IUSSP Debate:

"Since ICPD 1994, has too little attention been paid to rapid population growth?"

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?   

Register in advance here.

This IUSSP Debate, proposed and organized by IUSSP member Stan Becker (Johns Hopkins University), will be held on 21 September 2026.

The specific question framing the debate is 

• 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?

Join IUSSP for this debate, which brings together world experts to address the question:

On the "Yes" side: 

• Rhoda Mundi (INSTITUTION, Nigeria)
• Mainul Islam (INSTITUTION, Bangladesh)

On the "No" side: 

• Ayman Abdelmohsen (INSTITUTION, Kenya)
• Vanessa Di Lego (INSTITUTION, Brazil)