TBILISI, 26 September 2023 – Sexual and reproductive health and rights are a key enabler of development and individual well-being and must remain a top priority, in light of a range of challenges that have threatened to undermine or even reverse progress, participants said today at the opening of a conference co-hosted in Tbilisi by UNFPA, the United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency, the Government of Georgia, and ANSER, the Academic Network for Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights Policy.

The event brings together some 100 representatives of governments from across Eastern Europe and Central Asia, as well as civil society, academia and international organizations. It is being held in the run-up to a regional ICPD30 conference on 19-20 October 2023 in Geneva reviewing the 30-year progress towards implementation of the landmark Programme of Action adopted by the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) in 1994. 

“We’re at a crossroads: today, more than ever before, we need to acknowledge the progress made and accelerate our efforts and reposition sexual and reproductive health and rights as central for addressing the social and demographic challenges we are facing in the region,” said Giulia Vallese, UNFPA’s Deputy Regional Director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia.

Fulfilling countries’ commitment to sexual and reproductive health requires concerted and coordinated efforts of governments, the private sector, civil society, and development partners, said Tamar Gabunia, Deputy Minister of IDPs from the Occupied Territories, Labor, Health and Social Affairs of Georgia. “It is imperative that we view citizens not as passive receivers of services or beneficiaries of programmes, but as active rights holders, who should be empowered to claim their rights.”

“In the grand framework of the Sustainable Development Goals, sexual and reproductive health and rights have emerged as pivotal, as they are fundamental to achieving a whole range of goals, including ensuring healthy lives, achieving gender equality, and reducing inequalities,” said Emilie Peeters, Coordinator of ANSER.

Sexual and reproductive health and rights, including access to family planning, have come under pressure in Eastern Europe and Central Asia in recent years, as governments have turned their attention to concerns around demographic change, reproductive rights have come under attack as part of a growing backlash against gender equality, and donors have left the region.   

The past decades have seen significant progress towards ensuring universal access to sexual and reproductive health services and information in the region. For example, countries have adopted policies and action plans in line with global commitments and national priorities, the quality of services has improved, fewer women die giving birth, and adolescents are much less likely to get pregnant.   

But progress in sexual and reproductive health may be at risk of being undermined or even reversed. Several countries have seen, for the first time since the 1990s, an uptick in maternal mortality since the COVID-19 pandemic hit. The usage rate of modern contraception has stalled in the region, and has even decreased in some countries. Many young people still do not have access to comprehensive sexuality education in school. And on average about one in four women in countries with data is unable to make decisions about her body or reproductive health.  

Speakers stressed that ensuring sexual and reproductive health and rights, including access to family planning, can be transformative, allowing people to plan their lives, enabling them to fully realize their potential, and helping to break cycles of poverty and exclusion. 

“Reproductive rights and choices are not a barrier to countries’ development – quite the opposite: they are central to unlocking people’s full potential and strengthening societies’ human capital, thereby contributing to countries’ ability to thrive amid rapid social and demographic change,” said Ms. Vallese.

The conference will discuss how countries can accelerate progress towards universal access to sexual and reproductive health, including by increasing investments in services and ensuring access to integrated services at the primary health care level and as part of advancing universal health care. The roughly 100 representatives of governments from across Eastern Europe and Central Asia, as well as civil society, academia and international organizations are expected to adopt a Call to Action to accelerate progress on sexual and reproductive health and rights.

UNFPA, together with its partners, is supporting countries in the region with developing policies and building capacities to ensure that all people, including the most marginalized, have access to quality sexual and reproductive health services and information.   

For more information, please contact:
Jens-Hagen Eschenbaecher, UNFPA Eastern Europe and Central Asia, eschenbaecher@unfpa.org, +905497483655
Salome Benidze, UNFPA Georgia, benidze@unfpa.org, +995577211300