INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON POPULATION AND

DEVELOPMENT

Submitted to:
Dipendra Kumar Yadav (MPH)
Program Coordinator
Bachelor of Public Health (BPH)
School of Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Sciences
Pokhara University, Lekhanath

Submitted by:
Amrit Banstola
Mahesh Prasad Joshi
Nabaraj Adhikari
Rajani Baral

(BPH II Semester)

Term Paper I
August 14, 2009

©2009 Amrit Banstola

 Contents

Abbreviations ...........................................................................................................................................................iv

Introduction ................................................................................................................................................................ 1

Chapter I, Preamble .................................................................................................................................................. 2

Chapter II, Principles ............................................................................................................................................... 3

Principle 1 ................................................................................................................................................................ 3
Principle 2 ................................................................................................................................................................ 3
Principle 3 ................................................................................................................................................................ 3
Principle 4 ................................................................................................................................................................ 3
Principle 5 ................................................................................................................................................................ 4
Principle 6 ................................................................................................................................................................ 4
Principle 7 ................................................................................................................................................................ 4
Principle 8 ................................................................................................................................................................ 4
Principle 9 ................................................................................................................................................................ 5
Principle 10 ............................................................................................................................................................. 5
Principle 11 ............................................................................................................................................................. 5
Principle 12 ............................................................................................................................................................. 5
Principle 13 ............................................................................................................................................................. 6
Principle 14 ............................................................................................................................................................. 6
Principle 15 ............................................................................................................................................................. 6

Chapter III, Interrelationships between Population, Sustained Economic Growth and Sustainable
Development .............................................................................................................................................................. 7
A. Integrating population and development strategies ................................................................................. 7
B. Population, sustained economic growth and poverty .............................................................................. 7
C. Population and environment ....................................................................................................................... 7

Chapter IV, Gender Equality, Equity and Empowerment of Women ........................................................... 8

A. Empowerment and status of women .............................................................................................................. 8
B. The girl child ....................................................................................................................................................... 8
C. Male responsibilities and participation ........................................................................................................... 8

Chapter V, the Family, Its Roles, Rights, Composition and Structure ........................................................ 9
A. Diversity of family structure and composition ........................................................................................... 9
B. Socio-economic support to the family ........................................................................................................ 9

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Chapter VI, Population Growth and Structure................................................................................................. 10
A. Fertility, mortality and population growth rates....................................................................................... 10
B. Children and youth ..................................................................................................................................... 10
C. Elderly people ............................................................................................................................................. 10
D. Indigenous people ...................................................................................................................................... 10
E. Persons with disabilities............................................................................................................................. 10

Chapter VII, Reproductive Rights and Reproductive Health ....................................................................... 11

A. Reproductive rights and reproductive health .......................................................................................... 11
B. Family planning ........................................................................................................................................... 11

Chapter VIII, Health, Morbidity and Mortality ................................................................................................... 12

A. Primary health care and the health-care sector......................................................................................... 12
B. Child survival and health ................................................................................................................................ 12
C. Women's health and safe motherhood ........................................................................................................ 12
D. HIV/AIDS .......................................................................................................................................................... 12

Chapter IX, Population Distribution, Urbanization and Internal Migration .............................................. 13

A. Population distribution and sustainable development................................................................................ 13
B. Large urban agglomerations .......................................................................................................................... 13
C. Internally displaced persons .......................................................................................................................... 13

Chapter X, International Migration ..................................................................................................................... 14

A. International migration and development..................................................................................................... 14
B. Documented migrants..................................................................................................................................... 14
C. Undocumented migrants ................................................................................................................................ 14
D. Refugees, asylum-seekers and displaced persons ................................................................................... 14

Chapter XI, Population, Development and Education ................................................................................... 15

A. Education, population and sustainable development ................................................................................ 15
B. Population information, education and communication ............................................................................. 15

Chapter XII, Technology, Research and Development ................................................................................. 16

