One year after Cairo
In a statement issued by the International Planned Parenthood Federation on World Population Day, July 11, secretary general Halfdan Mahler decried the gap between promises made at the Cairo International Conference on Population and Development one year ago and governments' failure to implement them.
Mahler said that in spite of reproductive health being "placed squarely in the centre of the development process" at Cairo, little change has been secured for women. Almost 1500 women die every day from maternity-related causes, 15 million teenagers give birth every year and 5 million others have abortions.
"In the year between the Cairo conference and the World Conference on Women in Beijing, there will be 50 million unwanted pregnancies", he said. In particular, promises to increase international funding for sexual and reproductive health have not been met.