Accelerating our commitments to women and girls
In 2019, the world marked the 25th anniversary of the landmark International Conference on Population and Development at the Nairobi Summit on ICPD25. On the road to Nairobi, we asked: What’s Changed?
The answer: A lot. But we have much more to do. We must accelerate action to realize all of the ICPD Programme of Action’s bold commitments to women and girls, even as we adapt to new realities like COVID-19.
In a global series of thought leadership conversations on the ICPD25 and the Nairobi Commitments, “What’s Next? Accelerating action to meet our commitments to women and girls,” UNFPA will bring together global leaders and opinion shapers in a spirit of global collaboration and collective action to map the best, most innovative strategies for sustained progress for women and girls amid the pandemic and to ensure reproductive health and rights for all!
On 10 June, the What’s Next? global conversation series was kick off with a discussion on “Strengthening health systems responses to gender-based violence: Ensuring continuity of essential health services and promoting equality and rights”.
COVID-19 has placed immense burden on health systems including frontline health workers, 70% of whom are women. When health systems are under stress, already existing gender inequalities that impact women and girls are further exacerbated: they are less likely to have access to the care they need, they are less likely to have their symptoms taken seriously by doctors and they may be at risk for violence in their homes or in the workplace.
