Making the connection: ICPD beyond 2014 and the post MDGS Reducing inequalities in the post 2015 development agenda Prepared for the Consultative Meeting with African Parliamentarians on ICPD and MDGs: Beyond 2014 and Post 2015, Kigali Serena. 26 – 28 September 2012 Diana L. Ofwona, UN Women Regional Director for Central Africa & Agnes Ntibanyurwa, Assistant Resident Representative, UNFPA

Outline Background ICPD and MDG: Looking back ICPD and MDG: how are they linked? The centrality of MDG 3 Family Planning and its contribution to reducing equalities and achieving the MDGs Beyond 2014 and post 2015 development agenda: where to put focus Conclusion

I. Background ICPD and MDG: Looking back ICPD is the International Conference on Population and Development. It was held in Cairo in 1994, where a Programme of Action (PoA) was adopted, by consensus, by 179 countries to improve the quality of life for all people across the world. ICPD - a milestone in the history of population and development, as well as in the history of women's rights. The world agreed that population is not just about counting people, but about making sure that every person counts.

ICPD con’t Consensus was reached that the equality and empowerment of women is a global priority. It approached this not only from the perspective of universal human rights, but also as an essential step towards eradicating poverty and stabilizing population growth. A woman’s ability to access reproductive health and rights is cornerstone of her empowerment. It is also the key to sustainable development.

ICPD Programme of Action 1. Provide universal access to family planning and sexual and reproductive health services and reproductive rights; 2. Deliver gender equality, empowerment of women and equal access to education for girls; 3. Address the individual, social and economic impact of urbanization and migration; 4. Support sustainable development and address environmental issues associated with population changes

The Millennium Development Goals At the Millennium Summit in 2000, the world community was beckoned to commit itself to meeting eight development goals:

Making the connection: ICPD beyond 2014 and the post MDGS Reducing inequalities in the post 2015 development agenda Prepared for the Consultative Meeting with African Parliamentarians on ICPD and MDGs: Beyond 2014 and Post 2015, Kigali Serena. 26 – 28 September 2012 Diana L. Ofwona, UN Women Regional Director for Central Africa

II. ICPD and MDG: how are they linked? Five out of 8 MDGs demonstrate a clear overlap with the ICPD PoA : goal 2: achieve universal primary education; goal 3: promote gender equality and empower women; goal 4: reduce child mortality; goal 5: improve maternal health; and goal6: combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases. Although not similar in scope and function, two other MDGs are also closely linked to the ICPD since they, too, are concerned with population and development issues: (a) goal 1: eradicate extreme poverty and hunger; and (b) goal 7: ensure environmental sustainability, The eighth MDG: global partnership for development) is also reflected in the ICPD PoA. Both declarations recognize the importance of partnerships in achieving development goals.

III. The centrality of MDG 3 In recent reports, OECD, UNESCO, UNDP, the World Bank and ODI all stress the importance of achieving the third MDG (Gender Equality) as a prerequisite to progress on the other MDGs. An OECD research paper (2011) demonstrated that women’s access to resources is strongly co-related with child health outcomes; countries where women lack any right to own land have on average 60% more malnourished children. A similar co-relation was found between levels of discrimination against women and maternal mortality.

IV. Family Planning and its contribution to reducing equalities and achieving the MDGs MDG 1: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger Family planning contributes to alleviating poverty and accelerating socio-economic development. With fewer, healthier children to provide for, families are less likely to become destitute (as they would only have as many children as they could realistically cater for). They are also better able to feed and provide health care for their children, which creates a healthier and more productive workforce that can contribute to overall economic growth of the nation. On the national level, rapid population growth resulting from high levels of unmet needs in FP often outstrips economic growth and undermines a country’s ability to offer adequate educational, health, and other social services to its people.

MDG 2 : Achieve universal primary education Family planning can help ensure that all children go to school. Families are more likely to be able to educate their children if they have smaller families; for example, some girls are forced to drop out of school early to care for younger siblings. Girls and young women may also be forced to leave school early if they get pregnant. MDG 2: Achieve universal primary education/Assurer l’éducation primaire pour tous Target 2.A: Ensure that, by 2015, children everywhere, boys and girls alike, will be able to complete a full course of primary schooling ----to be able also to decide when and whom to marry (and tend to marry later); decide whether or not to use contraceptives; and seek appropriate health services. Educated girls and women have greater levels of self-esteem and receive more respect from others. They are also less likely to be subjected to violence. Women who have completed at least primary education are said to be more likely to be able to negotiate safe sex

MDG 3: Promote gender equality and empower women Family planning promotes gender equality. Women have greater opportunities for education, training, and employment when they can control their fertility. This in turn can increase their financial security, decision-making power in the household and status in the community. MDG 3: Promote gender equality and empower women/Promouvoir l’égalité des sexes et l’autonomisation des femmes Target 3.A: Eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary education, preferably by 2005, and in all levels of education no later than 2015 Women’s ability to decide freely the number and timing of children is key to their empowerment and expanded opportunities for work, education and social participation. This is often limited by early marriage and childbearing, discrimination against pregnant girls and lack of access to family planning.