A. Basic data collection, analysis and dissemination...................................................................................... 16
B. Reproductive health research ....................................................................................................................... 16

Chapter XIII, National Action................................................................................................................................ 17

A. National policies and plans of action ............................................................................................................ 17
B. Program management and human resource development....................................................................... 17
C. Resource mobilization and allocation .......................................................................................................... 17

Chapter XIV, International Cooperation ............................................................................................................ 18

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Chapter XV, Partnership with the Non-Governmental Sector ..................................................................... 18

Chapter XVI, Follow-up to the Conference ....................................................................................................... 19

A. National-level activities ................................................................................................................................... 19
B. Sub regional and regional activities .............................................................................................................. 19
C. Activities at the international level ................................................................................................................ 19

(ICPD+5) Review after 5 years – 1999 ................................................................................................................ 19

Contribution of ICPD to MDG .............................................................................................................................. 20

References: .............................................................................................................................................................. 21

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Abbreviations

ICPD: International Conference on Population and Development

UNFPA: United Nations Population Fund
POA: Program of Action
STDs: Sexually Transmitted Diseases
HIV: Human Immune Deficiency Virus
MDG: Millennium Development Goals
AIDS: Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome

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Introduction

In a city known for both its history and its burgeoning population, the International Conference on
Population and Development (ICPD) met in Cairo, Egypt, from 5-13 September 1994. An estimated
20,000 government delegates, UN representatives, NGOs and media representatives descended on
(1)
Cairo for the nine- day Conference and the parallel NGO Forum. The ICPD was a United Nations
conference, organized principally by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the Population
Division of the UN Department for Economic and Social Information and Policy Analysis.

The conference adopted a 20-year Program of Action (POA), which focused on individuals' needs and
rights, rather than on achieving demographic targets. Key to this new approach is empowering women
and providing them with more choices through expanded access to education and health services and
promoting skill development and employment. The Program advocates making family planning universally
available by 2015, or sooner, as part of a broadened approach to reproductive health and rights, provides
estimates of the levels of national resources and international assistance that will be required, and calls
on Governments to make these resources available.

The POA includes goals in regard to education, especially for girls, and for the further reduction of infant,
child and maternal mortality levels. It also addresses issues relating to population, the environment and
consumption patterns; the family; internal and international migration; prevention and control of the
HIV/AIDS pandemic; information, education and communication; and technology, research and
(2)
development.

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Chapter I, Preamble

The Preamble provides an overview of the main issues covered in the ICPD POA and sets the context for
action in the field of population and development. It stresses that the ICPD is not an isolated event and
that its POA builds on the considerable international consensus that has developed since the World
Population Conference in Bucharest in 1974 and the International Conference on Population in Mexico
City in 1984. (2)

The 1994 Conference was explicitly given a broader mandate on development issues than previous
population conferences, reflecting the growing awareness that population, poverty, patterns of production
and consumption and the environment are so closely interconnected that none of them can be considered
in isolation.

The Preamble points out that the objectives and recommended actions of the POA collectively address
the critical challenges and interrelationships between population and sustained economic growth in the
context of sustainable development. In order to carry them out, adequate mobilization of resources at the
national level will be required, as well as new and additional resources to the developing countries from
all available funding mechanisms, including multilateral, bilateral and private sources. Financial resources
are also required to strengthen the capacity of international institutions to implement the POA.

The POA recommends to the international community a set of important population and development
objectives, including both qualitative and quantitative goals that are mutually supportive and are of critical
importance to these objectives. Among these objectives and goals are: sustained economic growth in the
context of sustainable development; education, especially for girls; gender equity and equality; infant,
child and maternal mortality reduction; and the provision of universal access to reproductive health
services, including family planning and sexual health.

The POA recognizes that over the next 20 years Governments are not expected to meet the goals and
objectives of the ICPD single handedly. All members of and groups in society have the right, and indeed
the responsibility, to play an active part in efforts to reach those goals.

