Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Health and Population Upendra Yadav paid a courtesy call on UN Secretary-General António Guterres in New York. DPM Yadav was in New York to attend the fifty-seventh session of the Commission on Population and Development in New York .

He also addressed the fifty-seventh session of the Commission on Population and Development in New York today.

The Deputy Prime Minister emphasized that full implementation of the Program of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) is critical to attaining the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Highlighting utmost priority and importance given by Nepal to the implementation and attainment of the Program of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development since its adoption in 1994, he put the audiences across various policies, plans, and programs Nepal has been implementing to increase the quality of life of every citizen in its efforts to create a just, inclusive, equitable, and egalitarian society.

He also reiterated the commitment of the Government of Nepal towards a rights-based, inclusive, innovative, and sustainable approach to population and development. In the afternoon,

Deputy Prime Minister also addressed the informal plenary meeting organized by the President of the General Assembly to mark the thirtieth anniversary of the International Conference on Population and Development.

Addressing the meeting, he said that thirty years since the landmark ICPD, the world has witnessed significant progress in poverty reduction, improved health systems, reduced fertility and mortality, increases in life expectancy, access to primary education, promoting gender equality, and advancing health and reproductive rights. Yet, the progress we made is uneven within and among countries and there remain significant gaps and inequalities, he said.

The DPM added that multiple challenges including pandemics, conflicts, geopolitical competitions, cost of living crises, and climate change, have impacted our efforts to achieve SDGs and the realization of the Program of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development While reiterating Nepal’s unwavering commitment to advancing people-centered development, human rights, gender equality, and sexual and reproductive health and rights, DPM Yadav stressed the need to further reduce preventable maternal mortality, promote comprehensive sexuality education, enhance youth participation in decision-making processes, and strengthen the National Population Data system for the full realization of the plan of action of the ICPD.

For this, he called upon closer collaboration, stronger solidarity, and partnership as well as more support from the international community to overcome the gaps and challenges Nepal has been facing. Further, he urged the international community to stand in strong solidarity to address the concerns of the vulnerable population disproportionately affected by climate change and natural disasters.