MDG 4: Reduce child mortality Family planning can reduce infant mortality by one-fifth to one-third or even more in some settings. Spacing births 36 to 60 months apart reduces malnutrition as well as neonatal and infant mortality. Infant and child mortality are highest for the youngest mothers and after closely spaced births Frequent births reduces the provision of quality care to children MDG 4: Reduce child mortality/Réduire la mortalité des enfants de moins de 5 ans Target 4.A: Reduce by two-thirds, between 1990 and 2015, the under-five mortality rate Babies born to adolescents face higher mortality rates than those born to older women. Empowering adolescent girls to delay pregnancy can prevent many newborn deaths. Educated mothers are more likely to be able to administer treatments at home that can save children’s lives and to recognize when their children need health services

MDG 5 : Improve maternal health Family planning reduces maternal mortality in three ways: It decreases the total number of pregnancies, each of which places a woman at risk. It prevents pregnancies that are unwanted and hence more likely to end in unsafe abortions, which contribute to one in eight maternal deaths. It reduces the proportion of births that are at greater risk of complications because of the mother’s age, parity, or birth spacing. MDG 5: Improve maternal health/Améliorer la santé maternelle Cible 5A: Réduire de trois quarts, entre 1990 et 2015, Target 5.A: Reduce by three quarters, between 1990 and 2015, the maternal mortality ratio 5.1 Maternal mortality ratio 5.2 Proportion of births attended by skilled health personnel Target 5.B: Achieve, by 2015, universal access to reproductive health 5.3 Contraceptive prevalence rate 5.4 Adolescent birth rate 5.5 Antenatal care coverage (at least one visit and at least four visits) 5.6 Unmet need for family planning when their children need health services

MDG 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases Family planning can slow the spread of HIV/AIDS. Condom use simultaneously provides higher chances of preventing HIV transmission and unwanted pregnancy. Contraceptives also enable HIV-positive women to prevent unwanted pregnancies. MDG 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases/Combattre le VIH/sida, le paludisme et d’autres maladies Target 6.A: Have halted by 2015 and begun to reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS Target 6.B: Achieve, by 2010, universal access to treatment for HIV/AIDS for all those who need it Target 6.C: Have halted by 2015 and begun to reverse the incidence of malaria and other major diseases

MDG 7: Ensure environmental sustainability Family planning can indeed help protect the environment by reducing population growth and thus reducing the pressures it places on natural resources, including arable land, fresh water, fuel, etc. The world’s population reached 7 billion on 31 October 2011, with the ensuing consequences on the environment and other resources. Environment MDG 7: Ensure environmental sustainability/Assurer un environnement durable Target 7.A: Integrate the principles of sustainable development into country policies and programmes and reverse the loss of environmental resources Target 7.B: Reduce biodiversity loss, achieving, by 2010, a significant reduction in the rate of loss Target 7.C: Halve, by 2015, the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation Target 7.D: By 2020, to have achieved a significant improvement in the lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers Considering the current growth rate of 2.7%, Rwanda population will most likely to double by 2022 If no measures are taken, the population will be about 21.5 million by 2035. Meeting the family planning unmet need would save lives, advance human rights and reduce population growth by about 28 per cent. Other statistics on Africa show that the continent will soon pass 1 billion people. The world population prospects projects Africa to exceed 1.7 billion by 2050. This makes it the fastest growing continent and Africa's rapid population growth will also shift the global population balance. 

MDG 8: Develop a global partnership for development Sustainable access to effective essential drugs and medicines is a problem for women and men in many parts of the world. Global partnerships can help to secure adequate supplies of essential reproductive health drugs and commodities for poor countries (including contraceptives, testing kits and treatments for HIV and other STIs). MDG 8: Develop a Global Partnership for Development/Mettre en place un partenariat mondial pour le développement Target 8.A: Develop further an open, rule-based, predictable, nondiscriminatory trading and financial system Includes a commitment to good governance, development and poverty reduction – both nationally and internationally Target 8.B: Address the special needs of the least developed countries Includes: tariff and quota free access for the least developed countries‘ exports; enhanced programme of debt relief for heavily indebted poor countries (HIPC) and cancellation of official bilateral debt; and more generous ODA for countries committed to poverty reduction Target 8.C: Address the special needs of landlocked developing countries and small island developing States (through the Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States and the outcome of the twenty-second special session of the General Assembly) Target 8.D: Deal comprehensively with the debt problems of developing countries through national and international measures in order to make debt sustainable in the long term Target 8.E: In cooperation with pharmaceutical companies, provide access to affordable essential drugs in developing countries Target 8.F: In cooperation with the private sector, make available the benefits of new technologies, especially information and communications

V. ICPD Beyond 2014 and Post 2015 Member states have already called for a special event to be held in 2013 to take decisions on a post 2015 (during the 68th session of the General Assembly to follow up the 2010 MDG summit). (In Claire Melamed, ODI. 2012) – The key question beyond ICPD 2014 and post 2015 is whether the new agreement to be reached, will again be about tackling extreme poverty or whether it will be about defining , measuring and giving incentives for progress on development in a broader sense which encompasses all countries and people.

ICPD Beyond 2014 and Post 2015 contd… One way forward is to refocus on inequalities as a new development framework that closely reflect the realities of poverty and the factors that drive it. Addressing particular inequalities directly would be more likely to lead to a greater focus on the dynamics of power and exclusion, which underlie poverty. It also makes sense in that it is the one stumbling block to sustainable development. In instances where the universal targets of the MDGs and the objectives of the ICPD have been met, an agreement could extend to addressing broader inequalities and relative poverty. (Focusing on, for example, narrowing gaps in educational attainment and health outcomes between groups.

CONCLUSION Progress has been achieved both with respect to the ICPD and the MDGs. Beyond 2014 and post 2015, discussion should focus on reviewing what worked and what did not work in ICPD and MDGs Carrying forward new and lingering issues that need further reflection e.g. inequality, climate change, food and energy security, environmental degradation, demographic trends, youth, peace and security and good governance. The Millennium Declaration remains relevant beyond 2014 and post 2015.

THANK YOU