A United Nations-organized conference of European population and reproductive health experts wound up in mid-January with a plea to mobilize the funds needed to achieve the goals of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD), which called for gender equality and the universal right to education and development.

The three-day European Population Forum 2004 in Geneva, jointly organized by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), also examined the impact of changing demographic trends in the region.
“Our primary objective must be to protect and save lives and contribute to the conditions under which all people – men, women and children – thrive and lead secure and healthy lives”, UNFPA Executive Director Ms. Thoraya Ahmed Obaid told the closing session. “Stronger political commitment, backed by effective policies grounded in human rights and above all by adequate resources, is the key to realizing our common hopes for humanity”.

More than 350 people took part in the Forum, part of a series of regional meetings marking the tenth anniversary of the ICPD held at Cairo in 1994 (see side-story). The sessions identified lack of adequate resources for population and reproductive health programmes as the primary obstacle to achieving the Cairo objectives, including gender equality and universal access to reproductive health care by 2015.

Participants emphasized the importance of Europe keeping its promises to mobilize resources for population and reproductive health as a key contribution to international development. Annual global assistance for these sectors, they noted, is nearly $3 billion short of the requirements agreed to at Cairo.

Regional issues discussed included persistent low fertility, ageing populations and declining workforces, migration, and high mortality and morbidity. Special attention was given to the social, economic and health challenges facing countries in transition in Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia. Other concerns identified included widespread human trafficking and gender-based violence.
The Forum also called for empowering young people to fully enjoy healthy sexual and reproductive lives as a key priority in a region with rising rates of HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections. It emphasized the need to integrate HIV prevention and treatment fully within reproductive health programmes.
(Source: United Nations News Service, 14 January)