The commitments were made during the 25th anniversary of the landmark Program of Action of the International Conference of Population and Development (ICPD) in Nairobi in November 2019.

“I was present at the ICPD 1994 in Cairo to witness 179 member states agree upon the landmark ICPD Program of Action that, for the first time, put individual rights and choices – with special emphasis on sexual reproductive health and rights and choices – at the heart of sustainable development,” said Bjorn Andersson, director of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) for the Asia-Pacific region during a virtual conference on July 9.

The virtual conference, organized by the steering committee of the 10th Asia Pacific Conference on Sexual Reproductive Health (APCRSRH10), UNFPA and Citizen News Service (CNS), was held to commemorate World Population Day, which fell on July 11.

“On July 11, World Population Day, UNFPA aims to raise awareness about the sexual and reproductive health needs and vulnerabilities of women and girls during the pandemic and how we can safeguard hard-fought gains and ensure that SRHR stays on the local agenda,” said Andersson.

In the early days following the coronavirus outbreak, Andersson said, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed hope the crisis would bring countries together to face, what he called, the biggest global public health, economic and humanitarian challenges since World War II.

“But, after several months [of the pandemic], we are seeing grave challenges to achieve this vision, we are witnessing stigma, discrimination, racism and xenophobia manifested in various ways, often dividing society and countries, hindering effective responses to COVID-19,” Andersson said.

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