U.S. population policy since the Cairo conference.

This article briefly describes key features of the 1994 Cairo Plan of Action and US population assistance, and identifies US efforts to implement the Cairo agenda. US leadership and funding play a key role in global population stabilization issues. Opponents of population assistance in recent years have been undermining the US position as a world leader in global stabilization and restricting family planning and funding. The executive branch at all levels must rebuild the case for US involvement in global population stabilization efforts by including the health, rights, and women's empowerment agenda of Cairo within the traditional role. Program managers must improve the availability and quality of family planning services and increase investments in the reproductive health and development initiatives of Cairo. The Administration and Congress must secure more funding to fulfill the appropriate US share. The Cairo Conference was unique in its absence of major North-South conflicts and the extended debate on abortion to the disadvantage of discussion of serious public health problems, the broad goals of the conference, and the role of men in family planning. The Plan called for a tripling of spending for population programs and the social sector and an increased share from the US and other donors. US assistance has declined by about 33% over the past 3 fiscal years. The 1997 US Department of State Strategic Plan illustrates the continuity and changes in US population policy since Cairo. In 1994, USAID adopted a new strategy to stabilize global population and protect human health.