The International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) will launch an integrated campaign called “Humans of ICPD” to gain momentum for the Nairobi Summit and to accelerate ICPD.
In November 2019, governments, advocates, health organizations, women’s and youth activists and others will gather in Kenya for the Nairobi Summit, said a press release.
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 called the “Programme of Action.”
It affirmed sexual and reproductive health as a fundamental human right and emphasized that empowering women and girls is key to ensuring the well-being of individuals, families, nations and our world.
A quarter of a century later, the world has seen remarkable progress. But progress has been uneven. Hundreds of millions of women around the world are still not using modern contraceptives to prevent unwanted pregnancies, global targets on reducing maternal deaths have not been met, girls still marry at an early age, and gender based violence is still an issue.
Through portraits and vignettes of people, the ICPD campaign will only inform key stakeholders about the Programme of Action, but also highlight why ICPD is so important if we are to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, where “no one is left behind.”
