In spite of the gains, there are marked
deficiencies in implementation, and Africa has realized the least progress in
most ICPD and related MDG indicators. High levels of maternal mortality, poverty,
social inequities, disease burden from both infectious and non-communicable
diseases, low levels of schooling, low status of women, limited access to SRHR
information and services, and the underfunded health sector remain major
barriers to socioeconomic development in Africa. The situation is compounded by
the region’s rapid population growth, adverse effects of global warming, civil
conflicts, and limited accountability in use of public financial and natural
resources.
We
reaffirm the continued relevance of the ICPD PoA in the post 2015 development
agenda. We call upon African governments
and development partners to urgently
demonstrate political will and commitment to the ICPD agenda by mobilizing
financial resources and enabling implementation of interventions to address the
continent’s population and development challenges.
Actions
must be guided by: Human Rights principles, integrity,
transparency and accountability, inclusiveness, and strong partnerships
with the private sector, CSOs and communities.
We
make the following recommendations along four thematic areas:
1. Human Security, Environment and Population Mobility
1.1 Intensify
peace-building, conflict prevention and resolution mechanisms within countries
and across borders in order to tackle recurring conflicts and preserve human
dignity and livelihoods through increased involvement of communities, women,
and youth.
1.2 Enhance
provision of relief and related social services to people affected by conflict,
particularly women and girls, refugees, internally displaced people, and persons
with disabilities and ensure that their human rights, including SRHR, are fully
protected and preserved.
1.3 Reinforce the
development and enforcement of laws and programs to end the culture of violence and impunity that is perpetuated by
militarization, fundamentalism, patriarchy, and human trafficking.
1.4 Strengthen local, national and regional justice systems to bring those
who commit war crimes and crimes against humanity to justice.
1.5 Ensure food
security and strengthen agricultural productivity and livelihoods by:
developing irrigation systems, supporting ecological agriculture, halting
land-grabbing and securing ownership of land especially for women, and strengthening resilience and
capacities to adapt to impacts of climate change and related natural disasters
1.6 Enact national
policies and bilateral agreements that protect the human rights of African migrant
workers within and outside Africa especially women, in line with ILO conventions.
1.7 Urgently
implement AU Heads of State Decision to remove visa and related restrictions to
facilitate the freedom of movement within Africa.
1.8 Reinforce
efforts to enhance the role of Africans in the diaspora in Africa’s
development, and provide opportunities for sharing experiences in maximizing diaspora
investments and socio-political participation.
1.9 Promote rural
development to reduce rural-urban migration and improve urban planning,
governance and infrastructure to enhance the role of urbanization in socioeconomic
development.
1.10 Recognize that sustainable development entails striking a
balance between meeting the social, economic, and health needs of current and
future generations with environmental protection and preservation of natural
resources, and that Africa’s population dynamics[i] influence
prospects for sustainable development. All governments and other stakeholders should
reinforce integration
of population dynamics and the environment at all levels of development planning
and programme implementation.
2.
Inclusive Economic Transformation
2.1
Maximize
Africa’s chances of harnessing the Demographic Dividend by ensuring universal
access to family planning and other reproductive health services, empowerment
of women, investments in education and public health, and economic reforms that
facilitate savings, investment and promotion of
industries that reinforce value addition, create quality jobs, with
particular attention to job creation and livelihood opportunities for women and
youth.
2.2
Develop review and enact national policies and laws to ensure that
trade and investment agreements with multinationals, foreign governments, and
local companies are transparent, strategic, and prevent exploitative business
practices and capital flight, and maximize benefits to African countries and
local communities.
2.3
Strengthen governance, political and economic systems that are
grounded in the Human Rights framework, integrity and accountability in use of
public resources and service delivery, inclusiveness and investment in human
development.
2.4
Enact laws that strengthen the capacity of communities to access, control
and manage land, energy, technology and information, especially for women,
youth, persons with disabilities, and indigenous people.
2.5
Institute and extend social protection mechanisms to safeguard the
wellbeing of vulnerable groups by recognizing and rewarding women for their
role in taking care of the children, the sick, the elderly, persons with
disability, and other disadvantaged people, among other mechanisms.
