On May 17th-18th, 2023 we invited APA members and partners around the region for Strengthening the ICPD Ecosystem for Advocacy in the Asia Pacific. The strategic meeting was organized in partnership with RFSU to discuss CSO space, challenges, and strategies to mobilize support for the realization of the International Conference on Population and Development Programme of Action (ICPD PoA) in the region. The ICPD PoA is revolutionary in that it recognized gender equality and sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) as cornerstones of population development programmes and goals for the first time. Read more about the ICPD PoA here.
"The ICPD was revolutionary because it was the first international agreement to truly recognize human rights and SRHR as integral to sustainable development."
- Alexa Johns, ED of APA
The strategic meeting gave us the opportunity to reflect on the current landscape of SRHR in the Asia Pacific region. We collectively identified common challenges we face during our advocacy work while sharing lessons learned from the recent 2023 Commission on Population and Development (CPD), and the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW). We further discussed strategies leading up to regional and international fora and conferences, namely the 7th Asian Pacific Population Conference and the ICPD 30. As an outcome of the meeting, APA members and partners developed a five-year joint roadmap to advance gender equality, sustainable development, and SRHR. The roadmap included strategies to mobilize policies and legislations as well as strategies for collaboration and movement building to accelerate SRHR in the region.
