Victoria Falls Declaration to promote sexual reproductive health and rights
Story by Abigirl Tembo, Health Editor
MORE than 30 partners who attended the just-ended Population and Development Conference have adopted the 20th edition of the International Inter-Ministerial Conference on South-South and Triangular Co-operation in Population and Development ended in Victoria Falls this Tuesday with a declaration that will be a practical tool for member countries to achieve health-related sustainable development goals.
“We, the delegates of the Inter-Ministerial Conference,
1. Reaffirm the principle of the SSC our commitments made at the Nairobi Summit on ICPD25 in 2019, the UN High-Level Meeting on South-South Cooperation in 2023, the 2023 SDG Summit, and the preceding IIMC meetings on SSTC in population and reproductive health, to achieve the goals of the ICPD and SDGs (the Sustainable Development Goals).
2. Reaffirm our commitments to achieve the three zeros, —zero unmet need for family planning, zero preventable maternal deaths and zero gender-based violence and harmful practices.
3. Reaffirm the national commitments made by the 173 governments represented in the Nairobi Summit, including 27 PPD member states in the following five areas: universal access to sexual and reproductive health; financial resources to finish the ICPD Program of Action; demographic diversity to drive economic growth and achieve sustainable development; gender-based violence and the harmful practices of child, early and forced marriages including female genital mutilation; and right to sexual and reproductive health in humanitarian and fragile settings,” said Executive Director of National Population Council (NPC), Ghana, Dr. Leticia Adelaide Appiah.
Health and Child Care Minister Dr Douglas Mombeshora spoke on the need for member countries to uphold sexual reproductive health rights.
“This conference has been very successful as we managed to come up with declarations. We also shared notes on how we can ensure that we have zero maternal deaths. I would like to thank everyone who attended this conference as we track our progress with regard to sexual reproductive health,” he said.
The Victoria Falls Declaration also acknowledged how the Covid-19 pandemic severely affected young people and the need to meet adolescent reproductive health care services.
