Lack of Funds For Cairo Consensus Threatens World's Poverty Reduction, Development Goals, UNFPA Warns

UNITED NATIONS, New York–UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, has warned that lack of resources to fully implement the 20-year Programme of Action of the 1994 Cairo International Conference on Population and Development would lead to substantial increases in maternal, infant and AIDS-related deaths. It could also derail progress towards poverty reduction and development in poor countries.

In Cairo, developed countries agreed to provide an annual $6.1 billion by 2005 for reproductive health, including family planning. But they provided about $3.1 billion in 2003, leaving a gap of some $3 billion. The developing countries mobilized $11.7 billion last year, out of their domestic target of about $12.4 billion. The funding target set at Cairo for both developed and developing countries was $18.5 billion by 2005. This is not being met.

“A world that spends $800 billion to $1 trillion each year on the military can afford the equivalent of slightly more than one day’s military spending to close Cairo’s $3 billion external funding gap to save and improve the lives of millions of women and families in developing countries,” said Thoraya Ahmed Obaid, UNFPA’s Executive Director. "Population and reproductive health, which are central to poverty reduction and development, must be adequately financed. If the funding gap is not closed, it is unlikely that any of the world’s Millennium Development Goals will be met. Even the progress being made may be thrown off track.”

Ms. Obaid is calling attention to the funding gap as the United Nations Commission on Population and Development meets this week in New York to assess progress made during the first 10 years of the Cairo Programme of Action, halfway through its 20-year course. Funding for the Programme is one of the issues the Commission will discuss. Nations will also share experiences in implementing Cairo recommendations.

The Cairo Programme, adopted by consensus by 179 governments on 13 September 1994, reflects countries’ view that the stabilization of world population would contribute significantly to development and that slower population growth could allow communities more time to combat poverty while greatly improving women’s health.

The Programme also calls on all countries to make reproductive health available through the primary health system; help couples and individuals meet their own reproductive needs; prevent maternal deaths, HIV/AIDS and unwanted pregnancies; make family planning services accessible to all; increase life expectancy; and improve the quality of health care.

“The decade since the adoption of the Cairo Programme of Action has been one of substantial progress,” said Ms. Obaid. “A girl born today in most parts of the developing world faces better prospects than her 10-year-old sister. School enrolment rates are increasing, mortality is declining, life expectancy is rising, more and more women and couples are able to choose the number and spacing of their children, and many countries are taking additional steps to confront HIV/AIDS.”

“But let us not look only through rose-coloured glasses,” she cautioned. “The reality is that progress is uneven. At the mid-point of the Cairo Programme of Action, we need the strength and endurance of a marathon runner to meet our goals during the next decade.”

“And there is reason to believe that this strength and endurance can be summoned,” added Ms. Obaid, alluding to strong expressions of national support for Cairo. “All over the world, the overwhelming majority of countries have adopted the Cairo agenda as their own. Governments and citizens have voiced strong support for and reaffirmed the Cairo Programme of Action. From Bangkok to Port-of-Spain, and from Geneva to Santiago, the message has been delivered loud and clear: We want the Cairo agenda and we believe in it.”

Echoing the United Nations General Assembly’s sense of urgency, Ms. Obaid said it was time to implement agreements more vigorously because the international community’s actions could facilitate the free decisions of individuals, which could determine whether fewer women died during childbirth and whether the world would have 8.9 billion or 10.6 billion persons in 2050.

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UNFPA is the world’s largest multilateral source of population assistance. Since it became operational in 1969, the Fund has provided sustained assistance to developing countries to address their population and development needs.

Contact Information:

Abubakar Dungus
Tel.: +1 (212) 297-5031
Email: dungus@unfpa.org