UNFPA MEETING NEXT WEEK REVIEWS PROGRESS ON ADOLESCENT PRODUCTIVE HEALTH CARE, SEX EDUCATION, AND REDUCING TEEN PREGNANCY
Press Release
POP/668
UNFPA MEETING NEXT WEEK REVIEWS PROGRESS ON ADOLESCENT PRODUCTIVE HEALTH CARE, SEX EDUCATION, AND REDUCING TEEN PREGNANCY
19980409 (Reissued as received.)NEW YORK, 9 April (UNFPA) -- The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) will convene an international round-table meeting from 14 to 17 April to discuss progress made since the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) in Cairo in addressing adolescent reproductive and sexual health needs and in reducing levels of teenage pregnancy.
The round table is the first in a series of international events that are part of the "ICPD+5" process, which consists of activities connected with a five-year review of progress made in implementing the 1994 Cairo Programme of Action and to make recommendations for the future.
The meeting will review the achievements, programme experiences and policy changes made by countries in response to the reproductive and sexual health needs of adolescents since the Cairo Conference.
The Programme of Action called on countries, with the support of the international community, to "protect and promote the rights of adolescents to reproductive health education, information and care". It also urged governments, in collaboration with non-governmental organizations (NGOs), to "meet the special needs of adolescents and to establish appropriate programmes to respond to those needs".
Hosted by the Ford Foundation at its headquarters at 320 East 43rd Street in New York, the round-table meeting, "Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights: Assessing the Impact of ICPD", will examine lessons learned, success stories and constraints faced by countries in implementing the ICPD recommendation on adolescents.
The meeting will be attended by government representatives, and NGOs from developing and developed countries, foundations, experts on adolescent reproductive health, academic and research institutions and United Nations agencies.
The four-day meeting will be broken into sessions devoted to particular topics: promoting an enabling environment for adolescent reproductive health (Tuesday, 14 April); a special session on adolescent pregnancy prevention with
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UNFPA Executive Director Nafis Sadik and Jane Fonda of the Georgia Campaign on Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention (15 April); health promotion (15 April); providing youth friendly services (16 April); and innovative approaches to involve youth in adolescent reproductive health projects (17 April).
The meeting will also feature panel presentations on a wide array of related subjects, including the following: teen concerns and how young people make choices; the reproductive health needs of adolescents; sexual and reproductive health education; promoting gender sensitivity and sexuality education in and out of schools; strengthening reproductive health services and sexual education for adolescents; involving the community in adolescent reproductive health programmes; and the role of parents and the extended family in adolescent reproductive health.
On Friday, 17 April, working groups will produce a summary report with recommendation for future actions.
As part of the ICPD+5 process, the UNFPA is sponsoring a series of events, including technical meetings and round-table discussions on selected subjects, as well as an international forum on ICPD implementation, to be held in February 1999 in the Netherlands. Forum participants will include governments, parliamentarians, academics, foundations, and representatives of civil society, including NGOs and the private sector from more than 100 countries.
The ICPD+5 process will conclude with a special session of the United Nations General Assembly from 30 June to 2 July 1999, which will review and appraise the implementation of the Programme of Action.
The report of next week's round table will be consolidated, along with those from other round tables and technical meetings, into a document for review by the international forum and as background material for the Secretary-General's report to the special session.
An Internet "virtual press office", at www.presspack.com, will provide daily coverage of the round-table meetings. This service was specifically designed for journalists who wish to follow the day-by-day proceedings of the round table.
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