- ICPD shifted global policy from fertility targets to a comprehensive rights-based approach, placing women and men at the centre of development.
- Sexual and reproductive health recognised as a fundamental human right, ensuring bodily autonomy, informed reproductive choices and non-discriminatory access to care.
- African sustainable development requires reclaiming the ICPD agenda to guarantee quality, accessible services and protect individuals from coercion or violence.
Afr J Reprod Health. 2026 Aug 3;30(14):(Afr J Reprod Health 2026; 30 [14] 11-18).. doi: 10.29063/ajrh2026/v30i14.2.
ABSTRACT
The International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD), held in Cairo in 1994, fundamentally transformed global thinking on population and reproductive health. Moving decisively away from the demographic targets and fertility-reduction strategies that had dominated previous decades, the ICPD Program of Action (PoA) established a comprehensive, rights-based framework that placed women and men – not population numbers – at the centre of development. It recognized sexual and reproductive health as a fundamental human right and affirmed that every individual has the right to attain the highest possible standard of sexual and reproductive health, make informed reproductive choices, enjoy bodily autonomy, and access quality health services without discrimination, coercion or violence.
PMID:42544453 | DOI:10.29063/ajrh2026/v30i14.2
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