WINDHOEK - The Namibia Planned Parenthood Association (NAPPA) has appealed to the private sector and other institutions to support the upcoming fifth Africa Conference on Sexual Health and Rights that will be hosted in Windhoek in September.

NAPPA Country Director Sam Ntelamo said at a media briefing last week that, as much as there has been support in term of sponsorship, that support has mainly come from outside the country. He further said that there are young people who are willing to attend the conference, but due to the lack of funds, they will not be able to participate.

“This is one group that should be well represented. We also require finances for publicity materials such as conference bags and souvenir t-shirts. We can’t fulfil this with the limited budget at our disposal. Well-wishers can get in touch with us or visit the conference website,” Ntelamo said.

Only a few Namibians have registered to attend the conference so far, which is a source of great disappointment for NAPPA. He called on Namibians to view the conference as a national event, and not a NAPPA event, because delegates will be coming to Namibia, and not necessarily to NAPPA.

The fifth Africa Conference on Sexual Health and Rights could see around 500 delegates from around Africa and the world converge at the Safari Hotel and Conference Centre in Windhoek to take stock of progress made since the International Conference on Population and Development was held in Cairo, Egypt in 1994.

According to Ntelamo, the conference will examine policy, financing and programming in respect of the sexual and reproductive rights of women and girls, adolescents and young people. Other items on the agenda include sexuality, culture and religion, sexual identity, sexual rights, reproductive health and HIV and AIDS integration.

The conference will take place during September 19-21 conference will be preceded two pre-conference activities. The first will take place during September 15-16, where partners will offer skills-building training for young people drawn from East and Southern Africa. The second, will take place during September 17-18, will be a meeting of the Youth Sexuality Institute to be attended by youths from all over Africa.

Registration for the conference is N$350 until September 05. A late registration fee of N$500 is also applicable. One can register online at www.africasexuality.org. The conference also has face book and Twitter pages on the Internet where people can share ideas.