Guideline for Developing and Formulating National and Partner Commitments at the Nairobi Summit on ICPD25: Accelerating the Promise
Purpose
The Nairobi Summit on ICPD25: Accelerating the Promise is about action-oriented commitments to respond to the Political Declaration adopted at the 52nd session of the UN Commission on Population and Development that calls for the "full, effective and accelerated implementation of the ICPD Programme of Action (PoA) and 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development".
A set of global commitments are presented as part of the “Nairobi Statement." These global commitments are broad and aspirational in nature and have been developed after an elaborate process of consultations with and among different constituencies and stakeholders. The global commitments serve as a broad framework and guide for the formulation of specific and ambitious national, organizational and individual commitments that would complete the unfinished business of the ICPD PoA.
National and Partner Commitments
National commitments are those that will be made by governments, while partner commitments will be made by CSOs, Private Sectors, Foundations, Academia, Youth Groups, etc. National and local partner commitments must address specific gaps in the country in achieving the goals of ICPD and Agenda 2030 and will drive a national agenda to finish the unfinished business. The commitments should, collectively, lead to fulfilling the promise of the ICPD, including achieving universal access to sexual and reproductive health and rights.
We expect governments and partners to come to Nairobi with specific commitments and actions that they commit to fulfill in order to complete the unfinished business of ICPD.
A simple guide has been developed to assist in the formulation of government and partner commitments. In order for these commitments to be meaningful, they should be SMART:
- S = Specific
- M = Measurable
- A = Achievable/Attainable
- R = Relevant
- T = Time-bound
Example 1 (programmatic). A country commits to the overall goal of zero preventable maternal deaths by 2030, so the specific action(s) the government of that country could commit to is to train and employ a concrete number of midwives, by 2030. This is specific (training and employment of midwives), measurable (a concrete number of midwives to be trained and employed), achievable (the number should be realistic), relevant (training and employment of midwives contributes to the reduction of maternal mortality and morbidity) and time bound (by 2030). Ideally, there is also a costing element attached to this specific commitment.
Example 2 (legal). A country commits to the overall goal of zero harmful practices, including child marriage, so the specific action(s) the government of that country could commit to is to change the legal age at marriage for girls to be at least 18 years, by no later than year XXXX. This is specific (changing of a law), measurable (a changed law approved by Parliament), achievable (anticipating that the revised law has sufficient parliamentary and national support), relevant (changing the age of marriage for girls is one step in combating child marriages) and time bound (by no later than year XXXX). Ideally, there is also a costing element attached to this specific commitment.
Example 3 (financial). A country commits to the overall goal of zero unmet need for family planning information, education and services and the availability of modern contraceptives, so the specific action(s) the government of that country could commit to is to establish a specific budget line in the national budget, with allocated domestic resources, for the procurement of modern contraceptives, by no later than year XXXX. This is specific (establishing a budget line in the national budget with allocated domestic resources), measurable (establishment of a budget line), achievable (the action can be affected by political will on the side of government and parliament), relevant (increasing domestic resources for SRHR programmes is critical to achieve universal access to SRHR for all) and time bound (by no later than year XXXX). Ideally, there is also a costing element (the amount needed to procure contraceptives for the national family planning programme) attached to this specific commitment.
Example 4 (policy). A country commits to the overall goal of ensuring that the basic needs and rights of affected population, including their SRHR needs, as critical components of responses to humanitarians and environmental crisis, so the specific action(s) a donor government could commit to formulate or update its humanitarian policy to ensure that SRHR interventions become part and parcel of future support to humanitarian responses, by no later than year XXXX. This is specific (formulating/updating a specific policy), measurable (policy is in place and implemented), achievable (requires political will), relevant (SRHR interventions are considered critical elements of any humanitarian response) and time bound (by no later than year XXXX). Ideally, there is also a costing element (the amount set aside for SRHR interventions during humanitarian crises) attached to this specific commitment.
An online form is now available for participants to upload their commitments directly unto the Nairobi Summit website.
Please also note that the national partners need to indicate if they want to present their national commitments at the Nairobi Summit. In this regard, they will need to provide details of their delegation member who will be presenting the commitments at the session in the Summit. This information will be used to prepare the participation list for the Commitment Session at the Nairobi Summit and should be sent to Ms. Afsana Taher (taher@unfpa.org) at the International Steering Committee Secretariat. The deadline for submitting information using this dedicated link, as mentioned above, is 31 October.
If you have any queries regarding the guidance note and the form, please contact Ms. Afsana Taher (taher@unfpa.org). For any issues relating to uploading the national commitments on the Nairobi Summit website page from 11 October onwards, please contact Mr. Steve Swiller (swiller@unfpa.org).
