Suzhou Declaration

Investing in population and reproductive health programmes

for the well-being of all

Suzhou, China     27 October 2005

As participants in the International Symposium on Official Development Assistance for Population and Development, held in Suzhou, China, from 26 to 28 October 2005, we have exchanged experiences and best practices in implementing assistance programmes and explored strategies for achieving by 2015 the goals of the 1994 International Conference on Population Development (ICPD) and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). We come from governments, intergovernmental organizations and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). 

We hereby:

1.     Reaffirm our strong commitment to the full implementation of the ICPD Programme of Action and the MDGs. We applaud the 2005 World Summit Outcome, which endorsed the ICPD goal of universal access to reproductive health by 2015 and called for its integration into strategies to meet the MDGs. Without meeting these ICPD objectives, the MDGs cannot be achieved nor can extreme poverty be eliminated.

2.     Note with grave concern the severe challenges the world faces with regard to population and reproductive health issues, including family planning.  Millions of people have inadequate access or no access to quality sexual and reproductive health services and information, and hence cannot enjoy their right to sexual and reproductive health. This results in many unwanted pregnancies and unsafe abortions, and contributes to high maternal and infant mortality and birth rates, especially in the poorest countries.

3.     Affirm that official development assistance (ODA) has played a key role in achieving important progress since the ICPD, but note with concern that ODA for population and development is well below the levels the ICPD agreed would be needed to meet its goals. We note that the rapid spread of HIV/AIDS, which had not been anticipated in the ICPD funding estimates, has compounded the need for additional financial resources. A substantial increase in ODA is therefore needed to meet the goals of the ICPD and the MDGs.

4.     Reiterate that governments bear the major responsibility for implementing the ICPD Programme of Action and the strategies to attain the MDGs; that civil society, including NGOs, has an essential role to play; and that international cooperation is also very important, especially South-South cooperation.

We recognize that:

5.     We live in a world of increasing interdependence. Although globalization brings many opportunities, its benefits have been unevenly distributed. Gaps between rich and poor, between developed and developing countries, and between different regions within countries continue to grow. Over one billion people still live in extreme poverty.  Slow and uneven development in many developing countries and countries in economic transition undermine efforts to address poverty and achieve the MDGs.

6.     Development is a process for realizing human potential, raising living standards, and ensuring that every person lives a life of dignity. Human beings are central to sustainable development; priority must be given to investment in human capital, particularly in education and health services. The right to development is universal and indispensable.

7.     Gender equality and the empowerment of women are essential to achieving sustainable development. Persistent poverty, discrimination, gender-based violence and inadequate reproductive health care impede women’s advancement and progress towards gender equality.

8.     Reproductive health is an essential component of overall health and a human rights imperative. Investing in better reproductive health benefits individuals, families and society as a whole, and is critical to enhancing the quality of life and achieving sustainable development. 

We emphasize that:

9.     Governments bear the principal responsibility for development. They must make every effort to mobilize sufficient national resources, including those of the private sector, for investment in education and health; and they must ensure that all citizens, including the poor, share in the benefits of development.

10.   The international community should provide, and also encourage the allocation of, more resources to address issues such as population, health, education, women’s advancement and the well-being of children and the elderly.

11.   Development assistance should be consistent with developing countries’ own priorities, and should help build national capacity and self-reliance in formulating and implementing population and development strategies.

12.   Programmes for population and development should pay due attention to the diverse cultures, values, traditions and religious beliefs of each country and be in full conformity with internationally accepted human rights.

13.   Building human capacity and enhancing people’s well-being should be the ultimate goal of development assistance and the main criteria for evaluating ODA programmes.

14.   Greater investment in sexual and reproductive health information and services, including family planning, is imperative to ensure: (a) people’s human right to attain the highest standard of sexual and reproductive health; and (b) the basic right of all couples and individuals to decide freely and responsibly the number, spacing and timing of their children and to have the information and means to do so. Recent research confirms the inextricable link between improved sexual and reproductive health and the achievement of the MDGs.  The latter will not be achieved unless universal access to reproductive health services becomes a reality, as noted in the 2005 World Summit Outcome.

