Asia and the Pacific: A Region in Transition

At the International Conference on Population and Development held in Cairo in September 1994 and its subsequent review in 1999 (ICPD+5), 179 countries agreed that population and development are inextricably linked, and that empowering women and meeting people’s needs for education and health, including reproductive health, are necessary for both individual advancement and balanced development. Advancing gender equality, promoting male responsibility, eliminating violence against women and ensuring women’s ability to control their own fertility were acknowledged as cornerstones of population and development policies.