At an official side-event of the United Nations (UN) Summit of the Future Action Days, 20-21 September 2024, global leaders, decision-makers, UN agencies and advocates convened to address the urgent need for protecting sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) for women, girls, and marginalized populations. Organized under the banner of the Generation Equality Action Coalition on Bodily Autonomy and SRHR, the event focused on the newly adopted Pact for the Future, which commits to achieving universal access to SRHR in line with two landmark declarations – the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) and the Beijing Platform for Action (BPfA).
The side-event featured passionate youth advocates such as the Executive Director of the Youth Coalition and Action Coalition Youth Leader, Eunice Garcia, who emphasized, “This agenda cannot progress without the voices of young people; we have the legitimacy to drive these changes.”
The discussions also included a high-level panel of representatives from UN agencies, including UN Women and UNFPA. Dr. Nyaradzayi Gumbonzvanda of UN Women drew attention to Generation Equality as a platform for multi-stakeholder collaboration and action: “Generation Equality is a powerful platform for advancing the rights and empowerment of women globally.” Ms. Diene Keita, Deputy Executive Director of Programs at UNFPA, emphasized that the advocacy surrounding SRHR is “fundamentally empowering.” She also highlighted the urgent need for improved data collection and a concerted effort to reach marginalized populations. Ms. Birgitte Markussen, Head of the Humanitarian Action and Civil Society Department, Denmark, reinforced the importance of solidarity, stating, “We need to agree as we did in Cairo and Beijing over 30 years ago; I urge us to put aside differences in order to shift SRHR progress together.”
Stakeholders called for urgent action, the need to bolster political will and momentum for SRHR, invest significantly in SRHR initiatives, and to deliver on SRHR commitments as part of the Pact for the Future, ICPD and the BPfA. Fadekemi Akinfaderin, Chief Global Advocacy Officer at Fos Feminista and an Action Coalition Leader, drew attention to the focus and prioritization of SRHR in the post 2030 Agenda: “We must ensure that a post-2030 agenda centers the bodily autonomy of women, girls, and gender-diverse people.”
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