International Conference on Population and Development – ICPD

The 1994 International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) marked a shift in how population issues were addressed by the United Nations system. Meeting in Cairo, Egypt, the ICPD adopted the Programme of Action, which emphasizes the integral linkages between population and development and focuses on meeting the needs of individual women and men, rather than on achieving demographic targets. The Programme of Action also focuses on the fundamental role of women’s interests in population matters and introduced the concepts of sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights. A new definition of population policy was advanced, giving prominence to reproductive health and the empowerment of women.