Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 27 November 2019
260. Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the outcome of her engagements at the Nairobi summit; the commitments she provided at the summit; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [49359/19]
View answerImproving maternal and reproductive health is an important focus of Ireland's international development policy with health system strengthening at the heart of Ireland’s approach. Ireland works through the UNFPA, the World Health Organisation, with organisations such the Global Fund for AIDS, TB and Malaria and with civil society partners to ensure access to essential drugs, health services, and best practice, including building more effective health workforces, with an emphasis on better health outcomes for women and children. Ireland recognises that quality health systems must include access to comprehensive sexual and reproductive health services if women's health outcomes are to be transformed, including reducing maternal and child mortality. This is consistent with the global ambition of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The SDGs also reaffirm the Programme for Action agreed 25 years ago by 179 countries, including Ireland, at the Cairo International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD). A High Level Summit - “Nairobi Summit on ICPD25: Accelerating the Promise”, 12 to 14 November 2019 – was convened by the Governments of Kenya and Denmark, together with UNFPA, to mark the 25 years since Cairo. The Nairobi Summit has helped to galvanise political and financial commitments needed to complete the unfinished business of the ICPD Programme of Action.
I, on behalf of Ireland, reaffirmed Ireland’s commitment to the Cairo Programme of Action and the SDGs. In Nairobi I reiterated Ireland’s support, including elements relating to women’s health and on ending gender based violence A full list of the commitments made by participants in the Nairobi summit, including Ireland, is available on the ICPD25 website: https://www.nairobisummiticpd.org/commitments.
