The International Conference on Population and Development was held in Cairo in 1994. More than 180 States - 11,000 participants - took part in negotiations to finalise a Programme of Action (PoA) in the population and development field for the next 20 years. The PoA endorses a new strategy that emphasies the integral linkages between population and development and focusses on meeting the needs of individual women and men, rather than on achieving demographic targets.
The key to this approach is empowering women and providing them with more choices through expanded access to education and health services, skill development and employment, and through their full involvement in policy and decision making processes at all levels. One of the primary goals of the PoA is to make family planning universally available by 2015 as part of a broadened approach to reproductive health and rights. It also includes goals in regard to education, especially for girls, as well as goals to further reduce levels of infant, child and maternal mortality. It addresses issues relating to population, the environment and consumption patterns,; the family; internal and international migration; prevention and control of HIV/AIDS; technology, research and development; and partnership with the non-governmental sector. The PoA provides estimates of the levels of national resources and international assistance required and calls on Governments to make those resources available.
The PoA builds upon the World Population Plan of Action (adopted at the World Population Conference, 1974), recommendations adopted at the International Conference on Population (1984), the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (1992), World Summit for Children (1990) and the World Conference on Human Rights (1993).
The ICPD-PoA is integral to FPAID's international sexual and reproductive health programmes in developing countries.