Welcome to EuroNGOs

The European NGOs for Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights, Population and Development

The European NGOs for Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights, Population and Development (EuroNGOs) seek to translate the commitments of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) into international cooperative programmes in the field of sexual and reproductive health in low-income countries.

Every minute, one woman dies during pregnancy or birth because she did not receive adequate care and prompt treatment. Every day, 14,000 people are newly infected by HIV. Most of these tragedies happen in the low-income countries. Virtually all of them could have been prevented. However, sexual and reproductive health face enormous challenges. Millions of people, especially women, are prevented from exercising their sexual and reproductive rights.

In 1994, ICPD brought together leaders from all societies and traditions to address this. After nine days of meetings, they agreed to a Programme of Action. Accepted by 179 governments, it sets a framework for the development of sexual and reproductive health and rights until 2015. Reaching widespread agreement on a subject that raises challenging questions for many social and cultural aspects was not easy. It is even more difficult to persuade governments to honour the agreement by making policy changes and funding available. An the newest challenge is meshing the goals of the Programme of Action with the Millennium Development Goals, adopted by the United Nations in the year 2000.

EuroNGOs brings together agencies in Europe that are committed to advocating for the ICPD Programme of Action in this context.