Integration of Population Issues in the Development Process”, in Sherm Sheikh, Egypt, from 17 to 19 December 2003

The Population and Development Team of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia, held in collaboration with the United Nations Population Fund and the League of Arab States, a regional Meeting on the “Integration of Population Issues in the Development Process”, in Sherm Sheikh, Egypt, from 17 to 19 December 2003. The meeting was organized pursuant to the Programmes of Action (POAs) of the International Conference on Population and Development held in Cairo (1994), the Twenty-first Special Session of the General Assembly (1999) and the Road Map towards the Implementation of the United Nations Millennium Declaration.

One of the significant aspects of the POAs is the consideration that the integration of population issues into development planning is a strategic course of action, the aim of which is confronting the current adversities of the development process. The objectives of the meeting were twofold: (i) to mobilize the decision makers and to steer their efforts to adopt the integration of population issues into development planning process as a strategic action for poverty eradication and the achievement of socio-economic and gender equality; and (ii) to underscore the strategic importance of integration in coping with the emerging developmental issues and in confronting future challenges.

The meeting focused on three major themes: 1) Population and Sustainable development; 2) Population policies and contemporary challenges; and 3) The supporting environment for integration. Participating groups included international and regional experts in the field of population and development, including the Population Reference Bureau, Ford Foundation, ESCWA, UNFPA and LAS, in addition to national counterparts from the Arab Countries who presented the experiences of their countries in the field of integrating of population issues in development planning.

Click here to download Final Report of the Workshop
E/ESCWA/SDD/2004/3