Next year marks the five-year anniversary of the Cairo International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD), at which governments around the world made a historic commitment to a more comprehensive approach to population and development issues.

The Programme of Action agreed to at the ICPD called for a distinct shift in global thinking. Marking a departure from a relatively single-minded focus on stabilizing population growth through family planning services, the Programme articulated the complex links between macro population issues and women's rights, health, and empowerment. Reproductive health care, coupled with other measures to improve women's health and quality of life, were recognized as crucial building blocks to alleviate rapid population growth and global poverty.

Upcoming Activities

As the program's five-year review approaches, AVSC is working in conjunction with other nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) to increase the visibility of and promote the issues raised by the ICPD agenda.

On December 2, AVSC hosted a planning meeting in which participating NGOs shared their plans and generated strategies for increasing public and governmental support for the Cairo agenda. AVSC will be participating in the efforts to build and sustain the momentum necessary to follow through on the Cairo agenda. Several upcoming events will help to determine the impact of the original Programme, including four United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)-sponsored roundtable discussions on reproductive health issues, an NGO forum, and a review of compliance with the Programme by the United Nations General Assembly.

Lindsay Beller is a public affairs assistant at AVSC.