Key highlights from global review of ICPD + 20

Countries have written and submitted reports to African Union. The meeting tagged ‘Harnessing the Demographic Dividend: the Future We Want for Africa’ will hold from 30 September – 4th October 2013 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The conference will provide an opportunity for member States to:1.    Consider the draft report and recommendations of the regional review […]

Countries have written and submitted reports to African Union. The meeting tagged ‘Harnessing the Demographic Dividend: the Future We Want for Africa’ will hold from 30 September – 4th October 2013 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
The conference will provide an opportunity for member States to:
1.    Consider the draft report and recommendations of the regional review of the ICPD PoA for Africa. (International Conference for Population and Development Programme of Action)
2.    Consult and agree on the linkages between the outcomes of the Africa regional review and the post-2015 development agenda.
3.    Adopt a common position to contribute to the ICPD Beyond 2014 Global Review.
Although member states of AU had submitted specific reports on progress detailing events and actions since 1994 when the conference took place in Cairo, a global report was released in June 2013 tagged Global Review of ICPD + 20. It is pertinent to share key highlights of the global report before I write on Nigeria.
The global report observed that the world of ICPD in 1994 looks comparatively simple when viewed from 2014. Between 1990 and 2010 the number of people living in extreme poverty fell by half as a share of the total population in developing countries (from 43% to 21%), a reduction of almost 1 billion people. And also observed that deaths due to HIV/AIDS epidemic have had devastating consequences for families and the productive workforce across Africa and Asia. And demographic transition associated with declining fertility and mortality levels has caused unprecedented changes in global population size, age structure and spatial distribution.
The report was as a result of the ICPD Beyond 2014 Global Survey in 176 member states and 7 territories and areas, representing all regions. Data on health outcomes, population change, wealth, and education are based on evidence reported by countries through censuses, household surveys (e.g. DHS, MICS), and UN-based surveillance systems (WHO; UNAIDS; UNICEF); and enriched by analyses drawn from technical reports commissioned as part for the ICPD Beyond 2014 Global Review.
Dignity
1.    Globally, an overwhelming majority of countries, 93.1% remain committed to the eradication of poverty with special attention to income generation and employment opportunities.
2.    Nearly all countries recognize the importance of women’s full participation in the formal and informal economy. There is need for concrete measures to translate these aspirations into measurable goals.
3.    The majority of countries recognize the importance of addressing the needs of rural women and improving the welfare of the girl child in regards to health, nutrition, and education.
4.    While attitudes towards gender based violence, including wife beating and intimate partner violence appear to be improving, evidence shows that this remains a serious challenge, with an estimated one in three women having been beaten. This massive violation of human rights of women and girls, one of the most prevalent forms of human rights violation worldwide, continues to be driven by social attitudes or perception of the relative value of women to men and socialization of male children in society.
5.    Demographic changes in the past decades have led to the largest generation of youth in the world today. Reaping the benefits of the youth bulge depends on the commitment, policies and programmes to train and enhance the human capital of young people to ensure that they have the capabilities to spur social and economic innovation.
Health
1.    Of all the key areas of the ICPD agenda, the greatest success has been in the reduction of maternal mortality by 47% since 1994. However, with 800 women dying each day from pregnancy or pregnancy-related complications especially in developing countries, there is urgent need for governments to take responsive measures related to improved ante-natal care, improved skilled-birth attendance, emergency obstetric care, family planning/reduction in unwanted pregnancies, reduced abortion-related deaths due to improved technologies and increased use of the WHO guidelines for safe abortion and post-abortion care and greater access to safe abortion. The evidence shows that higher government commitments result in a steeper decline in MMR, most notably in low-income countries.
2.    While unmet need for modern methods of contraception declined by approximately 10% since 1994 in some parts of the world (West Africa), 36% of reproductive age women have unmet needs-this means that more than 1/3 of women are not protected from unwanted pregnancies.
3.    Countries are far from achieving the ICPD commitment in preventing unwanted pregnancies and eliminating the need for abortion.
4.    The 40% increase in STIs since Cairo is a major cause for concern and requires urgent focus and concerted action on inexpensive and accurate rapid diagnostic tests (RDT), information and education and the diagnosis and treatment of men.
5.    The progress achieved in reducing mother-to-child transmission of HIV and in extending the lives of PLWA and through anti-retroviral treatment, testifies to the potential of delivering care even within fragile health systems with adequate mobilization of political and fiscal commitments by governments and with the support of the global community.
6.    Prevention of new HIV infections depends to a considerable extent on behavioral change. The effectiveness of approaches to causing such change has differed from region to region.     
7.    The global survey found that three quarters of countries were committed to age appropriate sexuality education within schools with 69% supporting life-skills training for young people through formal education. However, less than half the countries committed to reaching out of school youth with sexual and reproductive health information.

All comments to Dr Aminu Magashi at [email protected]