Our Commitments
PAI encourages governments to uphold the commitments made at the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD); this historic conference change the way the world considered population growth and sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), moving away from population and numbers towards a rights-based approach. Since this landmark conference in 1994 in Cairo, we have seen great progress made in family planning programs and efforts towards decreasing the rate of unintended pregnancy and maternal and infant deaths. But we still have a long way to go, 2009 marks the 15th anniversary of ICPD and there is work to be done to ensure policies and practices achieve universal access to sexual and reproductive health services.
Adopted by world leaders in 2000, the MDGs have been hailed as “a groundbreaking focal point” that allow international governments to generate understanding of the steps needed toward combating poverty.
But as important as the MDG’s are, there was a missing key component – a recognition and commitment to reproductive health. In 2006, a target was added under MDG 5 to improve maternal health. Listed as MDG 5b, with a goal to achieve universal access to reproductive health care by 2015 it listed a new set of indicators and targets for countries to address reproductive health needs.
PAI supports the new MDG target,and the inclusion of sexual and reproductive health and rights within these goals. In order to meet the MDGs by 2015, it is extremely crucial to ensure that reproductive health needs – both for reducing maternal mortality and ensuring safety of women’s lives – are targeted and advocated for robustly.
PAI supports the Maputo Declaration, which is a result of regional conference in 2004, held in Johannesburg, South Africa. The Maputo Declaration is an important call to action for all Africa countries to significantly improve universal access to comprehensive Sexual and Reproductive Health Services
PAI supports the Glion Call to Action, a consensus achieved in 2004 which focused on the linkage between family planning (a key component of reproductive health) and prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission (PMTCT) (a key component of HIV/AIDS programmes).
PAI believes that better harmonization of donor funding commitments can be achieved and supports the International Health Partnership, an initiative to improve the way international agencies, donors and developing countries can work together to develop and implement country health plans.
PAI supports the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness, an international agreement endorsed in 2005 by over one hundred Ministers, Heads of Agencies and other Senior Officials to adhere and commit their countries and organizations to continue to increase efforts to harmonize, align and manage aid more effectively. For more information on our financing work, check out our “International Policies and Funding”. (Link to PAI’s page on financing work)
PAI recognizes the important work conducted by the UN and its associated bodies, thus we have maintained an active presence at United Nations high-level meetings and commissions to ensure various commitments by international donor governments are upheld. By monitoring decisions and meeting with UN mission delegations, PAI is able to ensure that the advancement of sexual and reproductive health needs and rights of women and children are addressed. Maintaining this presence is incredibly important for PAI to continue advocating for maximum donor country contributions for sexual and reproductive health and rights. Below is a list of UN agencies and commissions that we have monitored and worked with:
- Commission on the Status of Women (CSW): CSW is a functional commission of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), dedicated exclusively to gender equality and the advancement of women.
- Commission on Population and Development (CPD): The CPD is a functional commission that monitors, reviews and assesses the implementation of the Programme of Action, at the national, regional and international levels.
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- 41st Session
- 40th Session
- 39th Session
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- United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM): The UNIFEM provides financial and technical assistance to innovative approaches aimed at fostering women's empowerment and gender equality.
- United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA): UNFPA uses population data to generate policies and programs that reduce poverty and ensure that every pregnancy is wanted, every birth is safe, every young person is free of HIV/AIDS, and every girl and woman is treated with dignity and respect.
- The United Nations Joint Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS):): UNAIDS aims to stop and reverse the spread of HIV by advocating universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support services.
The United Nations General Assembly on AIDS (UNGASS): In 2001, agreements were established in the United Nations General Assembly Special Session (UNGASS) Declaration on the Commitment to HIV/AIDS (DoC) which set goals for implementing commitments to halt and reverse the HIV/AIDS epidemic. A High Level Meeting (HLM) is conducted periodically to review progress; the DoC is a critical international agreement in the fight against HIV/AIDS, the periodic reviews presents a key opportunity for civil society to hold governments accountable for the promises they have made on HIV/AIDS. A five-year review conducted in 2006 at the UNGASS HLM and another review in 2008 both provided opportunities for holding governments accountable.