15.   To promote gender equality, resources for women’s programmes need to be increased. At the same time, serious efforts must be made to: challenge traditional concepts about gender roles; raise women’s awareness of their rights and their potential for self-development; address gender-based violence; and promote women’s equal participation in managing family, community and state affairs, at all stages of decision-making and implementation. Governments should incorporate women’s empowerment and gender equality concerns into the criteria for formulating and evaluating social development programmes.

16.   Development must advance social justice. National strategies and assistance programmes should aim to ensure equitable development that reaches vulnerable groups such as women, children, the elderly and migrants. Programmes should empower such groups, increase their capacity for decision-making and self-management, guarantee their access to equal services without discrimination, and ensure their participation in formulating, implementing and supervising social policies.

17.   Combating the HIV/AIDS pandemic requires concerted efforts, based on a balanced strategy consisting of prevention, treatment and care, by governments all over the world. Policies and programmes should reflect the close linkages between     HIV/AIDS and sexual and reproductive health, and their interrelationship with broader issues of public health, development and human rights. This requires the integration of HIV/AIDS policies and programmes into reproductive health policies and programmes.

18.   Investments in the health and education of adolescents and young people are critical to meeting the MDGs. Adolescents need access to appropriate reproductive health information, counselling and youth friendly services, respecting their rights to confidentiality and informed consent, and respecting their cultural values and religious beliefs, with due respect to the rights, duties and responsibilities of their parents and in a manner consistent with their evolving capacities. Adolescents should become more active participants in planning and implementing activities that address their sexual and reproductive health needs and rights.

19.   The international response to humanitarian crises such as wars and natural disasters should ensure that refugees and displaced populations have access to reproductive health services for safe motherhood, family planning and the prevention of sexually transmitted infections, including HIV, and that they are protected against sexual and other gender based violence.

We urge:

20.   Member States of the United Nations and the Secretary-General of the United Nations to use the ICPD goal of universal access to reproductive health by 2015 as a target to monitor the implementation of the MDGs on improving maternal health; on promoting gender equality and empowering women; and on combating HIV/AIDS, as a follow-up to the clear commitment of the 2005 World Summit to achieve the ICPD goal by 2015 and achieve the MDGs.

21.All countries to allocate adequate resources to enable the achievement of the goal of reproductive health for all by 2015.

22.Developed countries to increase substantially their ODA in the areas of population and development, and to fulfil their commitments to provide ODA at a level equivalent to at least 0.7 per cent of their gross national product and to direct at least 4 per cent of their ODA to population and reproductive health by 2015. Developed countries should also help developing countries acquire the technology and human capacity needed to achieve universal access to reproductive health and the MDGs by 2015, including reproductive health commodity sufficiency and supply security.

23.Developing countries to maximize returns on both ODA and national funds invested in reproductive health information and services, by promoting good governance and learning from the experience of other countries. We urge developing countries to devote no less than 4 per cent of their national health budgets to reproductive health services and information, and to include in their national budgets a line item for reproductive health, including reproductive health commodities.

24. All countries to promote greater South-South cooperation in the areas of population and development. Increased financial and technical support, including support from developing countries in a position to do so, is needed for training, reproductive health commodity exchanges and the sharing of experience and information on programme mechanisms and standard setting.

25. Partnerships among governments, NGOs and the private sector, which are essential to meeting development goals. Governments and intergovernmental organizations should recognize the comparative advantages of NGOs, particularly in sexual and reproductive health work, where for many years they have carried a disproportionate share of the delivery burden, and involve them in formulating, implementing, monitoring and assessing programmes related to population and development. For true sustainability, programmes must be owned by clients and respond to their needs.

26.All partners, including developing and developed country governments, national and international NGOs, the business sector, communities, families and individuals to join an effective global alliance to ensure universal access to reproductive health services by 2015 and the achievement of the MDGs.