Call to Action as Thousands Breathe New Life to the Cairo Promise at ICPD 25 Summit in Nairobi This Week

Gender equality and women empowerment at the heart of ICPD25. Credit: Joyce Chimbi / IPSBy Joyce ChimbiNAIROBI, Kenya, Nov 11 2019 (IPS) Every day 830 women die while giving life. At least 33,000 girls are forced into child marriage with 11,000 girls undergoing female genital mutilation. These are some of the cruel realities young women face every day. However, there is renewed hope that delegates expected to attend the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) in Nairobi this week will re-energise and breathe new life to the Cairo Promise. “The Summit is a call to action to accelerate progress towards the world we imagined in 1994,” Arthur Erken, one of the three co-chairs of the International Steering Committee of the Nairobi Summit, tells IPS. He emphasises that the magic of the first ICPD conference is in the paradigm shift from “a numbers-driven approach to development to placing people, their needs and aspirations, at the heart of sustainable development”. Erken says this summit is, therefore, a call to action to countries and partners to fulfil the Cairo Promise by making concrete commitments towards achieving the ICPD goals. Unfulfilled promises and Re-energising the global community Co-hosted by the governments of Kenya, Denmark and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the Nairobi Summit takes place on the 25th anniversary of the ground-breaking 1994 International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD). Arthur Erken says...
Source: IPS Inter Press Service - Health - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: Tags: Africa Civil Society Conferences Development & Aid Economy & Trade Education Featured Gender Gender Violence Global Headlines Health Human Rights Population Sustainability TerraViva United Nations Women's Health ICPD25 Source Type: news