History dates back to 1994 where 179 governments from around the world met in Cairo, Egypt for the International Conference on Population and Development and signed the ICPD Programme of Action (PoA).

During the conference, the governments committed to a Programme of Action (PoA) to advance sexual and reproductive health, reproductive rights, women’s empowerment and gender equality – putting the needs and aspirations of individual human beings at the center of sustainable development.

The PoA of the ICPD also reaffirmed that all couples and individuals have the basic right to decide freely and responsibly the number and spacing of their children and to have the information, education and means to do so.

In November 2019, more than 8,000 delegates, representing governments, advocates, health organizations, women’s and youth activists and others, from more than 170 countries, gathered in Kenya for the Nairobi Summit on ICPD25. There, they made some 1,300 clear, concrete commitments to advance the goals of the ICPD and secure the rights and dignity of all.