A three (3) day International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD25) successfully ended at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre in Nairobi, Kenya. The Summit was held from Tuesday 12th to Thursday 14th November 2019, co-convened under the auspices of the Government of the Republic of Kenya, the Kingdom of Denmark, and the United Nations Development Fund (UNFPA).

In this year's Conference, Sierra Leone shown dedication as the country's joined several others in marking the 25th anniversary of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) which took place in Cairo 1994, where 179 governments adopted a landmark Program of Action which set out to empower women and girls and for the benefit of their families, communities, and nations.

Key amongst the Sierra Leone delegation to the summit is the Minister of Youth Affairs, Mohamed Orman Bangura; Sierra Leone High Commissioner to Nairobi, H.E. Joseph Francis; Minister Plenipotentiary at the Sierra Leone High Commission in Nairobi, Abdul Karim Kargbo; Director of Gender, Ministry of Social Welfare Gender and Children’s Affairs, Charles Vandi; UN Women Representative, Dr Mary Okumu; UNFPA Representative in Sierra Leone, Dr Kim Dickson; Honorable Member of Parliament, Rosemarie Bangura, Vicky the Poet and others.

Addressing the gathering, Sierra Leone's Minister of Planning and Economic Development, Dr. Francis Kai-Kai said: Our Government will continue to march in solidarity with all women and girls as we strive to ensure no segment of our population is left behind. The Government is committed to allocating at least 1% of the health budget for family planning by 2022, reduce the unmet need for family planning from 24.8% in 2019 by 20% in 2025; train and employ 1000 midwives, 180 nurse anesthetists, 72 surgical assistants by 2025; reduce maternal mortality from 1,165 per 100,000 live births by 50% in 2028; enact the prohibition of the Child Marriage Bill, which criminalizes child marriage by the end of 2020.

The Minister noted the Government of Sierra Leone made several national commitments that are consistent with the Cairo Declaration as reflected in the Sierra Leone Medium-Term National Development Plan (2019-2023), the National Population Policy, and the Family Planning 2020 Commitments.

He highlighted the importance of the summit, and the great challenges the African continent faces; maternal deaths, family planning, rape, violence against women and girls, women empowerment, sexual and reproductive health problems among others.

Dr. Kai-Kai noted Sierra Leone’s commitment to addressing these problems by referring to President Julius Maada Bio’s declaration of rape as a heinous criminal offense based on which the Parliament of Sierra Leone moved to amend the Sexual Offenses Act 2019. He also referred to the First Lady’s national campaign dubbed “Hands off our Girls” to prevent the early marriage of under-aged girls and gender-based violence.