Background

Convened by the United Nations, the International Conference on Population and Development was held in Cairo, Egypt in 1994, and “consider{ed} the broad issues of and interrelationships between population, sustained economic growth and sustainable development, and advances in the education, economic status and empowerment of women”, and was “explicitly given a broader mandate on development issues than previous population conferences, reflecting the growing awareness that population, poverty, patterns of production and consumption and the environment are so closely interconnected that none of them can be considered in isolation.

Population is linked to the full range of development concerns including poverty alleviation, women's empowerment and environmental protection. The conference therefore focused on population, sustained economic growth and sustained development, with special emphasis on women's health, education and status. Delegations from 179 States took part to finalize a Programme of Action (PoA) for the next 20 years which addresses a wide range of population and development themes until 2015 and beyond.

The ICPD PoA sets a framework for the development of more than a dozen key issues of which one was reproductive rights and reproductive health.

This SRHR section focused attention on 5 key issues:

A: Reproductive rights and reproductive health

B: Family planning

C: Sexually transmitted diseases and HIV prevention

D: Human sexuality and gender relations

E: Adolescents

The ICPD PoA includes goals to significantly reduce infant, child and maternal mortality and to expand access to education, specifically for girls.

The Africa Common Position on ICPD+ Consultative Meetings

In response to the ICPD PoA, the African Union Commission (AUC), AIDS Accountability International (AAI) and the African Population Commission (APC) are working together to develop the African Common Position Paper on ICPD+ by means of Consultative Meetings in Johannesburg and Dakar in 2012.

The meeting will include presentations from key experts on SRHR and ICPD in Africa, discussions and debates on what is required from the ICPD Beyond 2014, and in so doing all content will contribute to the development of an African Common Position Paper on ICPD+. This position paper will highlight the status of the African population, as well as identify challenges and successes. Recommendations will also be developed that pave the way for achieving the goals related to ICPD PoA and ultimately the MDGs related to SHRH.

See the programme here: AAI African Common Position on ICPD+ Invitation.

Dates

The Africa Common Position on ICPD consultative meetings are expected to take place on

• 23rd-24th October in Johannesburg, South Africa and
• 30th-31st October, 2012 in Dakar, Senegal.

Participants

The workshops will bringing a number of stakeholders from the APC, AUC, Regional Economic Communities (RECs); Bi-lateral and Multi-lateral partners; Civil Society including women, youth and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people (LGBT).

Working Documents

• Africa’s Common Position Paper

• The State of Africa Population: Demographic Dividends

Languages

Translations of the final documents will be in the four AUC working languages (English, French, Portuguese and Arabic). Interpretation and translation for the African Common Position on ICPD meeting will be based on demand by participants.

Contact Information

Bob Mwiinga Munyati

Researcher

AIDS Accountability International

Email: bob [@] aidsaccountability.org