What next for sexual and reproductive health rights?
Rt Hon Helen Clark in conversation with Dr. Natalia Kanem, Executive Director of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)
5.30-7pm, Monday, 11 March 2024
National Office
Lecture Theatre 1 (GBLT1), Government Buildings, 55 Lambton Quay, Wellington
Join us for a discussion with Dr. Natalia Kanem and Rt Hon Helen Clark on 'what’s next for sexual and reproductive health and rights?”.
The event is free to attend, Please register in advance.
About the Event
Thirty years ago, at the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) in Cairo, 179 UN Member States, representing all regions and diverse cultures, agreed that reproductive health, women’s empowerment and gender equality are foundation stones of sustainable development. The groundbreaking ICPD Programme of Action marked a fundamental shift in global thinking on population and development issues, with a focus on individual dignity and human rights, including the right to decide freely whether or when to have children.
In the three decades since the landmark Cairo conference, people-centred development has enabled numerous gains – fewer women are dying in pregnancy and childbirth, more women have access to modern contraception, teen pregnancy rates have fallen, and more girls are in school. Yet today, these gains are at risk of reversal. Progress is threatened by multifaceted crises, including escalating conflicts and climate-related disasters, the lingering impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic, unprecedented demographic change and backsliding on the rights and choices of women and girls – all amidst a surge in disinformation, distrust and polarization globally, including around sexual and reproductive health and rights. While there is a strong push forward for social justice, climate action and gender equality, we are at a critical inflection point to preserve hard-won gains and deliver on the vision of the ICPD agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals.
The event features Dr Natalia Kanem in conversation with Rt Hon Helen Clark, and will include an audience Q and A.
About Dr. Natalia Kanem
In a career spanning over three decades, Dr. Natalia Kanem has dedicated her life to improving the health and lives of women and children by championing their rights and choices. She leverages her combined expertise in science, public health and philanthropy to advance the reproductive health and rights of women and girls, and to uphold the human dignity of all. As United Nations Under-Secretary General and Executive Director of UNFPA, the United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency, Dr. Kanem oversees its life-saving policy, development and humanitarian work in over 120 countries, with the aim of assuring that ‘every pregnancy is intended, every childbirth is safe and every young person’s potential is fulfilled.’
About Rt Hon Helen Clark
Helen Clark is a respected global leader in sustainable development, gender equality and international co-operation. She served three successive terms as Prime Minister of New Zealand between 1999 and 2008. While in government, she led policy debate on a wide range of economic, social, environmental and cultural issues, including sustainability and climate change.
She then became the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Administrator for two terms from 2009 to 2017, the first woman to lead the organisation. She was also the Chair of the United Nations Development Group, a committee consisting of the Heads of all UN funds, programmes and departments working on development issues.
In 2019 Helen Clark became patron of The Helen Clark Foundation. She is an active member of various international organisations.
Join us for a discussion with Dr. Natalia Kanem and Rt Hon Helen Clark on 'what’s next for sexual and reproductive health and rights?”.
The event is free to attend, Please register in advance.
About the Event
Thirty years ago, at the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) in Cairo, 179 UN Member States, representing all regions and diverse cultures, agreed that reproductive health, women’s empowerment and gender equality are foundation stones of sustainable development. The groundbreaking ICPD Programme of Action marked a fundamental shift in global thinking on population and development issues, with a focus on individual dignity and human rights, including the right to decide freely whether or when to have children.
In the three decades since the landmark Cairo conference, people-centred development has enabled numerous gains – fewer women are dying in pregnancy and childbirth, more women have access to modern contraception, teen pregnancy rates have fallen, and more girls are in school. Yet today, these gains are at risk of reversal. Progress is threatened by multifaceted crises, including escalating conflicts and climate-related disasters, the lingering impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic, unprecedented demographic change and backsliding on the rights and choices of women and girls – all amidst a surge in disinformation, distrust and polarization globally, including around sexual and reproductive health and rights. While there is a strong push forward for social justice, climate action and gender equality, we are at a critical inflection point to preserve hard-won gains and deliver on the vision of the ICPD agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals.
The event features Dr Natalia Kanem in conversation with Rt Hon Helen Clark, and will include an audience Q and A.
About Dr. Natalia Kanem
In a career spanning over three decades, Dr. Natalia Kanem has dedicated her life to improving the health and lives of women and children by championing their rights and choices. She leverages her combined expertise in science, public health and philanthropy to advance the reproductive health and rights of women and girls, and to uphold the human dignity of all. As United Nations Under-Secretary General and Executive Director of UNFPA, the United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency, Dr. Kanem oversees its life-saving policy, development and humanitarian work in over 120 countries, with the aim of assuring that ‘every pregnancy is intended, every childbirth is safe and every young person’s potential is fulfilled.’
About Rt Hon Helen Clark
Helen Clark is a respected global leader in sustainable development, gender equality and international co-operation. She served three successive terms as Prime Minister of New Zealand between 1999 and 2008. While in government, she led policy debate on a wide range of economic, social, environmental and cultural issues, including sustainability and climate change.
She then became the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Administrator for two terms from 2009 to 2017, the first woman to lead the organisation. She was also the Chair of the United Nations Development Group, a committee consisting of the Heads of all UN funds, programmes and departments working on development issues.
In 2019 Helen Clark became patron of The Helen Clark Foundation. She is an active member of various international organisations.
Membership
NZIIA membership is open to anyone interested in understanding the importance of global affairs to the political and economic well-being of New Zealand.