| This January 2015 article published in Global Public Health, An International Journal for Research, Policy and Practice (Volume 10, 2015 – Issue 2: Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights for the Next Decades: What’s Been Achieved? What Lies Ahead?), Adrienne Germain, Gita Sen, Claudia Garcia-Moreno and Mridula Shankar assess the progress and persistent challenges in implementing the landmark 1994 International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) Programme of Action in low- and middle-income countries. While acknowledging significant strides in sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) over two decades, the analysis identifies three critical gaps undermining the framework’s human rights foundation: (1) pervasive inequalities in access, particularly for poorer and rural women and adolescents; (2) systemic failures in the quality of services that violate public health and medical ethics standards; and (3) a widespread lack of accountability mechanisms to track and remedy these deficits. The article argues that for the post-2015 development agenda, SRHR must be explicitly repositioned within a human rights framework, with a focused emphasis on equality, quality and accountability (E-Q-A). This focus is presented as indispensable for achieving an equitable path towards Universal Health Coverage and realising a transformative vision of human development rooted in health and rights for all. |
