguese  NGDO  Platform and member of the Official Delegation to the Civil Society Forum of CPLP gave a presentation during the session on health about the SRHR project ‘Emergency Obstetric Care in Guinea-Bissau’ as an example of best practice in Portuguese development cooperation. The partnership between national authorities of the two countries (Portuguese Cooperation and the Guinea-Bissau Ministry of Health, the local UNFPA office, a local NGO and a Portuguese TV channel) and UNFPA’s Goodwill Ambassador produced three TV documentaries about this specific project.