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Chapter II, Principles

The mandate of ICPD and its overall theme, the interrelationship between population, sustained
economical growth and sustained economical development will continue to be guided by the following set
of principles. (3)

Principle 1

All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. Everyone is entitled to all the rights and
freedoms set forth in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, without distinction of any kind, such as
race, color, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, poverty, birth or
other status. Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.

Principle 2

Human beings are at the centre of concerns for sustainable development. They are entitled to a healthy
and productive life in harmony with nature. People are the most important and valuable resource of any
nation. Countries should ensure that all individuals are given the opportunity to make the most of their
potential. They have the rights to an adequate standard of living for themselves and their families,
including adequate food, clothing, housing, water and sanitation.

Principle 3

The right to development is a universal and inalienable right and an integral part of fundamental human
rights, and the human person is the central subject of development. While development facilitates the
enjoyment of all human rights, the lack of development may not be invoked to justify the abridgement of
internationally recognized human rights. The right to development must be fulfilled so as to equitably
meet the population, development and environment needs of present and future generations.

Principle 4

Advancing gender equality and equity and the empowerment of women, and the elimination of all kinds of
violence against women, and ensuring women’s ability to control their own fertility, are cornerstones of
population and development related programs. The human rights of women and the girl child are an

3|Page
inalienable, integral and indivisible part of universal human rights. The full and equal participation of
women in civil, cultural, economic, political and social life, at the national, regional and international
levels, and the eradication of all forms of discrimination on grounds of sex, are priority objectives of the
international community.

Principle 5

Population-related goals and policies are integral parts of cultural, economic and social development, the
principal aim of which is to improve the quality of life of all people.

Principle 6

Sustainable development as a means to ensure human well-being, equitably shared by all people today
and in the future, requires that the interrelationships between population, resources, the environment and
development should be fully recognized, properly managed and brought into harmonious, dynamic
balance. To achieve sustainable development and a higher quality of life for all people, states should
reduce and eliminate unsustainable patterns of production and consumption and promote appropriate
policies, including population-related policies, in order to meet the needs of current generations without
compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

Principle 7

All states and all people shall cooperate in the essential task of eradicating poverty as an indispensable
requirement for sustainable development, in order to decrease the disparities in standards of living and
better meet the needs of the majority of the people of the world. The special situation and needs of
developing countries, particularly the least developed, shall be given special priority. Countries with
economics in transition, as well as all other countries, need to be fully integrated into the world economy.

Principle 8

Everyone has the right to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health.
Sates should take all appropriate measures to ensure, on a basis of equality of men and women,
universal access to health-care services, including those related to reproductive health care, which
includes family planning and sexual health. Reproductive health-care program should provide the widest
range of services without any form of coercion. All couples and individuals have the basic right to decide
freely and responsibly the number and spacing of their children and to have the information, education
and means to do so.

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Principle 9

The family is the basic unit of society and as such should be strengthened. It is entitled to receive
comprehensive protection and support. In different cultural, political and social systems, various forms of
the family exist. Marriage must be entered into which the free consent of the intending spouses, and
husband and wife should be equal partners.

Principle 10

Everyone has the right to education, which shall be directed to the full development of human resources,
and human dignity and potential, with particular attention to women and the girl child. Education should
be designed to strengthen respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, including those relating to
population and development. The best interests of the child shall be the guiding principle of those
responsible for his or her education and guidance; that responsibility lies in the first place with the
parents.

Principle 11

All states and families should give the highest possible priority to children. The child has the right to
standards of living adequate for the well-being and the right to the highest attainable standards of health,
and the right to education. The child has the right to be cared for, guided and supported by parents,
families and society and to be protected by appropriate legislative, administrative, social and educational
measures from all forms of physical or mental violence, injury or abuse, neglect or negligent treatment,
maltreatment or exploitation, including sale, trafficking, sexual abuse, and trafficking in its organs.

