Countries agree to accelerate action to implement historic plan on population and development, and boost progress towards the SDGs

WHAT: 57th session of the United Nations Commission on Population and Development 

Human well-being has significantly improved over the past three decades. Life expectancy has risen globally from 64.5 years in 1994 to 73.7 years in 2024. Poverty declined from nearly 34 per cent of the world’s population in 1994 to 9 per cent in 2021, resulting in a drop of over 1 billion in the number of people living in extreme poverty – notwithstanding the setbacks of recent years.

Immunization coverage reached 84 per cent of infants worldwide in 2022, up from 72 per cent in 1994. Access to reproductive health-care services, including for contraceptive use, has expanded significantly since 1994.

Implementation of the Programme of Action adopted during the International Conference on Population and Development, held in Cairo in 1994, has helped propel action in these and other areas over the past 30 years. 

However, progress has been vastly unequal across countries and regions and has been slowed by a growing confluence of crises, conflicts and climate change. For the first time in decades, some development gains have unraveled, eroding hard-won advances and threatening the safety and health of all, especially marginalized populations. 

To effectively address these and other challenges, a recommitment to multilateralism is needed.  On the 30th anniversary of the Cairo conference, the 57th session of the Commission on Population and Development (CPD) will provide an opportunity for the international community to recommit to the aspirations of the Programme of Action, and to act urgently to achieve an inclusive, equitable and sustainable world for the more than 8 billion people in the world.

THEME: Assessing the status of implementation of the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development and its contribution to the follow-up and review of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development during the decade of action and delivery for sustainable development

WHEN: 29 April – 3 May 2024, 10:00 am to 6:00 pm EDT 

WHERE: 

Opening session: General Assembly Hall, 29 April, 10:00 am-1:00 pm EDT
All other sessions: Conference room 4, UN Headquarters in New York 

Follow live on UN Web TV 

WHO: Ministers, senior UN officials, experts from academia, the private sector, civil society organizations and local innovators. 

• The opening session on Monday, 29 April, will include statements by:  
• Ms. Amina J. Mohammed, UN Deputy Secretary-General
• Mr. Li Junhua, Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs 
• Dr. Natalia Kanem, UNFPA Executive Director
• H.E. Ms. Noemí Espinoza Madrid, Chair of the 57th session of the Commission on Population and Development 
• Ms. Sarita Gupta, Ford Foundation, Vice President, US Programs (special presentation)
• Mr. José Miguel Guzman, President and Founder of NoBrainerData (keynote address)

More details, including the programme and list of side events, may be found here.

Media Contacts: 

Coralie Harouni, UN Department of Global Communications | coralie.harouni@un.org
Helen Daun Rosengren, UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs | E: rosengrenh@un.org  
Eddie Wright, United Nations Population Fund; T: 1 917-831-2074 /E: ewright@unfpa.org