International Conference on Population and Development
Overview
Today, it is globally recognized that fulfilling the rights of women and girls is central to development. But if one were to trace the origins of this realization, many threads would lead back to Cairo in 1994.
There, at the International Conference on Population and Development, diverse views on human rights, population, sexual and reproductive health, gender equality and sustainable development merged into a remarkable global consensus that placed individual dignity and human rights, including the right to plan one’s family, at the very heart of development.
A quarter of a century later, the world has seen remarkable progress. There has been a 25 per cent increase in global contraceptive prevalence rate around the world. Adolescent births have declined steeply, and the global maternal mortality ratio has fallen. But progress has been slow and uneven. Hundreds of millions of women around the world are still not using modern contraceptives to prevent unwanted pregnancies, and global targets on reducing maternal deaths have not been met.
In November 2019, more than 8,000 delegates, representing governments, advocates, health organizations, women’s and youth activists and others, from more than 170 countries, gathered in Kenya for the Nairobi Summit on ICPD25. There, they made some 1,300 clear, concrete commitments to advance the goals of the ICPD and secure the rights and dignity of all.
Overview
ICPD Programme of Action
Videos
The ICPD in Cairo opened a new chapter by placing the needs and rights of the individual at the heart of development policies and programmes. Watch this video to see why the commitments made then are as important today as they were 20 years ago.