The 1994 ICPD Programme of Action called for achievement by 2015 of universal access to a package of basic reproductive health services and for specific measures to foster human development, with particular attention to women. Now we are halfway there—in time, at least, if not in progress.

By 2004, some governments have made major advances. In the developing world, progress is especially notable in contraceptive use and school enrolment rates. Some governments, however, have made little or no change. Everywhere, much remains to be done.

Where are We Now? By Nada Chaya and Jennifer Dusenberry After ten years, there's good news and bad news in the drive to achieve ICPD goals. Narrowing the gender gap   Improving the status of women is critical to achieving sustainable development. The ICPD Programme of Action advocates programmes and policies that increase women’s participation in government, promote education for girls, and increase employment opportunities for women, among other actions. Meeting health needs   Promoting women’s health and safe motherhood is a key objective of the ICPD Programme of Action—and increasing women’s access to safe, affordable and effective reproductive health care and services is critical. These include family planning information and contraceptives, skilled care at childbirth, safe abortion services in countries where abortion is legal, and HIV/STI prevention, treatment and management. Where to go from here?   While significant progress has been made toward the ICPD goals in many countries, enormous obstacles remain. The ICPD Programme of Action projected in 1994 that if the donor community committed US $5.8 billion by 2001 and US $6 billion by 2004 to sexual and reproductive health care programmes, it would meet a third of the need in developing countries. Those countries themselves would provide the rest.     Measuring Progress By Amy Tsui The International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) in 1994 gave us the Programme of Action as a conceptual map for where we wanted to go in the next 20 years; but as a roadmap, it was much vaguer. How would we know if we were covering any distance on that road? ICPD advocates need milestones to judge the distance travelled on the road to 2015.

View the reproductive risk map A Report Card on Sexual & Reproductive Health & Rights     Report Card Database   These data tables provide a stop-action portrait of where 133 countries stand today on a range of indicators that are ICPD goals and Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The chart also ranks 62 of these countries on their progress over the past decade on a subset of these indicators. Methodology and Data Sources   Promoting women’s health and safe motherhood is a key objective of the ICPD Programme of Action—and increasing women’s access to safe, affordable and effective reproductive health care and services is critical. These include family planning information and contraceptives, skilled care at childbirth, safe abortion services in countries where abortion is legal, and HIV/STI prevention, treatment and management.