Behind the Numbers: The PRB blog on population, health, and the environment

by Farzaneh Roudi, program director, Middle East and North Africa

Today, the XXVI International Population Conference of the International Union for Scientific Study of Population (IUSSP) opened in Marrakech, Morocco. Held once every four years, this is the first time the conference has taken place on the continent of Africa, and the first time it’s been held in an Arab country. It is also the largest-ever gathering of specialists from the Arab world and population scientists from around the world.

So, it was wonderful to see many of my friends whom I found over the years in different international conferences: a Palestinian woman I first met in India, a Lebanese whom I first met in Egypt, a Sudanese I met in Jordan, and a Saudi I met in Tours, France, where the previous IUSSP conference was held four years ago.

The first international conference I attended was in Amman, Jordan in 1993. It was the preparatory meeting of Arab region for the United Nations International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) that was going to be held in Cairo the following year. The international population conference, a decennial event organized by UNFPA, was held in Cairo in September 1994 and attended by high-level policymakers from 179 countries. As a side meeting, there was a gathering of nongovernmental organizations from around the world, as a way of influencing the high-level policymaking at ICPD. 

Today, UNFPA Executive Director Thoraya Obaid was among the keynote speakers. And again, it is the first time that such a high-level official from UNFPA attended this international conference, which traditionally has been a gathering of academics. There are good reasons for Thoraya Obaid to be here. This year is the 15th anniversary of the Cairo Conference and the fact that the Executive Director is from the region (Saudi Arabia) can explain her participation and support for this conference. But more importantly, such a partnership between UNFPA, the highest policymaking body on population issues at the global level and IUSSP, the largest scientific body for the study of population, is very much welcomed.

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