Over 170 parliamentarians from more than 110 countries are gathering in Oslo this week at a key global conference focusing on how they can help advance the sexual and reproductive health and rights of women and girls and all individuals everywhere. The conference marks the thirtieth anniversary of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) in Cairo - a landmark moment for human rights and gender equality, when 179 governments committed to placing sexual and reproductive health and rights at the core of sustainable development.
The eighth International Parliamentarians' Conference on the Implementation of the ICPD Programme of Action (IPCI), taking place from 10 to 12 April 2024, is being held in Oslo for the first time in recognition of Norway's vital global leadership to empower women and girls around the world. In addition to parliamentarians, it will feature ministers - including the Norwegian Ministers for Development and Equality - United Nations experts, academia, civil society leaders and other stakeholders.
Participants will review progress and ways to revive the ICPD Programme of Action that came into effect in 1994. Parliamentarians are vital advocates for the cause, and have played a critical role in passing laws and mobilizing budgets, both domestically and overseas, that guarantee access to sexual and reproductive health care for those who need it most. With their support, over the past 30 years global maternal mortality has declined by a third, the number of women using modern contraception has doubled, and adolescent births have fallen by a third.
But progress relies on finding innovative financing solutions, donor countries meeting their development assistance commitments and developing countries prioritizing sexual and reproductive health and rights in their domestic policies. Parliamentarians play a crucial role in generating the political leadership to make this happen. Between 2022 and 2030, spending an additional $79 billion on ending the unmet need for family planning and ending preventable maternal deaths would avert 400 million unplanned pregnancies, save 1 million women's lives and generate $660 billion in economic benefits.
In addition to financing, the conference will focus on how countries can manage growing anxieties about population dynamics in a world of 8 billion people; and how to harness the full benefits of technology while minimizing the potential harm to women, girls and vulnerable groups.
The 2024 conference is being hosted by the Norwegian All-Party Parliamentary Group on Sexual and Reproductive Rights and the Global Parliamentary Alliance on Health, Rights and Development, an initiative of the European Parliamentary Forum for Sexual and Reproductive Rights (EPF). EPF and UNFPA are the co-organizers of the conference.
As stated by the organizers:
"We have achieved so much over the past 30 years. Fewer women are dying giving birth, fewer children are being forced into marriage and far more women are using modern contraceptive methods of their choice than ever before. We have also secured laws against domestic violence in more than 160 countries," says UNFPA Executive Director Dr. Natalia Kanem. "Parliamentarians around the world have been instrumental in these achievements, speaking up for those whose voices often go unheard and passing legislation to protect women and girls at home and abroad."
"People-centred development has enabled many gains that are now in danger of being reversed. Today, progress is threatened by multiple crises that are rolling back the rights and choices of women and girls around the world. The COVID-19 pandemic, along with the increasing polarisation of sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), are major factors contributing to the challenges we're facing. Discussing resource mobilisation and creating an enabling environment for SRHR-related issues within our community of parliamentarians is therefore critical to preserving hard-won gains and realising the vision of the ICPD agenda" says EPF President Hon. Petra Bayr.
"I am very much looking forward to welcoming my fellow parliamentarians from all over the world to discuss these very important questions at a time when sexual and reproductive rights are under pressure in many parts of the world," said the President of the Norwegian All Party Parliamentary Group Hon. Åse Kristin Ask Bakke. "I hope that the conference will inspire those who participate to continue to work for increased access to sexual and reproductive rights for all, including in particular vulnerable groups such at young people and minorities."
