We are only 100 days away from the Nairobi Summit on ICPD25! Different stakeholders are getting ready to participate in the event, doing their part to accelerate the promise of the ICPD. Below is a brief Q&A with Seema Jalan, Executive Director of the Universal Access Project at the UN Foundation.
How are you preparing for and what do you hope to achieve in Nairobi?
For me, the Nairobi Summit is not the end point, but rather the beginning of a reinvigorated movement to make the promise of ICPD a reality for everyone, everywhere. I hope that we as a community come away from Nairobi with bold commitments to and a concrete roadmap for achieving the three zeros: zero unmet need for family planning, zero preventable maternal deaths, and zero gender-based violence and harmful practices.
Why do you think the Nairobi Summit has the potential to be a watershed moment?
Twenty-five years after the ICPD, and just over a decade to the end point of the Sustainable Development Goals, this is a critical reflection point: what have we achieved? What work still lies ahead? And, most importantly, how do we tackle the unfinished business in pursuing health, rights, and choices for all? The Nairobi Summit will be not just a gathering point but a rallying moment as we work together to build the world we imagine: one where every girl, woman, and young person has the freedom to decide her own future.
What does the Nairobi Summit mean for the future of millions of women and girls denied sexual and reproductive health and rights around the world?
The Nairobi Summit will be an opportunity for world leaders, global organizations, doctors, advocates, researchers, young people, and more to stand up and say: we’re here, we care, and we’re working together for a better world for everyone. I hope that we can use these words as a springboard to deliver real, tangible impacts for girls and women around the world.
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