"Since the ICPD in 1994, has too little attention been paid to rapid population growth?"
Monday 21 September 2026
The International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) held in Cairo in 1994, adopted a 20-year Programme of Action, which deliberately shifted population policy away from demographic targets and toward individual rights, in particular reproductive rights, women's empowerment, and people's ability to freely determine the number and spacing of their children. With the world population growing from 5.7 billion in 1994 to 8.3 billion in 2026 and projected to be close to 10 billion in 2050, did the ICPD divert attention from the problem of rapid population growth?
This IUSSP Debate, proposed and organized by IUSSP member Stan Becker (Johns Hopkins University), was held on 21 September 2026.
The specific question framing the debate was:
Since the Cairo Conference on Population and Development in 1994 too little attention has been paid to the problem of rapid population growth particularly in some countries in Western Asia and in Sub-Saharan Africa - Yes or No?
On the "Yes" side:
Rhoda Mundi (University of Abuja, Nigeria)
Mohammad Mainul Islam (University of Dhaka, Bangladesh)
On the "No" side:
Ayman Abdelmohsen (United Nations Population Fund, headquarters)
Vanessa Di Lego (Federal University of Minas Gerais / Cedeplar, Brazil)
Background:
Steven Sinding (former Director General of the International Planned Parenthood Federation) set the stage for the debate by outlining what preceded the ICPD in Cairo and the issues at play in the field when the conference convened in 1994.
Synthesis:
Laura Wong (Federal University of Minas Gerais / Cedeplar & IUSSP President) provided a brief summary at the end of the debate.
