Follow-up Project on the Implementation of the Programme of Action from the International Conference on Population and Development, ICPD (Cairo, 1994)

Background and Objectives

The Latin American and Caribbean Women's Health Network participated actively in the preparation for and development of the United Nations International Conference on Population and Development, ICPD (Cairo, 1994). As members of civil society, LACWHN member groups also have taken up the task of following up and monitoring the implementation of the ICPD agreements, signed by 179 countries.

To this end and with the support of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), LACWHN has undertaken the Follow-up Project on the Implementation of the ICPD Programme of Action since 1996 in five countries of the region: Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Nicaragua and Peru. Mexico and Suriname joined this important initiative in 2001.

The following LACWHN member groups are involved in the project:

Centro de la Mujer Peruana "Flora Tristán" and Manuela Ramos (Peru)

Foro Red de Salud y Derechos Sexuales y Reproductivos (Chile)

Foro de Mujeres y Políticas de Población (Mexico)

Servicios Integrales para la Mujer, SI MUJER (Nicaragua)

Corporación Casa de la Mujer (Colombia)

ProHealth (Suriname)

Rede Nacional Feminista de Saúde, Direitos Sexuais e Direitos Reprodutivos (Brazil)

The project's long-term objective is to promote the implementation of the ICPD Programme of Action (POA) in all the participating countries. In this effort, the groups taking part in the project agreed upon seven priority issues in women's health throughout the region that demand urgent action for change:

Sexual violence against girls;

Male responsibility in sexuality and reproduction;

Participation of women's organizations in decision-making;

Adolescents' access to sexual and reproductive health information and services;

Quality of sexual and reproductive health services;

Humanized care for incomplete abortion;

HIV/AIDS prevention and comprehensive care for people living with the virus.

One of the most significant aspects of this process has been the creation of an indicator matrix. The indicator matrix was developed for use as a monitoring tool based on trustworthy and comparable gender indicators available for all seven participating countries. This useful instrument reveals the advances, setbacks or stagnation in the implementation of the Programme of Action in the priority issues listed above. The matrix now includes some 400 indicators and can be applied within each country by non-governmental organizations and other organizations of civil society as an effective instrument of citizens' control.

In 1998, the Latin American and Caribbean Women's Health Network published a summary of the results of this process in The Cairo Consensus: Women Practicing Citizenship Through Monitoring. LACWHN's Review Of Five Latin American Countries: Brazil / Chile / Colombia / Nicaragua / Peru. This report was based on the diagnostic evaluations carried out by the organizations participating in the first stage of the project. Widely disseminated at national, regional and international levels, this document has been of great use in the advocacy efforts to promote the implementation of the ICPD agreements in a range of opportunities. While both the English- and Spanish-language publications are out of print, PDF versions will soon be available on this website.

Achievements

Through a series of evaluation meetings, organizations taking part in the monitoring project have stressed the importance of this process as an effort of citizens' control undertaken by the women's movement in order to effectively monitor public policies that impact them directly. The project also has contributed to the democratization of information and has encouraged advocacy initiatives on relevant issues, such as transparency, accountability, comparison of legal frameworks and the different countries' institutional capacity to fulfill commitments to gender equality.

The entire monitoring effort to date is now accessible on-line through the "Atenea" database. Named for the Greek goddess of wisdom, this database allows users to compare findings on the seven priority issues among the seven countries.

The data collected in the participating countries is based on official figures and permits an analysis of the changes in women's status between 1994 and 2003 and provided in the language of the country (Spanish, Portuguese or English). The database serves as an invaluable monitoring tool that can be used by governments as well as the international community and civil society.

BACK TO HOME