Uplift International’s President, Dr. Beth Rivin, and Board Directors, Dr. Marleen Temmerman and Monica Kerrigan, participated in the ICPD25 Summit in Nairobi, Kenya on November 12-14. This significant 25th anniversary conference brought together over 9,500 people from more than 170 countries to discuss the achievements that have been made in population and development since the 1994 Cairo ICPD and support a new agenda for women and girls in the next decade. Bold commitments were made focused on transforming the world by ending all maternal deaths, unmet need for family planning and gender-based violence and harmful practices against women and girls by 2030.
The Summit brought together representatives of the UN, governmental agencies, universities, NGOs, donor organizations and the private sector. ICPD25 was co-convened by the governments of Kenya and Denmark with UNFPA, the United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency. It mobilized more than 1,200 commitments from around the world, including billions of dollars in pledges from public and private sector partners.
Uplift International board member Dr. Marleen Temmerman, who is Professor and Chair of ObGyn at Aga Khan University in Nairobi, coordinated an event at Aga Khan University Hospital that focused on the role of academic institutions in achieving the ICPD25 goals. Dr. Temmerman gave the keynote address and Dr. Beth Rivin moderated two panels. The workshop was extremely successful in stimulating discussion about academic models that support comprehensive sexual and reproductive health and rights in a multidisciplinary fashion.
“The Nairobi Summit on ICPD25 was a massive success,” said Director-General of the Kenya National Council for Population and Development Dr. Josephine Kibaru-Mbae. “But it was only a start. We leave Nairobi with a clear roadmap of actions we must all take to advance the ICPD agenda and transform the world for women and girls.”
“The Nairobi Summit represents a renewed, re-energized vision and community working together to act and deliver. Together, we will make the next ten years a decade of action and results for women and girls, keeping their rights and choices at the centre of everything we do,” said UNFPA Executive Director Dr. Natalia Kanem.