On the road to the Nairobi Summit on ICPD25, what is the way forward to continue advancing the sexual and reproductive health agenda and complete the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) Programme of Action?
For Crown Princess Mary of Denmark, the ICPD is the "cornerstone of the sexual and reproductive rights movement," and protecting sexual and reproductive health and rights, women's empowerment and gender equality are all essential if we are to have any chance of achieving the ambitious Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.
"We must ensure that no one is left behind, and all voices are heard and reflected in our solutions," she said during a panel discussion entitled Power, Progress, Change - from Cairo to Nairobi: Taking Stock and Looking Forward on the sidelines of the 2019 Women Deliver conference in Vancouver, Canada.
Crown Princess Mary is a longtime advocate for sexual and reproductive health rights, and represented Denmark at the 2012 High-Level Task Force on ICPD. She took part in the panel discussion alongside UNFPA Executive Director Dr. Natalia Kanem, who said she looks forward to welcoming the world to Nairobi, and then to leave the Summit "with a stronger and clearer resolve to ensure that the promise of Cairo reaches even the most furthest behind."
"One conference doesn't solve everything," Dr. Kanem noted, adding that the current pushback against women's rights in many countries means that ending the unfinished business of ICPD is as urgent as ever before.
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