The International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) was a historical conference, held in Cairo, Egypt in 1994. The significance of this conference was the impact it brought towards integrating population issues into the development agenda of the member countries. A comprehensive twenty year Programme of Action (PoA) containing specific goals  adopted by the 
179 participating governments during the ICPD. The goals were based on several thematic areas focusing on accelerating human development. The thematic areas included reducing poverty  through increased economic activity in the backdrop of sustainable development, providing universal access to education (especially for women and girls), reducing maternal and infant mortality, prevention and control of HIV/AIDS, protection of certain population groups such as youth, elderly and disabled, promoting the well-being of families, individuals and the society, achieving gender equality and the empowerment of women, providing universal access to reproductive health and ensuring reproductive rights and protecting the rights of internal and international migrants.