Content
Background
Content
A human right: sexual and reproductive health
A broad concept of sexual and reproductive health emerged at the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) in Cairo in 1994. In Cairo, the international community (represented by more than 180 countries) decided in favour of a key change of direction: from a predominantly population policy-driven approach towards one based on the individual and on universal human rights.
The principles and definitions of the ICPD Programme of Action have lost nothing of their relevance and today still form the basis of international development policy engagement in this field.
At the 1994 conference the participating states recognised just how much a country’s development depends on sexual and reproductive health – and with it gender equality. Since then, the needs and rights of people have been at the forefront of all development efforts.
A broad, human-rights-based approach
Today, the right to the "highest possible level of sexual and reproductive health" is deemed a human right. That comprises the right to decide whether to procreate – free from discrimination, coercion or violence – and women’s right to make autonomous and responsible decisions in respect of their sexuality.
The Cairo conference set specific goals: universal education, reduction of maternal, infant and child mortality, HIV/AIDS prevention and – by 2015 – universal access to appropriate, comprehensive health care.
Such health care includes skilled care for mothers and children, especially during pregnancy and childbirth, as well as family planning services and the prevention of sexually transmitted diseases.
Population and sustainable development
The lack of family planning options means that in many developing countries child and maternal mortality rates, the rate of unwanted pregnancies and population growth are still high.
According to projections, the populations of some countries in Africa and South Asia will double over the next few decades. Demographic factors, such as population growth, a high proportion of young people in the overall population and existing supply bottlenecks will lead to growing demand for contraceptives in the regions concerned. This need must be met, for global sustainable development requires that population growth drop and demographic changes be taken into account. The realisation of sexual and reproductive health and rights is a precondition for and a means of achieving international development goals.
Millennium Development Goals
Many of the goals in the Cairo Programme of Action elaborated at the conference in 1994 were incorporated into the Millennium Declaration in 2000. Four of the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are directly connected with sexual and reproductive health:
-
MDG 3: Promote gender equality and empower women
-
MDG 4: Reduce child mortality
-
MDG 5: Improve maternal health
-
MDG 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases
The promotion of gender equality (MDG 3) and strengthening the role and rights of women also have a significant influence on sexual and reproductive health. The goal of German development policy is therefore to strengthen women’s and girls’ status in society and to enhance their decision-making powers, including their sexual self-determination.
Information
See also
External links
- Website of the United Nations International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) in Cairo
- Implementing the Decisions of the ICPD: 5-year Review and Appraisal of Implementation – Programme of Action (ICPD+5)
- UNFPA information on the ICPD and other major conferences
- German Foundation for World Population (DSW)
