Dr. Diene Keita, UN Assistant Secretary-General and UNFPA Deputy Executive Director (Programme), opened the second day of the Global Congress on Population, Health and Human Development on behalf of the UN Secretary-General on October 21.

In her opening remarks, Keita referred to the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD), which was held in Cairo, Egypt in 1994.

“When world leaders gathered here in Cairo 30 years ago for the landmark International Conference on Population and Development, they set the course for our current global thinking on population and development issues and defined a broad agenda, placing human dignity and rights at the heart of sustainable development,” she said.

“In many ways, this lead to an initial foundation for the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and subsequent Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs),” she continued.

Keita also highlighted the need to invest in young people, who she said stand as a powerful agents of change and are central to building “peaceful, inclusive and resilient societies,” and can drive economic progress and unlock the demographic dividend.

“As we look to the future, let us invest in their potential, support their leadership and foster inter-generational dialogue,” she said.

Keita also drew the linkages between population dynamics, health and human development. “Through system approaches and strategic foresight, we can better understand and leverage the power of the relationship between demographic change, health and development and vice versa,” she explained.

Keita said that the United Nations is proud to partner with Egypt on efforts to advance human development, including supporting the presidential human development initiative “Bedaya.”

“As we gather in Cairo this week, we are reminded of our shared responsibility to advance human dignity, health and sustainable development for all within a globally agreed framework,” she concluded.