Member States & Other Stakeholders Commitment Statements
The ICPD Programme of Action and the 2013 Addis Ababa Declaration on Population and Development (AADPD) have together provided a unique opportunity for Africa to take regional action to address population dynamics. They are inspiring Africa’s efforts to harness a demographic dividend, advance human rights and meet the Sustainable Development Goals. The recent ICPD/AADPD regional review reveals an incredible body of evidence about gains, gaps and challenges in the implementation of these frameworks. It highlighted exemplary initiatives that African countries are undertaking to ensure that policy and services address population issues and achieve meaningful development results, particularly for marginalized and underserved populations. Although the continent has frameworks setting out region-specific guidance and most African countries have explicit population policies, they lack comprehensive strategies and budgets to support the implementation and monitoring of these plans. This concurrent session will provide an opportunity for countries to share knowledge and experiences in the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of policies and programmes that respond to their demographic trends.
Today, an estimated 830 women die every single day from preventable causes related to pregnancy and childbirth, and many more experience acute or chronic morbidity. With the Sustainable Development Goals, the global community has committed to reducing global maternal mortality to less than 70 deaths per 100,000 live births. The task of saving women's lives and protecting their health requires strong capacity in the health system to address the full range of direct causes of maternal mortality and morbidity. This session will focus on evidence-based strategies for accelerating progress by improving quality, coverage and equity in maternity care through an effective, well-functioning primary health care system, including safe abortion. It will also discuss the need for increased attention to preventing and treating maternal morbidities, and how to ensure that maternity care respects women’s rights and is free of violence and discrimination.
Amid growing awareness of how patriarchal control of adolescent girls’ sexuality is a key driver of child marriage, still too few programmes aiming to end child marriage actually address this link in their work. The issue is considered taboo, and thus worked around or completely ignored. Unless we work to address the root causes of child marriage, this harmful practice will persist and prevent us from achieving the aims of the ICPD Programme of Action, reaching the SDGs, and realizing gender equality and women’s and girls’ rights. This session will showcase new research and the work and lessons learned of organizations from regions with high rates of this harmful practice that are working to transformnorms around gender and sexuality to advance girls’ rights and freedom.It will highlight findings from two new reports on child marriage and showcase success stories, challenges, and demands for policy-makers and donors to support adolescent girls’ rights. The event is organized by the CEFM and Sexuality Programs Working Group, comprising 12 organisations: American Jewish World Service (AJWS), CARE, CREA, Global Fund for Women, Girls Not Brides: The Globala Partnership to End Child Marriage, GreeneWorks, International Center for Research, on Women (ICRW), International Women’s Health Coalition (IWHC), Nirantar Trust, Plan International, Population Council and Promundo-US.
Today’s young leaders have a significant role to play in implementing the ICPD programme of action, especially in the context of following up on commitments made at ICPD25. This concurrent session is designed as a participatory workshop to equip young people with experiences and tools – including creative means - to translate the SDGs and ICPD PoA into concrete actions, within their own communities and beyond.
Member States & Other Stakeholders Commitment Statements
