Why Is the Cairo Program of Action So Important?
In the 1990’s, women’s organizations from around the world set the stage for dramatic changes in population and development policymaking to include sexual and reproductive health. They opposed the prevailing practices of the time, which emphasized population control through coercive programs driven by demographic goals, and quotas for contraceptive methods.
They argued persuasively that contraception could not legitimately be imposed on poor populations of the world, and that a new approach was required to improve the long-term health and well-being of women and girls. At the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) held in Cairo in 1994, known as the Cairo Conference, these groups rallied the governments of 179 nations to sign a new consensus that stressed the importance of reproductive health, gender equality and women’s empowerment. The document recognized the key role that women’s participation and empowerment play in development.
The agenda laid out at the ICPD was a turning point that permanently changed the ways in which sexual and reproductive health and rights programs operate around the world. It is now widely accepted that the Cairo Consensus is essential for achieving the
Millennium Development Goals, developed in 2000, and used throughout the world as goals for development programs. See Countdown 2015 and
Cairo +10 Global Survey.
The Cairo Difference: The Cairo Consensus was centered around the basic right of individuals to choose if, when, with whom and how often to have children and included expectations on how to protect, promote and fulfill those rights. There was an explicit commitment to prevent coercive birth control measures and other human rights violations for the sake of population control. Women’s empowerment and the promotion of gender equity became essential elements of development efforts and emphasis was placed in involving men in responsible and more equitable ways in family planning and health. A rights-based approach was introduced and programs were urged to look at sexuality and reproduction over the entire life cycle and from perspectives beyond fertility control. The rights of marginalized populations were prioritized.
