World leaders, representatives of non-governmental organizations, young people, business leaders and community groups began unveiling their commitments to end preventable maternal death, meet all women’s demand for family planning, and stop violence against women and girls by 2030.

The commitments are being made during the three-day Nairobi Summit on ICPD25, taking place 25 years after the landmark International Conference on Population and Development, in Cairo, where 179 governments adopted an action plan for women’s empowerment and sexual and reproductive health for all. 

“Since the Cairo ICPD, we have put women and girls at the center of global development. This has paid off time and again. That ICPD vision is still far from reality, and that journey that began 25 years ago in Cairo is far from over,” UNFPA Executive Director Dr. Natalia Kanem said at the start of the summit. “It’s now time to finish that unfinished business.” 

The summit aims to tackle these problems as well as put a stop to gender-based violence, child marriage and female genital mutilation. 

“The bold, rights-based vision of the ICPD – that development must put people first, that attention must be paid to strengthening equal access to health, education, and human dignity for all persons – anticipated the bold, ambitious vision of the 2030 Agenda,” said United Nations Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed. “As critical accelerators for the Sustainable Development Goals, the outcomes of ICPD must be carried forward. The success of the global agenda for sustainable development, our common framework for people, planet, prosperity, peace and partnership, depends on it.” 

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