Principle 12

Countries receiving documented migrants should provide proper treatment and adequate social welfare
services for them and their families, and should ensure their physical safety and security, bearing in mind
the special circumstances and needs of countries, in particular developing countries, attempting to meet
these objectives or requirements with regard to undocumented migrants, in conformity with the provisions
of relevant conventions and international instruments and documents. Countries should guarantee to al
migrants all basic human rights as included in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

5|Page
Principle 13

Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution. States have
responsibilities with respect to refugees as set forth in the Geneva Convention on the Status of Refugees
and its 1967 Protocol.

Principle 14

In considering the population and development needs of indigenous people, States should recognize and
support their identity, culture and interests, and enable them to participate fully in the economic, political
and social life of the country, particularly where their health, education and well-being are affected.

Principle 15

Sustained economic growth, in the context of sustainable development, and social progress require that
growth be broadly based, offering equal opportunities to all people. All countries should recognize their
common but differentiated responsibilities. The developed countries acknowledge the responsibility that
they bear in the international pursuit of sustainable development, and should continue to improve their
efforts to promote sustained economic growth and to narrow imbalances in a manner that can benefit all
countries, particularly the developing countries.

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Chapter III, Interrelationships between Population, Sustained Economic Growth
and Sustainable Development
(2)

A. Integrating population and development strategies

It seeks to integrate population concerns fully into development strategies and into all aspects of
development planning at all levels. The sustained economic growth that results will help meet the needs
and improve the quality of life of present and future generations. It will also promote social justice and
help eradicate poverty.

B. Population, sustained economic growth and poverty

Efforts to slow population growth, reduce poverty, achieve economic progress, improve environmental
protection and reduce unsustainable consumption and production patterns are mutually reinforcing.
Sustained economic growth within the context of sustainable development is essential to eradicate
poverty. Eradicating poverty will contribute to slowing population growth and to achieving early population
stabilization.

C. Population and environment

Meeting the basic needs of growing populations is dependent on a healthy environment. Such needs
must be addressed to ensure that population, environmental and poverty-eradication factors are
integrated into sustainable development policies, plans and program.

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Chapter IV, Gender Equality, Equity and Empowerment of Women
(2)

A. Empowerment and status of women

The empowerment of women and improvement of their status are important ends in themselves and are
essential for the achievement of sustainable development. Countries should take full measures to
eliminate all forms of exploitation, abuse, harassment and violence against women, adolescents and girls.

B. The girl child

To these ends, leaders at all levels of society should speak out and act forcefully against gender
discrimination within the family based on preference for sons. There should be special education and
public information efforts to promote equal treatment of girls and boys with respect to nutrition, health
care, education and social, economic and political activity, as well as equitable inheritance.

C. Male responsibilities and participation

Men play a key role in bringing about gender equality since, in most societies; they exercise preponderant
power in nearly every sphere of life. Parents and schools should ensure that attitudes that are respectful
of women and girls as equals are instilled in boys from the earliest possible age.

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Chapter V, the Family, Its Roles, Rights, Composition and Structure
(2)

The family is the basic unit of society. The process of rapid demographic and socio-economic change has
influenced patterns of family formation and family life and has generated considerable change in the
composition and structure of families. Traditional notions of parental and domestic functions do not reflect
current realities and aspirations, as more and more women in all parts of the world take up paid
employment outside the home. At the same time, various causes of displacement have placed greater
strain on the family, as have social and economic changes.

A. Diversity of family structure and composition

Governments are called upon to cooperate with employers to provide and promote means to make
participation in the labor force more compatible with parental responsibilities, especially for single-parent
households with young children. Governments should take effective action to eliminate all forms of
coercion and discrimination in policies and practices.

B. Socio-economic support to the family

It is recommended that Governments should formulate policies that are sensitive and supportive of the
family and should develop, along with NGOs and concerned community organizations, innovative ways to
provide more effective assistance to families and individuals within them who may be affected by such
problems as extreme poverty, chronic unemployment, and domestic and sexual violence, among others.

9|Page
Chapter VI, Population Growth and Structure
(2)

A. Fertility, mortality and population growth rates

The objective is to facilitate the demographic transition as soon as possible in countries where there is an
imbalance between demographic rates and social, economic and environmental goals.

