In a keynote address, the Executive Director of the UNFPA, Dr Natalia Kanem, said the conference provided a unique platform to advance both the SDGs and the ICPD agenda.
He said China’s economic growth and experience in sustainable development were unique in terms of scale, reforms and governance, noting that as the world’s second largest economy, China had experienced an annual growth rate as high as 9.5 per cent over the past four decades.
“There are quite a number of lessons to learn from the Chinese experience, which vividly illustrates the opportunities that can be created by the demographic transition.
If combined with appropriate economic reforms, investment, social development policies and stability, this can be an important source of sustainable economic growth,” Dr Kanem said.
The UNFPA, she said, was currently mounting an ambitious and strategic effort anchored on three zeros: zero unmet need for contraception, zero preventable maternal deaths and zero gender-based violence and harmful practices.
“Like the SDGs, we have set our sights on achieving each of those results by 2030,” she said, adding, however, that “to make progress, we need partnerships at every level that leverage our respective strengths to maximise our collective impact”.
She announced that the UNFPA, together with the governments of Kenya and Denmark, would be convening the Nairobi Summit on ICPD 25 this November to re-energise the global community, breathe new life into the ICPD agenda and sustain and amplify the gains made since 1994.
Progress
The High Commissioner of Canada in Accra, Dr Heather Cameron, observed that although progress had been made on the issues of gender equality and health, rights and the well-being of girls and women, many of those needs and rights remained elusive for far too many people worldwide.
“We need to better understand the needs and gaps in order to deliver programmes and services that reach those most in need, including those in fragile or humanitarian settings or those who are marginalised in their societies,” Dr Cameron urged.
She said Canada was taking action globally to make gender equality a reality for everyone everywhere and reiterated that the Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, announced earlier this month that the government of Canada would raise its funding to reach $1.4 billion annually by 2023 to support women and girls’ health around the world.
South-South cooperation
The Deputy Director-General, Department of International Cooperation, National Health Commission, China, Mr He Zhaohua, noted that Africa and China, combined, formed one-third of the world’s population, hence progress of development in the two areas was critical to the achievement of the SDGs.
For example, he said, because of the size of China’s population, political priority was given to family planning as a vehicle for achieving the development goals of the country.
He stated that China and Africa had collaboration through South-South cooperation and emphasised the need to leverage that to support Africa’s quest for socio-economic development.
In his address, the Minister of Planning, Prof. George Gyan-Baffour, said although the importance of reproductive health had been acknowledged in international agreements, conservative ideology prevented it from receiving global attention.
He said the meeting would outline best practices and present research findings that would provide direction for reaching the targets for the SDG goals in the stipulated time.
