Amidst anti-gender push, hope pins on ICFP 2025 to shift gears towards SRHRJ for all
SHOBHA SHUKLA CNS
Gender equality and right to health are fundamental human right, says Shobha Shukla, CNS Founder head
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Despite right to health and gender equality being fundamental human rights, the world is off the track from delivering on these goals in next 62 months (by 2030). Anti-rights and anti-gender pushbacks have made the situation even more grim. Activists are pinning hope on an upcoming global meet to galvanise a stronger and equitable response to deliver on these goals.
Worlds largest meet on sexual and reproductive health, rights and justice (SRHRJ) would open in next two weeks in Colombia on the theme: Equity through action, advancing SRHRJ for all. Formally called the International Conference on Family Planning or #ICFP2025, this meet also marks 30 years since Beijing Declaration and its Platform for Action were adopted in 1995.
80th United Nations General Assembly High-Level Meeting was held last month to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the 4th World Conference on Women (where Beijing Declaration 1995 was adopted along with its Platform for Action).
The Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action is the most ambitious global political commitment on womens rights ever achieved. It affirmed that the rights of women and girls are not separate, secondary, or negotiable - they are human rights. It has helped to power advances in some critical areas legal protection, political participation, education, maternal mortality, recognizing the need to tackle violence against women as a global priority, and more. But progress has been slow and uneven, and no nation has achieved full equality for women and girls and gender diverse peoples, said Shobha Shukla, Host of SHE & Rights (Sexual Health with Equity & Rights) and Lead Discussant for SDG-3 at the United Nations High Level Political Forum (HLPF 2025).
Separating signal from the noise
International Conference on Family Planning (ICFP 2025) has received a record number of 5174 abstract submissions highest-ever in its history. This means that there were many more ideas competing for attention. Bigger responsibility was for the organisers and different ICFP committees to separate the signal from noise itself. There are signals emerging across the scientific programme and community agenda from the ICFP 2025. For example, you will see there are topics around climate SRHRJ popping up everywhere and from the heat supply chains or displacements to financing, resilience, shrinking civic spaces, among others. Topics like youth leadership has moved into the core ICFP 2025 programme. There are a lot of youth-focused sessions including a youth pre-conference which is 100% led by the young people from all over the world. Youth sub-committee meetings have taken place every month in the lead up to ICFP 2025, said Dina Chaerani, Host of Sex O'Clock News, Family Planning News Network (FPNN) and YIELD Hub.
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