Susan Cohen (AGI) pointed out that in 1994 under Tim Wirth, a high-ranking American political appointee, the USA was a ‘real leader’ and NGOs were seen as key players – it was, as she put it, an ‘aligning of the stars’ when things all came together in Cairo. Following this window of opportunity, however, there were congressional elections, with a change in the balance of power and Congress was hostile for the remainder of the Clinton Years. In 2000, the bottom fell out with the election of George W Bush.

With the current administration in addition to the President, Hillary Clinton, as Secretary of State, is a leader who ‘gets it in her DNA’ on our issues. She not only gets it but also speaks eloquently, particularly when challenged by opponents such as Chris Smith, the very right-wing Republican congressman.

Governments seem to move slowly to the frustration of NGOs. This is all the more difficult when it is our friends who are in power. Currently the Bush administration is moving forward on many issues, but it will still be a long time before US will fund safe abortion services globally. In the meantime everything possible must be done to reduce the impact of unsafe abortion on women’s lives.

Dr Fred Sai, from Ghana who was the Chair of the negotiating committee in Cairo raised his concerns about the paucity of the representation of men at the Forum. He emphasized the importance of giving them the proper information and the importance of bringing them into the discussions and deliberations, likewise religious groupings. It was important to get men on side, whether they are part of in the NGO community or the Government. As he warned, policy makers, mainly male policy makers, are refusing to hear the message.

The language around our issues in the past was often been oblique -- having children was talked about, likewise unsafe abortion but nobody talked about sex or sexuality. The preparation for Cairo brought about a change, but then the language was high-jacked by the opposition who decided that talking about sex meant sexual education for adolescents and reproductive rights meant abortion rights.

According to Fred Sai, the stance of Catholic Church added to the momentum of the Cairo conference, which in turn lead to greater government interest. In that respect, the growth of opposition at that time meant the growth in the importance of the Conference.  The Catholic Church also contributed constructively to the language of the ICPD Programme of Action. For example, representatives of Catholic Church were very helpful in Cairo in negotiating the chapeau that hadn’t been started before the Conference.

To this day there are areas on which insufficient progress has been made. The well-being of adolescents and their sexual and reproductive health needs more of a push. We have to ensure quality education to empower young women takes a hold. Abortion is still of major concern and it is difficult to understand why so many countries, particularly in Africa, are still defending the out-of-date laws that came from their colonial masters and which have subsequently been changed in the north. After all, when they were introduced in the late 19th century, abortion was a very dangerous procedure, which it no longer is. We should not be afraid to speak out and say clearly that ‘unsafe abortion should be eliminated’.

Katie Chau, from the Youth Coalition emphasized that we are still dealing with issues that were controversial in 1994 such as adolescent sexual and reproductive health, sex education, and unsafe abortion. What is required is a long-term political commitment to sustainable financing, together with a constant long-term vision and the inclusion of young people in decision-making structures. They should also be involved as a target group. Today, for example, 45% of HIV infections are among young people, yet we still don’t hear enough from policy-makers about this age group. In translating the words of Cairo into action it is imperative to include young people.

In reply Fred Sai said that we have to work for country-by-country action and regional action. Some countries signed up to the consensus but had no intention to put it into action. It is up to NGOs to call them to account. He also spoke about Partners in Population and Development, A South-South Initiative, now with  Regional Groups in both Africa and Asia, that is active in making Cairo work.
We must not forget that the Cairo goals are included in the MDG, particularly as we now have MDG Target 5B on universal access to reproductive health by 2015.