Stakeholders in the world who have been promoting strong commitments to sexual and reproductive health and rights in their countries are gearing up for the upcoming Nairobi summit on ICPD 25 due to take place next week in Nairobi, Kenya from 12th-14th November 2019.
2019, governments commemorate the 25 years of the ground breaking International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD), which first took place in Cairo in 1994. 179 governments adopted a Program of Action, recognizing that reproductive health, women's empowerment and gender equality are the pathway to sustainable development, during the conference.
Despite this commitment, countries especially those in Africa are still facing sexual and reproductive health challenges. In Uganda alone, young people who make up more than 70% of the total population lack adequate counseling, ease access to family planning and reach of HIV/AIDS services as among the packages used to prevent unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections including HIV/AIDS.
Whereas countries are doing their best to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals by 2030, it has been considered worldwide that sexual and reproductive health is central to this agenda – ending poverty, security good health and well-being, realizing gender equality and achieving sustainable communities, among many other goals.
Urgent and sustained efforts to realize reproductive health and rights are crucial and therefore the Nairobi summit on ICPD25 will also be a platform to mobilize critical funding and catalyze commitments, action, and the formation of new partnerships towards sexual and reproductive health and rights.
