The Cairo Consensus: Population, Development and Women

Abstract

PIP: This review of the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) opens with a general description of the ICPD and states that 4000 delegates from 180 nations produced a 113-page Programme of Action to serve as the blueprint for population programs for the next 2 decades. The ICPD was successful in negotiating its response to abortion and in providing the most sophisticated analytical framework for consideration of population-related issues ever devised. The Programme of Action calls for sustainable development and humanitarian rather than demographic goals and promotes family planning (FP) within the context of reproductive health. One of the most significant achievements of the ICPD was its emphasis on improving the status of women at all stages of their lives. This review of the ICPD continues by describing the preliminary process and what was achieved through the high level of involvement by nongovernmental organizations, the attempts by the Vatican to block consensus on key elements of the draft document, and the effect of strong US support of the ICPD. The Programme of Action itself is then considered with special attention paid to the sections which relate population and environmental issues, the empowerment of women, reproductive and sexual health (including quotations of the section on abortion and the definition of reproductive health), and resource allocation (an estimated $10.2 billion for FP; $5 billion for basic reproductive health services; $1.3 billion for disease prevention; and $500 million for research, data collection, and policy analysis). In conclusion, the ICPD is described as a resounding success. Even the Vatican had to join the consensus on certain portions of the Programme of Action (including the principles and the chapter on gender equity). While it has no force of law, the Programme of Action has political and moral influence; already, some countries have announced significant new financial commitments to population programs. The US has nearly doubled its funding, and USAID is planning new initiatives for adolescents, postabortion care, prevention and treatment of sexually transmitted diseases, and research. The most difficult challenge will be to translate the ICPD goals into programmatic reality. Perhaps the most important achievement of the ICPD is the fact that these issues are now at the forefront of worldwide debate.