B. Children and youth

Attention is drawn to the major challenges created by the very large proportions of children and young
people in the populations of a large number of developing countries. Countries are urged to give high
priority to the protection, survival and development of children and youth, and to make every effort to
eliminate the adverse effects of poverty on children and youth.

C. Elderly people

Governments are called upon to develop social security systems that ensure greater equity and solidarity
between and within generations and that provide support to elderly people through encouragement of
multigenerational families.

D. Indigenous people

Indigenous people have a distinct and important perspective on population and development
relationships, frequently quite different from those of the populations with whom they interrelate within
national borders. The specific needs of indigenous people, including primary health care and reproductive
health services, should be recognized.

E. Persons with disabilities

Although awareness has been raised about disability issues, there remains a pressing need for
continued action to promote effective measures for prevention and rehabilitation of disabilities.
Governments are called upon to develop the infrastructure to address the needs of persons with
disabilities, in particular with regard to their education, training and rehabilitation

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Chapter VII, Reproductive Rights and Reproductive Health
(2)

A. Reproductive rights and reproductive health

It implies that people have the capability to reproduce and the freedom to decide if, when and how often
to do so. Reproductive health care also includes sexual health, the purpose of which is the enhancement
of life and personal relations.

B. Family planning

Actions are recommended to help couples and individuals meet their reproductive goals; to prevent
unwanted pregnancies and reduce the incidence of high-risk pregnancies and morbidity and mortality; to
make quality services affordable, acceptable and accessible to all who need and want those STDs and
HIV prevention

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Chapter VIII, Health, Morbidity and Mortality
(2)

A. Primary health care and the health-care sector

Section a stresses that all countries should make access to basic health care and health promotion the
central strategies for reducing mortality and morbidity. Sufficient resources should be assigned so that
primary health services cover the entire population.

B. Child survival and health

Important progress has been made in reducing infant and child mortality everywhere. However, the
mortality of children under age 5 varies significantly between and within countries and regions. Poverty,
malnutrition, a decline in breast-feeding, and inadequacy or lack of sanitation and health facilities are all
associated with high infant and child mortality.

C. Women's health and safe motherhood

Complications related to pregnancy and childbirth are among the leading causes of mortality for women
of reproductive age in many parts of the developing world, resulting in the death of about half a million
women each year, 99 per cent of them in developing countries. The age at which women begin or stop
child-bearing, the interval between each birth, the total number of lifetime pregnancies and the socio-
cultural and economic circumstances in which women live all influence maternal morbidity and mortality.

D. HIV/AIDS

The AIDS pandemic is a major concern in both developed and developing countries. Responsible sexual
behavior, including voluntary sexual abstinence, should be promoted and included in education and
information program. Among the aims are to raise awareness and to emphasize behavioral change. The
international community is called upon to mobilize the human and financial resources required to reduce
the rate of transmission of HIV infection.

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Chapter IX, Population Distribution, Urbanization and Internal Migration
(2)

A. Population distribution and sustainable development

The process of urbanization is intrinsic to economic and social development and, in consequence, both
developed and developing countries are in the process of shifting from predominantly rural to
predominantly urban societies. Countries should adopt strategies that encourage the growth of small or
medium-sized urban centers and seek to develop rural areas. In order to develop rural areas,
Governments should actively support access to landownership and to water resources, especially for
family units and should also make or encourage investments for increased rural productivity.

B. Large urban agglomerations

In many countries, a single city dominates the urban system. This poses specific economic, social and
environmental challenges. But large urban agglomerations often also represent the most dynamic centers
of economic and cultural activity.

C. Internally displaced persons

The objective is to offer adequate protection and assistance to persons displaced within their own
countries, particularly women, children and the elderly, and to find solutions to the root causes of their
displacement, with a view to preventing it in the future, and to facilitate their return or resettlement. The
document further seeks to put an end to all forms of forced migration, including "ethnic cleansing".

