The Hague Forum on the Implementation of the Cairo Program of Action

To ascertain progress in the implementation of the Program of Action adopted at the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD), and to discuss needed future action toward realization of the goals set by that conference, the United Nations Population Fund convened an intergovernmental Forum that met in The Hague, hosted by the government of the Netherlands, 8–12 February 1999. The Hague Forum was preceded by related meetings of nongovernmental organizations, representatives of youth groups, and of parliamentarians. Excerpts from the Report of the Hague Forum, sections V and X, with the original paragraph numbers retained, are reproduced below. The first of these sections summarizes recent positive and negative developments in the field of reproductive health and notes demographic changes that require special attention. The section on mobilization of resources—the concluding section of the Report—describes resource flows, international and domestic, for population and reproductive health programs during the last few years. Although donor funding (a key issue discussed at the Forum) has increased, it falls short of the goals specified by ICPD. The Report enumerates actions proposed for remedying deficiencies in mobilizing resources and for increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of their use.