PRESS
RELEASE
The ICPD+5 review
process
Dhaka Round Table to
Examine Civil Society Involvement
in Carrying out the ICPD
Programme of Action
DHAKA, Bangladesh, 24 July 1998 (UNFPA) – A wide range of
civil society partners -- including non-governmental organizations
(NGOs), community groups and religious leaders, among others -- must
be involved along with governments in designing, implementing and
monitoring programmes relating to reproductive health, population
and development; this was one of the key agreements reached at the
1994 International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD)
in Cairo.
An international round-table meeting, to be held at the Dhaka
Sheraton Hotel from 27-30 July, will examine the role of civil
society in implementing the ICPD Programme of Action.
Convened by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and hosted
by the Government of Bangladesh, the "Round Table on Partnership
with Civil Society in the Implementation of the ICPD Programme of
Action" is part of "ICPD+5", a series of international activities
reviewing progress since the 1994 Cairo conference. The meeting will
discuss programme experiences and policy changes made by countries
to involve civil society in carrying out the ICPD action plan,
identify successes and constraints, and recommend key future actions
to accelerate progress.
The ICPD Programme of Action notes that NGOs are rightly
recognized for their comparative advantage in relation to government
agencies because of their innovative, flexible and responsive
programme design and implementation, including grassroots
participation. They are quite often based in and interact with
constituencies that are poorly served and hard to reach through
government channels. With the ICPD’s adoption of a broad
reproductive health agenda, and its goals of universal access to
reproductive health care, the potential role of non-governmental
groups in service delivery was also widened considerably.
The Programme of Action explains the basis for stronger
partnerships with NGOs and the private sector. NGO involvement, it
states, should complement government efforts to provide full, safe
and accessible reproductive health services, including those for
family planning purposes.
The round table will be attended by the representatives of
governments, NGOs and other civil society groups from about 40
developed and developing countries, as well as those of academic and
research institutions and UN agencies.
The opening plenary will hear addresses by the Speaker of
Parliament of Bangladesh, Mr. Humayun Rashid Chowdhury; the Minister
of Health and Family Welfare, Mr. Janab Salahuddin Yusuf; and UNFPA
Executive Director Dr. Nafis Sadik, among others.
The 4-day meeting will then break into sessions devoted to
particular topics. They include the following: an overview session
on Partnership With Civil Society to Implement the ICPD Programme of
Action; Partnership to Create An Enabling Environment for the
Implementation of the Programme of Action (28 July); Social
Mobilization to Promote and Implement the Programme of Action (29
July); Partnership for Capacity Strengthening, Accountability,
Coalition Building and Financial Stability (29 July); and
Partnership to Promote Full Access to as well as High Quality and
Full Range of Services for Reproductive Health, including Family
Planning and Sexual Health (30 July).
The meeting will also feature panel discussions on related
themes. On Thursday, 30 July, the four working groups will produce a
summary report with recommendations for future actions.
As part of the ICPD +5 process, UNFPA is sponsoring a series of
round-table discussions and technical meetings, leading up to an
international forum on ICPD implementation, to be held in February
1999 in The Hague, the Netherlands. Forum participants will include
governments, parliamentarians, academics, foundations, and
representatives of civil society including NGOs and the private
sector from more than 100 countries.
The report on the Round Table on Partnership with the Civil
Society will be consolidated, along with those from other round
tables and technical meetings, into a document for review by The
Hague Forum and as background material for the Secretary-General’s
report to a Special Session of the UN General Assembly, in June and
July 1999.
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