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Chapter X, International Migration
(2)

A. International migration and development

Orderly international migration can have positive effects on both communities of origin and those of
destination. Governments are urged to address the root causes of migration, to make remaining in one's
country a viable option for all people.

B. Documented migrants

Governments of receiving countries are urged to consider extending to documented migrants who meet
appropriate length-of-stay requirements, and to members of their families, regular treatment equal to that
accorded their own nationals with regard to basic human rights.

C. Undocumented migrants

The document recalls the right of every nation State to decide who can enter and stay in its territory and
under what conditions, and urges Governments to exercise such right taking care to avoid racist or
xenophobic actions and policies.

D. Refugees, asylum-seekers and displaced persons

Governments are urged to address the root causes of movements of refugees and displaced persons by
taking appropriate measures with respect to the resolution of conflict, the promotion of peace and
reconciliation, respect for human rights, and respect for independence, territorial integrity and the
sovereignty of States.

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Chapter XI, Population, Development and Education
(2)

A. Education, population and sustainable development

Education is a key factor in sustainable development. It is a component of well-being and a means to

enable the individual to gain access to knowledge. It also helps reduce fertility, morbidity and mortality
rates; empower women; improve the quality of the working population; and promote genuine democracy.

B. Population information, education and communication

Greater public knowledge, understanding and commitment at all levels, from the individual to the
international, are vital to the achievement of the goals and objectives of the POA. A primary aim,
therefore, is to increase such knowledge, understanding and commitment.

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Chapter XII, Technology, Research and Development

It emphasizes that research, in particular biomedical research, has been instrumental in giving more and
more people access to a greater range of safe and effective modern methods for regulation of fertility.
The chapter further stresses that social and economic research is also needed to enable program to take
into account the views of their intended beneficiaries, especially women, adolescents and other less
(2)
empowered groups.

A. Basic data collection, analysis and dissemination

Governments should strengthen their national capacity to carry out sustained and comprehensive
programs to collect, analyze, disseminate and utilize population and development data.

B. Reproductive health research

Governments, assisted by the international community and others, including NGOs and the private
sector, are called upon to increase support for basic and applied biomedical, technological, clinical,
epidemiological and social-science research in order to strengthen reproductive health services.

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Chapter XIII, National Action
(2)

A. National policies and plans of action

Population and development are intrinsically interrelated and progress in any area can catalyze
improvement in others. Recognition is given to the need to involve intended beneficiaries in the design
and subsequent implementation of population-related policies, plans, programs and projects. Non-
governmental organizations and the private sector are acknowledged as partners in national policies and
programs.

B. Program management and human resource development

The document encourages Governments to increase the skill level and accountability of managers and
others involved in the implementation, monitoring and evaluation of national population and development
strategies, policies, plans and programs.

C. Resource mobilization and allocation

The document includes estimates of the funding levels required to meet developing countries' needs and
the needs of countries with economies in transition in the period 2000-2015 for basic reproductive health
services, including family planning; prevention of sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV/AIDS; and
population data collection, analysis and dissemination, policy formulation and research.

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Chapter XIV, International Cooperation

The international community should strive for the fulfillment of the agreed target of 0.7 per cent of GNP for
overall official development assistance (ODA) and Endeavour to increase the share of funding for
population and development programs commensurate with the scope and scale of activities required to
(2)
achieve the objectives and goals of the POA.

Chapter XV, Partnership with the Non-Governmental Sector

(2)

Governments and intergovernmental organizations should integrate NGOs and local community groups
into their decision-making and facilitate the contribution that NGOs can make towards finding solutions to
population and development concerns and, in particular, to ensure the implementation of the POA.

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Chapter XVI, Follow-up to the Conference
(2)

A. National-level activities

Conference follow-up should include policy guidance, including building political support for population
and development; resource mobilization; coordination and mutual accountability of implementation efforts;
problem solving and sharing of experience within and between countries; and monitoring and reporting of
progress in implementation.
.

