2024 is a milestone year for the global community as we commemorate the 30th anniversary of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD).
The ICPD conference, held in Cairo in September 1994, marked a pivotal moment in the global discourse on population and development. At this landmark conference, 179 member states, including Zimbabwe, agreed to the visionary Programme of Action which recognised sexual and reproductive health, women's empowerment, and gender equality as cornerstones of sustainable development.
As we mark 30 years since the ICPD, I would like to commend the Government of Zimbabwe for the progress made toward the provision of universal access to sexual and reproductive health information and services. Zimbabwe has seen a considerable decline in fertility rates, maternal mortality rates and significant increases in modern contraceptive prevalence rate. This is highly commendable.
I also commend the Government of Zimbabwe together with UNFPA for organizing this High-Level Meeting to reflect on the progress, address the challenges faced by Zimbabwe in implementing the ICPD Programme of Action, and to reaffirm Zimbabwe’s recommitment to the ICPD agenda and the 2030 agenda for sustainable development.
Today is a good opportunity to take a fresh look at how we best can sustain the gains so far and further accelerate our progress. We indeed have some challenges that require our continued attention, including high maternal deaths, early marriages and childbearing, limited access to contraception most especially among young women, inadequate access to maternal health services, higher HIV infection rates especially among adolescent girls and Gender Based Violence. We are also witnessing alarming proportions of drugs and substance abuse, that are eroding progresses we already made in SRHR.
Sweden is committed to the ICPD and remains a champion of SRHR and gender-based violence prevention and mitigation, providing significant financial support and consistently advocating for these issues on the global stage. At ICPD25 Nairobi Summit, Sweden:
- Reaffirmed its commitment to advocating for SRHR for everyone, with a strong focus on marginalised groups.
- And further emphasised its intention to build even stronger alliances with governments, multilateral organisations, civil society, academia, and the private sector to accelerate the realisation of SRHR goals.
Sweden is proud to be fulfilling these commitments globally and especially in Zimbabwe. Sweden is a longstanding partner of Zimbabwe, working through various partners. Sweden remains a leading donor on SRHR. Through our bilateral development strategy, we are providing support to more than 10 different projects contributing to SRHR and the reduction of Gender Based Violence. In addition to our bilateral cooperation, our regional SRHR strategy supports several other regional programmes that trickle down to Zimbabwe with substantial results.
Sweden has a very strong and close relationship with UNFPA. Sweden is consistently among the top donors of flexible support. In addition, we provide support to UNFPA from both global and regional strategies.
As I conclude, allow me to take this opportunity to congratulate UNFPA Zimbabwe and partners for the launch of the 2024 State of the World Population Report. This report, while it reflects on how far we have come in achieving sexual and reproductive health and rights for all, it also highlights the need to bring the promise of ICPD alive for people who have been left behind. It is now indeed a priority to reach also the most marginalized people. A reinforced commitment is needed by all of us in order to leave no one behind.
The Government of Sweden remains committed to supporting the achievement of the ICPD agenda in Zimbabwe and will continue fostering strong partnerships with government, UN agencies and civil society actors towards this attainment.
Thank you.
