UNITED NATIONS, New York – At its second 2021 meeting in May, the High-level Commission on the Nairobi Summit on ICPD25 Follow-up (HLC) saw its three working groups present their work to date for plenary discussion and feedback, focusing on key issues like inequalities further exacerbated by COVID-19, the importance of the “rights” part of sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), bodily autonomy and individuals’ agency, the pandemic’s impact on the quality of and access to care and the financial implications and politics of the SRHR agenda.
The working groups were established after the HLC’s first working meeting in January, when the 29 commissioners deliberated on how to organize and advance the commission’s work to develop its first annual report (and subsequent annual reports) for release in mid-November, marking the second anniversary of the Nairobi Summit.
The groups, set up to concentrate on each of the three transformative results of zero preventable maternal deaths, zero unmet need for family planning and zero gender-based violence and harmful practices, also took into account cross-cutting issues such as humanitarian settings, adolescents and youth and data. Composed of diverse stakeholders for a richness of perspectives and interests, the groups will help develop the November report, which will cover the progress made in advancing the Nairobi Summit commitments.
The commission is set to convene again in September.
