UNAIR NEWS – The White Ribbon Alliance, locally known as Pita Putih Indonesia (PPI), was honored to organize and host an international conference in which the Gender and Social Inclusion Study Center (PSGIS) Universitas Airlangga participated on Thursday, December 2, 2021

The conference’s main topic was “Women’s Health, Social Capital, and Resilience during the Covid-19 Pandemic.” Conducted in a hybrid manner, the conference was one of the activities to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the White Ribbon Alliance (WRA).

“This topic caught the attention of WRA because women’s health has been neglected during the pandemic and PPKM policies were still service-oriented in formal areas. As a result, the problem of unwanted pregnancies, child marriage, malnutrition, stunting, the elderly, and neglected children increased,” said the Head of PSGIS UNAIR, Prof. Dr. Hj. Emy Susanti, Dra., MA., to the UNAIR NEWS team.

On the other hand, continued Prof. Emy, the absence of job opportunities and the high number of layoffs resulting in unemployment push economic conditions to get worse and increase the number of domestic violence and crime rates in society. WRA is committed to promoting the importance of women’s and children’s health.

“WRA also encourages women to voice their opinions, problems, and issues through community-led movements. To voice this issue in public, it is necessary to conduct advocacy through international conferences,” she said.

Furthermore, Prof. Emy also explained that WRA invited several credible speakers to the conference. Scientists disseminated knowledge on current issues to make people participate and share knowledge and experiences to do the right things for the sake of themselves, institutions, and society.

“To get an overview of the significant issues at regional, national, and global levels, some gave introductions in their opening remarks. WRA invited Head of the East Java White Ribbon Alliance, Kristy Kade; Head of the Indonesian White Ribbon Alliance (PPI), Giwo Rubianto; Representative of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), and Anjali Sen,” she explained.

In the end, Prof. Emy also said that as a keynote speaker, WRA invited the Minister of Health of the Republic of Indonesia, the Minister of Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection of Indonesia, the Chair of the Indonesian National Population and Family Planning Board, and the Regional Adviser UNFPA APRO.

“Meanwhile, for the parallel session, WRA will divide the conference into two sessions and 6 clusters with 90 presenters. Each cluster has a different presenter and topic,” she concluded.

The six clusters were divided into several topics. Cluster 1 discussed strategies to eliminate all forms of violence against women and health conditions. Cluster 2 discussed strategies to reduce maternal mortality (MMR). This topic is essential because the MMR during the Covid-19 pandemic is relatively high. In cluster 3, WRA provided information on women’s health achievements, policies, and programs. Cluster 4 discussed strategies to implement community-based women’s health outcomes. Cluster 5 discussed how to promote the health of adolescents and children. Cluster 6 was for WRA and PPI to hold a meeting.

Author: Nuri Hermawan