3
Education and
Employment
3.1 Reform and harmonise formal and non-formal education
systems and curricula to ensure quality education that fosters innovation,
development of productive skills, spirit of entrepreneurship, and visionary
leadership that meets emerging needs of local and global economies.
3.2 Ensure universal enrolment, retention, and
progression at primary, secondary and tertiary levels and close inequities relating
to gender, geography and socio-economic status particularly for pregnant girls,
the rural and urban poor, persons with disabilities, young people in conflict
situations, those living with HIV, and other marginalized communities.
3.3 Develop and fully implement policies and
programs to prevent and address all forms of school-based violence including
violence perpetrated against young girls, persons with disabilities, persons
living with HIV, and persons with diverse sexual orientation and gender
identities.
3.4 Ensure relevance of education that includes
promoting technical, vocational education and training programs, making use of
new information, communication technologies, and one that is applicable to
current labour market trends and demands.
3.5 Intensify efforts to create
employment, alternative livelihoods and enhance the civil and political
participation for young people and their role as agents of socioeconomic change
and development.
4
Health and
Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights
4.1 Operationalize the right to health by adopting equity and rights-based
planning and resource-allocation, facilitating community participation in
health decision-making and programming, and educating healthcare providers and
communities on what the right to health means in service provision.
4.2 Prioritize and adequately finance universal access to comprehensive, quality
and integrated SRH services including adequate counselling, information and
education; access to full range of acceptable, affordable, safe, effective and high-quality
contraceptives of choice, comprehensive maternity care, access to comprehensive
abortion care, prevention and treatment of infertility, STIs, reproductive
cancers and other diseases.
4.3 Repeal laws criminalizing access to safe abortion in line with the
provisions of Article 14 of the Maputo Protocol.
4.4 Create awareness and ensure that the right to health, especially SRHR,
for all people including marginalized groups[1]
is respected and that health care providers are trained to provide services
that are free from stigma, coercion, discrimination and violence, and respects human rights, including the right to
confidentiality, privacy, informed consent, and bodily integrity.
4.5 Remove existing barriers, including requirements for spousal and
parental consent, to women and young people gaining access to family planning,
comprehensive abortion care, and other reproductive health services.
4.6 Implement the MPoA commitment to allocate 15% of the health budget to family
planning and address all demand and supply oriented barriers of access to, and
use of family planning.
4.7 Implement
and fully fund, quality, evidence-based comprehensive sexuality education
programmes that provide accurate information on human sexuality, gender
equality, human rights, relationships, and sexual and reproductive health for
both in and out-of-school youth that is relevant to each specific age group.
4.8 Strengthen male involvement as advocates, clients and equal partners on
SRHR, including in the promotion of gender equality and SRHR of women and girls.
4.9 Eliminate sexual and gender based violence in private and public
spheres, including female genital mutilation, intimate partner violence and
marital rape by enacting laws that punish perpetrators, expand access to
justice for survivors, and strengthen existing institutional structures.
4.10 Strengthen and enforce laws that end child, early and
forced marriage and set minimum legal age of marriage to 18.
4.11 Formulate
and implement policies and programs that promote positive African cultures, and
challenge harmful traditional practices, which are at the root of gender
inequality, violence against women and girls and the legitimatization of
women’s subordination.
5. Monitoring and Accountability
6.1 In
conclusion, if governments, development partners and other stakeholders
implement the recommendations above, Africa will achieve the goals of the ICPD
agenda and other development frameworks, harness the Demographic Dividend and
achieve sustainable development.
6.2 Governments
and all stakeholders must simultaneously invest in rights-based universal
access to family planning and other sexual and reproductive health services,
public health, quality education, adopt economic policies that will create employment,
and ensure accountable use of public financial and natural resources.
[1] Such as rural populations, persons with disabilities, adolescent girls, out of school youth, sex workers, migrants, displaced populations, indigenous people, people living with HIV, older people and people of different sexual orientations and gender identities.
[i]
Rapidly growing population and young age structure, rapid urbanization, rising
international migration and population mobility, and changing household and
family structures