B. Sub regional and regional activities

Implementation must address specific sub regional and regional strategies and needs. Regional
commissions, UN system organizations at the regional level and other relevant sub regional and regional
organizations should be active in coordinated implementation.

C. Activities at the international level

While some of the resources required for implementation could come from reordering priorities,
developing countries, particularly the least developed, will require new and additional financial resources
from the public and private sectors, NGOs and the international community, including on concession and
grant terms, according to sound and equitable indicators, provided through bilateral and multilateral
channels and NGOs.

(ICPD+5) Review after 5 years – 1999

(4)

 Affirmed the 1994 Program of Action as still valid

 Many countries had implemented the recommendations and progress was evident
 Revised and updated the Goal targets and dates (e.g. By 2015, 60% of all births should be
attended by skilled personnel)
 Regression in some areas: Mortality rising in countries affected by HIV/AIDS; malaria and other
parasitic diseases still causing high death rates
 Noted the shortfall of funds to implement the POA

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Contribution of ICPD to MDG
The present report on the contribution of the POA of the International Conference on Population and
Development to the internationally agreed development goals, including the Millennium Development
Goals, has been prepared by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in response to the topic
(5)
oriented and prioritized multi-year work program of the Commission on Population and Development.

The POA of the ICPD clearly reflected the inextricable linkages between population, poverty, health,
education, patterns of production and consumption and the environment. The guiding principles of the
Conference placed national ownership and universally recognized human rights, equity and equality,
most significantly gender equality, at the centre of social and economic development. Fifteen years have
passed since then. As the international community observes the fifteenth anniversary of the Conference,
it is clear that the Cairo development framework remains relevant and crucial to saving lives and
advancing the quality of life of men, women and young people, in particular the most vulnerable
populations. As detailed in the present report, the current strategic plan and program of UNFPA have
remained focused on supporting Governments in their efforts to achieve the objectives of the Conference
and the Millennium Development Goals. UNFPA strategies continue to focus on coordination and
collaboration with a wide range of partners, strengthening national capacity, investing in human resource
development, the generation of data for policy formulation and analysis and for monitoring and evaluation
systems, and facilitating technical support through national, regional and global networks, including
South-South partnerships, advocacy and resource mobilization.

In the case of Goal 5, the progress made falls far short of achieving the objectives set. The addition to
Goal 5 of the new target of universal access to reproductive health by 2015 has provided new momentum
for addressing the health related Millennium Development Goals through a comprehensive and integrated
approach. There is sufficient evidence on how to improve maternal, newborn and child survival and
reproductive health outcomes by scaling up access to an essential package of interventions delivered
through a strengthened health system and targeting the poorest and most at-risk population. Achieving
Goal 5 by 2015 will be possible only through the scaling up of country-level work, spearheaded by
national leadership and ownership that guides investment in supportive pro-poor policies, strong health
systems and effective interventions that are known to work, and supported by South-South cooperation
for the exchange of lessons learned.

Much progress has been achieved in many areas related to the Millennium Development Goals, but such
progress is uneven and much work remains to be done to realize both the goals of the International
Conference on Population and Development and the Millennium Development Goals, especially in the
poorest countries. A redoubling of efforts and a renewed commitment on the part of all stakeholders are
essential to ensure the timely achievement of the internationally agreed development goal.

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References:
1. Bulletin EN. Summary of the International Conference on Population and Development: 5-13
September 1994. Earth Negotiations Bulletin.
2. UNFPA. International Conference on Population and Development. 1994.
3. UN. Report on International Conference on Population and Development. New York; 1995.
Report No.: A/CONF.171/13/Rev.1.
4. UNFPA. The ICPD Programme of Action. International Conference on Population and
Development. Cairo, Egypt: UNFPA; 1994.
5. Council EaS. Monitoring of population programmes, focusing on the contribution of the
Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development to the
internationally agreed development goals, including the Millennium Development Goals; 30
March-3 April 2009. Report No.: E/CN.9/2009/1.

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