From 12 - 14 November 2019, the Nairobi Summit on the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD25) took place in Kenya. I felt very honored to attend this high level UN conference! A few months ago, I registered for this Summit and I was extremely happy when I received the confirmation that I was one of the lucky 'few' to attend this UN conference. In total, over 9,500 participants from more than 170 countries were selected to participate.
What is the ICPD? Twenty-five years ago, the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) took place in Cairo, Egypt. It was a landmark event, where delegations from 179 countries took part in negotiations and adopted the Programme of Action on Population and Development. The document, which can be downloaded here, was a new strategy which set out to empower women and girls. What was remarkable, especially at the time, was the recognition that reproductive health and rights, as well as women's empowerment and gender equality, are cornerstones of population and development programmes. More specifically, the Programme of Action called for promoting women’s empowerment by reducing inequalities and improving access to education, decent work and reproductive health care.Initially, the Programme of Action was a 20-year strategy, which was due to formally come to an end in 2014. However, in December 2010 it was extended beyond 2014 in order to fully meet its goals and objectives. The UN General Assembly noted that - in spite of the progress made towards achieving the goals and objectives of the Programme of Action - considerable gaps in different areas existed in the implementation. In addition, the crucial linkages between the ICPD and the Millennium Development Goals (now the Sustainable Development Goals) were recognized as well. Governments were called upon to recommit themselves at the highest political level to achieving the goals and objectives of the Programme of Action.This year marks the 25th anniversary of the ICPD, and the animation video below shows a nice summary of the Programme of Action, the progress that the world has seen in the past 25 years, as well as the challenges that we still face.[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1eYsXd6Ho0[/embed]Nairobi Summit The governments of Kenya, Denmark and UNFPA jointly organized the Nairobi Summit on ICPD25 in Kenya from 12 - 14 November 2019.The aim of the Summit was to ...As sexual and reproductive health and rights come under attack in many parts of the world,I arrived the 11th of November in Kenya, and when I was on my way from Kenyatta International Airport (and got stuck in traffic on my way to my Airbnb), I saw that the newspaper was full with messages in relation to ICPD. I learned that thePushback from Kenyan society
Kenyatta International Airport (and got stuck in traffic on my way to my Airbnb),Side-eventOn behalf of Amref Health Africa, the Coalition on Violence Against Women (COVAW), Orchid Project, and Tostan, we are delighted to invite you to our side event at the ICPD Nairobi Summit, Partnerships for Change: Ending FGM/C by 2030.Nairobi StatementAfter six months of global consultations, led by the International Steering Committee on ICPD25, the 'Nairobi Statement on ICPD25: Accelerating the Promise' was adopted. In total, hundreds of organizations and thousands of people were involved. The document can be downloaded here. In the mean time, several UN Agencies and governments have committed towards supporting the full achievement of ICPS goals within the next decade.
