Ministers Jackson Mthembu and Lindiwe Zulu participate in International Conference on Population and Development Summit, 12 to 14 Nov

South African Delegation to attend the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD25) Summit in Nairobi, Kenya

The delegation of the Government of the Republic of South Africa, headed by the Minister in The Presidency, Mr Jackson Mthembu and the Minister of Social Development, Ms Lindiwe Zulu will participate in the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD25) Summit, scheduled to take place from 12-14 November 2019 in Nairobi, Kenya.

The Summit under the theme: “Accelerating the Promise”, seeks to galvanise change and mobilise both political will and financial commitment to push forward the unfinished business of the ICPD Programme of Action, as well as build momentum for the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. 

During the Summit, the delegation will underscore South Africa’s commitment to consolidate achievements on gender equality through the empowerment of women and girls across South Africa with initiatives that include preventing and addressing gender-based violence and femicide, improving women’s economic security, expanding access to education and the rolling out of the universal health coverage, amongst others.

The South African delegation will include government officials from the Departments of Social Development, Health, International Relations and Cooperation, Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation, Basic Education, Statistics South Africa, representatives of civil society organisations and academia. Together, the delegation will work collaboratively to advance South Africa’s national position that is consistent with the human rights based approach as articulated in the Bill of Rights of the Constitution.

Minister Zulu and the members of the delegation will host and participate in a number of side events and meetings during the Summit. This includes South Africa hosting a panel discussion on the National Development Plan, harnessing the demographic dividend, South-South Cooperation, the National Health Insurance (NHI), integrated school health programme, life orientation curriculum, including sexuality and gender education in school.

The delegation will also undertake bilateral discussions with their regional and international counterparts and discuss possible areas of collaborations on population and development issues in the context of South-South Cooperation.

The Government of the Republic of South Africa remains committed to ensure the full implementation of the ICPD Programme of Action and Sustainable Development Goals, both of which have been domesticated through the Population Policy and the National Development Plan (Vision 2030).

One of the most progressive outcomes of the ICPD Programme of Action is that it shifted the focus of population policy and programmes from human numbers to focus more on improving human lives and increasing respect for human rights.

The Programme of Action also recognises that reproductive health and rights, as well as women’s empowerment and gender equality, are the cornerstones of population and development programmes. 

The Summit programme will cover the following thematic areas:

  1. Universal access to sexual and reproductive health and rights as part of universal health coverage.
  2. Financing required to complete the ICPD Programme of Action, and to sustain the gains made.
  3. Drawing on demographic diversity to drive economic growth and achieve sustainable development.
  4. Ending gender-based violence and harmful practices.
  5. Upholding the right to sexual and reproductive health care even in humanitarian and fragile contexts.

Members of the media interested in covering or following South Africa’s participation at the Nairobi ICPD Summit can liaise with Ms Nomfundo Lentsoane on 066 480 6845 or e-mail: NomfundoLe@dsd.gov.za.

Registration for the Summit is officially closed.

Enquiries:  
Lumka Oliphant
Cell: 083 484 8067
E-mail: LumkaO@dsd.gov.za

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