At the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) in Cairo, 180 countries reached a landmark consensus on a comprehensive approach to population and development. The Cairo Consensus, reflected in the ICPD Programme of Action, was a remarkable turning point in that governments formally recognized that the health, rights, and well-being of the individual lie at the core of sustainable development. Reproductive rights, including access to quality reproductive health and family planning services, were established as key to this consensus.
To assess progress toward the conference's 20-year plan, the United Nations will hold a series of discussions in 1999: an International Forum in The Hague, Netherlands (February), a special session of the Commission on Population and Development in New York (March), and a UN General Assembly Special Session (June). These meetings will assess how far countries have come in meeting ICPD goals, identify obstacles and gaps in knowledge, and develop key future actions.
This guide to research findings on the implementation of the Cairo Consensus provides delegates, NGO participants, the media, and others with a handy tool for locating some of the many materials published since 1994 on the major issues outlined in the ICPD Programme of Action. The topics included in the guide are: adolescents; aging; migration; mobilizing public and private resources; population, environment, and sustainable development; reproductive health/family planning; reproductive health in emergency situations; reproductive rights/human rights; and the role of the private sector. The guide contains roughly 180 summaries of research, reports, and fact sheets on these topics.
The guide was developed by the Task Force on Communicating Research Findings, as part of the U.S. NGOs in Support of the Cairo Consensus. Nearly 50 research organizations submitted summaries of materials they have produced. This bibliography by no means represents the wealth of research published or undertaken since the ICPD. Many of the organizations represented here, as well as others, have published research findings that could not be included in this bibliography due to space constraints. A full list of participating organizations is included at the end of this guide; we urge you to consult these NGOs and their Web sites for more information.
Although the quantity and quality of research since ICPD has been impressive, substantial gaps in knowledge remain. We see this as one of the challenges to be met during the next phases of work on implementation of the Cairo Consensus. Among the gaps is the need to:
- Explore progress on the status of reproductive rights.
- Understand the linkages between these rights and development, health, population, and other human rights.
- Assess the magnitude of reproductive health problems, particularly maternal health, sexually transmitted infections and reproductive tract infections (STIs/RTIs), abortion and related complications, and to track trends over time.
- Evaluate public and private systems that provide a variety of reproductive health services.
- Conduct biomedical research to develop better means of preventing unintended pregnancies and risks to reproductive health, including STIs/RTIs.
- Learn about sexual experiences of young people as a means to prevent unwanted pregnancy.
- Find ways to involve men in family planning.
- Examine the social challenges of burgeoning aging populations in both industrialized and developing countries.
- Assess the living conditions of migrants and the emergency health needs of refugees.
- Document the links between population, environment, and sustainable development.
We hope you find this guide useful. It demonstrates the commitment that NGOs and governments have to fulfilling the goals of the Cairo Consensus, goals that will not be achieved without sound, high-quality, reliable research to guide policy and program decisions.
Alene H. Gelbard, Population Reference Bureau
Sandra Waldman, Population Council
Co-chairs, Task Force on Communicating Research Findings
Return to Table of Contents.
