The conference recognized that investing in people to broaden their potential as human beings is the key to sustained economic growth and sustainable development.

The ICPD Programme of Action fixed the following “mutually supportive” goals:

• Gender equality in education;

• Reduction in infant, child and maternal mortality (infant and child mortality to 35 and 45 and maternal mortality to below 60);

• Reproductive health services;

• Improvement in education so that at least 90 percent of all children are in schools by 2010;

• Provision of wide range of reproductive health services (including family planning services, essential obstetric care, and prevention and management of reproductive tract infections in all health care facilities by 2015);

• Ensuring that by 2015, 90 percent of all births are assisted by skilled attendants;

• Meeting unmet need for family planning; and

• Providing access to HIV/AIDS prevention methods, and voluntary testing, counselling and follow up services.