Secretary
of State Clinton to Deliver Major Speech Renewing U.S. Support
For
Universal Access to Reproductive Health
Worldwide
**Note:
This event was originally scheduled for December 21, 2009, but
was postponed due to weather conditions in the District of
Columbia. We invite you to join us on the new date, Friday, January
8, 2010**
Secretary of State
Hillary Rodham Clinton will deliver a major speech Friday,
January 8, 2010 to mark the 15th year of the International
Conference on Population and Development (ICPD).
Secretary Clinton will
announce the U.S. Government's renewed support for and
dedication to reaching the ICPD goals and other related UN
agreements, including the Millennium Development Goals, by
2015.
The speech will be
live streamed on www.icpd2015.org
starting at approximately 3:00 pm. A transcript and video of of the
speech will be posted on this site following the
event.
At the 1994 ICPD held
in Cairo, Egypt, 179 nations reached consensus on actions needed to
achieve universal access to education, especially for girls;
reductions in infant, child and maternal mortality, and universal
access to reproductive health over the next 20
years.
Many United Nations
conferences and international meetings have reaffirmed the ICPD
"Cairo Consensus", including the 1995 Fourth
World Conference on Women, that established the Beijing Platform
for Action, and the 2000 Millennium Summit, that established the Millennium
Development Goals. These mutually reinforcing commitments are
the cornerstones of population and development policies for the
international community.
Recent
polls show that a majority of Americans across the ideological
spectrum strongly support the principles in the worldwide consensus
reached at the ICPD, including providing voluntary family planning
and reproductive health services.
Millions of lives
have been improved and saved through effective and affordable
reproductive health programs, which have proven to prevent the
deaths of women and children, reduce the spread of HIV/AIDS, grow
economies and preserve natural resources.
Though successful
programs exist, far more progress needs to be made. To achieve the
ICPD's goals in the next five years, a sustained, long-term
commitment is needed by both the public and private
sectors.
Please
forward this email to your friends and colleagues.
Take
this opportunity to view Secretary Clinton's speech, host viewing
parties and take action to support ICPD 2015 throughout the holiday
season and new year.
Visit www.icpd2015.org
for more information.
