Global Commitments to International
Family Planning: The U.S. Backtracks
on the “Cairo Agenda”
The Bush Administration first sig-
The Cairo Agenda
Here are some of the Cairo
naled its desire to renegotiate the
In 1994, 179 countries met in Cairo
at the International Conference of
Population and Development (ICPD)
to forge an international commitment
to improving reproductive health and
protecting reproductive rights.The
result was the 1994 Programme of
Action or “Cairo Agenda,” a 20-year
plan to promote sustainable, humancentered development in recognition
of the inextricable link between population and development.A key element of the agenda calls for nations to
devote increased efforts and financial
resources to provide women and their
families access to health care, a clean
environment, education and reproductive freedom.
Agenda’s key provisions:
Cairo Agenda at a U.N.-sponsored
Asian and Pacific Population
Conference in Bangkok, Thailand,
in 2002. At that meeting, the U.S.
delegation forced a vote among
the 30+ Asian country delegations
on the grounds that terms such as
“reproductive health” and “reproductive services” implied abortion.
Asian nations overwhelmingly
rejected their efforts to insert antiNINE GALEN STREET
abortion provisions into the document by 32 to 1. The seven-day
conference was almost completely
SUITE 217
consumed by acrimonious debate,
pitting the American delegation
against Asian countries over abortion, sex education and methods
WAT E R T O W N , M A
of birth control. It is expected that
the Bush Administration will continue its efforts to renege on the
02472-4501 U.S.A.
Cairo Agenda at future regional
meetings around the globe.
(617)924-7200
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W W W. PAT H F I N D . O R G
The year 2004 marks the ten-year
anniversary of the ICPD and the
Cairo Agenda. In 2002, the U.N.
began sponsoring regional meetings
around the world to allow for a formal mid-term review of the progress
made towards the Cairo goals.The
regional meetings also offer participating country delegations the opportunity to renew their commitments to
advance the principles, policies and
promise of Cairo.
Reproductive Rights and Health.
The Cairo Agenda promotes development of universal reproductive services
and family planning programs by 2015,
including services for adolescents. It
encourages nations to provide the
means for women to avoid abortion
through accessible family planning
services and promotes the prevention,
detection and treatment of sexually
transmitted diseases, including
HIV/AIDS.The document establishes
policies and programs that support
comprehensive sexual education and
services based on the need for individual responsibility, the realities of current
behavior, and the prevention of abuse.
Gender Equality, Equity and
Empowerment of Women. The
Cairo agreement recognizes gender
equality as a prerequisite for achieving
sustainable development.The
Programme recommends policies and
programs that promote the full participation of women in political and
public life and eliminate gender discrimination in education and
employment.The agreement also calls
for measures to prevent neglect and
abuse of female children, and to
encourage equal participation of men
in domestic life and reproductive
responsibilities.
Family, Roles, Rights. The agenda
promotes increased earning opportunities for poorer families and greater
compatibility between work and
parental duties. It calls on governments
to develop innovative policies that recognize the changing structure of the
traditional family and that assist families
with health and social disadvantages.
Population Growth and
Structure. Governments are called
upon to balance population growth
rates with economic, social and environmental goals.The agreement
encourages countries to prioritize the
health and development of youth and
to eliminate child marriage.
Health, Morbidity and Mortality.
The Programme calls on governments
to expand the accessibility and affordability of all health care services. By
2015, infant and child mortality rates
should be reduced to 35 and 45 per
1,000 respectively1, and maternal mortality should be cut in half globally.
Population Development and
Education. This section recognizes
education and job training as fundamental components of achieving sustainable development. It encourages
universal access to quality education
and the public promotion of the goals
and ideals of the Cairo agreement.
National Action. Emphasis is placed
on the importance of unified and systematic national action and on the
involvement of policymakers, beneficiaries, and grassroots activists in the
design and implementation of policies
to ensure universal access to quality
family planning services.
International Cooperation. The
Cairo agreement calls on donor countries to increase the level and consistency of their international development assistance.A consensus target of
.7 percent of GNP per donor country
devoted to population and development assistance was reached.
Status of Cairo Agenda
Progress
In 1994, the ICPD made a global
commitment to mobilize $17 billion
annually by the year 2000, and over
$21 billion by 2015, for population
and reproductive health programs.
Ten years later, less than $10 billion
per year has been directed to these
programs.1 The U.S. continues to fall
far short of its commitment.
Despite some improvements in reproductive health in developing countries
since the ICPD, inadequate and limited reproductive health and family
planning services continue to plague
the world’s poorest nations. Over three
million people die every year from
reproductive and sexual health-related
causes. Nearly 600,000 women –
almost all in the developing world –
die annually of pregnancy-related
deaths.Tragically, the vast majority of
these deaths are entirely preventable,
and are most often the result of a
severe scarcity of even the most basic
reproductive health services.
al per-capita costs to donor countries
are negligible, the increased assistance
would have a tremendous impact on
the lives and health of millions in the
developing world.Without the necessary assistance, developing countries
will be unlikely to achieve sustainable
growth, and lasting social, economic
and political stability.
Pathfinder International believes
that donor nations, including the
United States, should live up to the
commitments they made in Cairo at
the 1994 International Conference on
Population and Development (ICPD)
to improve reproductive health and
access to family planning services
worldwide. Family planning programs are one of the great development success stories, but the need for
assistance remains urgent. Donor
nations should fulfill their commitments to multilateral efforts such as
the United Nations Population Fund
(UNFPA) and the Global Fund for
HIV/AIDS,Tuberculosis, and Malaria
(Global Fund).
Pathfinder is a cosponsor of “A
Mother’s Promise The World Must
Keep” Campaign, a campaign devoted
to renewing global commitments to
the Cairo Agenda.At this ten-year
anniversary, Pathfinder reaffirms its
commitment to the goals of the 1994
Cairo Agenda and urges the U.S.
Government to advance the principles, policies and promise of this global agreement.
Communications Consortium Media Center. March 2000.
Summary of the Programme of Action International
Conference on Population & Development (ICPD) Cairo,
5-13 September 1994.
1
Donor countries must meet the funding commitments and goals agreed
upon at the ICPD.While the addition-
April 2004
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