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Expert group meeting on population, poverty eradication and sustainable development

Virtual meeting

23 November 2026

Overview

The special theme of the 60th session of the Commission on Population and Development (CPD), taking place in April 2027, is “Population, poverty eradication and sustainable developmentâ€�. As part of the substantive preparations for the annual session, the Population Division of Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµ DESA will convene a half-day virtual expert group meeting on 23 November 2026. The meeting will engage experts in relevant fields with the following objectives: 

Stimulate creative, forward-looking thinking on how global, regional and national demographic trends and changes are likely to shape both the prospects for, and the policy options available to, accelerate the eradication of poverty in all its forms; 

Assess how achieving the goals and objectives of the ICPD Programme of Action--as they relate to individual rights and choices, human capital development, gender equality and well-being across all ages--can accelerate and sustain poverty eradication; 

Identify policy priorities and recommendations to inform the reports of the Secretary-General on the Commission’s theme and the deliberations of the Commission, as well as the Commission’s contributions to the 2027 High-level Political Forum and the 2027 SDG Summit. 

The eradication of poverty remains the overarching goal of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, with interlinkages across population dynamics, inequality, and sustainable development. Since the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) in 1994, the Programme of Action has provided a people-centred, rights-based framework linking population policies with sustainable development and poverty eradication. Specifically, the Programme of Action connects population policies, reproductive rights, and investments in health, education, and gender equality to poverty eradication across key chapters. These include chapters on population and development (Ch. III), gender equality (Ch. IV), the family (Ch. V), population growth and structure (Ch. VI), reproductive health and rights (Ch. VII), health, morbidity and mortality (Ch. VIII), spatial distribution and internal migration (Ch. IX), international migration (Ch. X) and education (Ch. XI). 

 

Documents

  • Concept note
  • Organization of work
  • List of participants
  • Biographies of speakers
  • Report

 

Organization of work

Monday, 23 November 2026

 

8:30 – 8:45 a.m.

I. Welcome and framing of the meeting

 

8:45 a.m. – 9:15 a.m.

II. Setting the scene  

  • a. Poverty and SDG 1: trends, dynamics and outlook to 2030 and beyond (World Bank) 
  • b. Population trends to mid-century and beyond (Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµ DESA-Population Division) 
  • c. The ICPD Programme of Action and poverty eradication: where do we stand? (Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµFPA)

 

9:15 a.m. – 10:45 a.m.

III. Deep dive on population and poverty

  • Experts will be invited to present 10-minute reflections on the guiding questions based on their areas of expertise (thematic order to be refined upon confirmation of participating experts) 

 

10:45 – 11:15 a.m.

IV. Moderated discussion on recommendations 

  • Policy priorities for the CPD reports and draft resolution, looking towards the 2027 SDG Summit 

 

11:15-11:30 a.m.

V. Wrap-up