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, governments, advocates, health organizations, women’s and youth activists and others will gather in Kenya for the Nairobi Summit. There, they will seek clear commitments that will advance the goals of the ICPD and secure the rights and dignity of all.

Principles of the ICPD

The ICPD Programme of Action, adopted in 1994 by 179 Member States, lays out a far-sighted plan for advancing human well-being that places the human rights of individuals, rather than numerical population targets, at the centre of the global development agenda.

It emphasizes the value of investing in women and girls, both as an end in itself and as a key to improving the quality of life for everyone. And it affirms the importance of sexual and reproductive health, including family planning, as a precondition for women’s empowerment. It calls for an end to gender-based violence and harmful traditional practices, including female genital mutilation.

Further, the Programme of Action highlights the crucial links between sexual and reproductive health and rights with almost every aspect of population and development, from urbanization, migration and ageing to changing family structures and the importance of addressing the rights of young people. It calls attention to the ways in which investing in women and youth, especially in their sexual and reproductive health, can impact environmental sustainability and population dynamics.

UNFPA generates annual assessments of the levels of national resources and international assistance required for implementation of the Programme of Action, which governments agreed to make available. Initially considered to have a 20-year time horizon, the Programme of Action was extended beyond 2014 by the General Assembly.

Sustainable Development 

In 2015, world leaders unanimously adopted the Sustainable Development Goals, a historic set of goals to eliminate poverty, achieve gender equality, and secure the health and well-being of all people. The 17 global goals, also called Agenda 2030, call for collective effort across a wide range of areas – including environmental action, public health, human rights, education, and much more – to usher in a new era of development around the world.

At the 2019 Commission on Population and Development, government representatives agreed that the principles of the ICPD Programme of Action are essential to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. The Nairobi Summit on ICPD25, taking place in November, will seek additional commitments from governments, organizations, advocates and others, to accelerate efforts to realize the goals of the Programme of Action at last.

 

ICPD publications

ICPD Beyond 2014 High-Level Global Commitments
29th United Nations General Assembly Special Session on the follow-up to the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development Beyond 2014
Framework of Actions for the follow-up to the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development
This in-depth, data-rich action framework, sometimes referred to as the ICPD beyond 2014 Global Report, is the culmination of a major global review of progress in implementing the ICPD Programme of Action, and...
Population and sustainable development in the Post-2015 agenda
This report makes the clearest and strongest case to date why population issues must be integrated in the new development agenda.

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ICPD updates

Twenty-five years ago, 179 governments adopted a visionary Programme of Action that aimed to safeguard the health and rights of women and girls and to promote their empowerment. © UNFPA Morocco
10 July 2019 Twenty-five years ago, leaders promised to advance women’s health and rights. Have they delivered?
The Programme of Action set out to change the world for women and girls. Here is a status report.
Marta Paula, from Guinea-Bissau, was hospitalized when she gave birth at 13. Doctors were worried she might die. Today, she calls for young people to have access to family planning. © UNFPA/I. Barbosa
10 April 2019 Vast numbers of women lack decision-making power over their own bodies, says UNFPA flagship report
Across 51 countries, only 57 per cent of women who are married or in a relationship are able to make their own choices about sexual intercourse, contraception use and health care.
More than 200 million of women and adolescent girls are not using modern contraceptives even though they want to avoid pregnancy, the 52nd Commission on Population and Development heard today. In Thailand, a UNFPA-supported emergency shelter for pregnant teens. © UNFPA/Ruth Carr
1 April 2019 Declaration affirms global support for reproductive health and rights
Countries re-affirmed global support for the ICPD Programme of Action, and called upon leaders and organizations around the world to accelerate efforts to achieve its goals 

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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.