UNITED NATIONS, New York—UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, today welcomed a decision by the United Nations General Assembly to extend the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) beyond 2014.

“While much has been accomplished to implement the consensus agreement and reach the ICPD goals to reduce maternal and child death and achieve universal education and universal access to reproductive health by 2015, much remains to be done to implement this unfinished agenda,” said UNFPA Executive Director Thoraya Ahmed Obaid.

In adopting the resolution, the General Assembly decided to extend the ICPD Programme of Action and key actions for further implementation to “ensure its follow-up in order to fully meet its goals and objectives.” The resolution called on governments to recommit themselves to achieving the goals and objectives of the Programme of Action, agreed on by 179 governments in Cairo in 1994.

In addition, the General Assembly decided to convene a special session in 2014 to “assess the status of implementation of the Programme of Action and to renew political support for actions required for the full achievement of its goals and objectives.” It asked UNFPA to review the implementation of the Programme of Action “on the basis of the highest-quality data and analysis of the state of population and development.”

“With the world approaching a population of 7 billion, some 215 million women still facing unmet need for family planning, and demographic changes, such as ageing, urbanization and migration, affecting prospects for sustainable development,” said Ms. Obaid, “the United Nations Member States have again acknowledged the importance of fully implementing the ICPD agenda to improve the lives of people around the world.”

Contact Information:

Omar Gharzeddine
Tel:  +1 212 297 5028
Email:  gharzeddine@unfpa.org