The Aspen Institute

Members of the Global Leaders Council for Reproductive Health (GLC) and the GLC Secretariat attended Women’’s Deliver’ conference in Malaysia. Having worked to curate the Sustainability Track, GLC activities included the following panels: 

Women and Sustainability: Why They Need Each Other in a Post MDG World 
The post-2015 development agenda presents an important opportunity to address the serious challenges facing the world as we work together to realize a sustainable and equitable future. In this session, leaders in this movement will speak about how they see both women and sustainability as central to the post-2015 agenda. It goes further to recognize the links between sustainability and population that empower women, while acknowledging the dangers. 

Women, Resilience and Climate Change 
Historically, hardships—whether natural or man-made—affect women in inequitable proportions. As climate change increases the likelihood of natural disasters and environmental degradation diminishes arable land, it often falls on women to ensure survival for their families and communities. This panel will discuss the historic resilience of women and what that resilience could mean looking towards the future. 

Food Security, Water and Sexual and Reproductive Health: A Defining Nexus 
Having surpassed seven billion, the planet’s population is set to continue to expand, with most growth occurring in countries least equipped to meet rising demands on agriculture and the environment. This leaves access to adequate water, food, and land a growing concern for the world’s poorest. This session will discuss connections among clean water, food security, arable land, and the women often responsible for their acquisition and maintenance. 

Harnessing the Demographic Dividend 
The demographic dividend offers developing countries the possibility of achieving major economic growth when reduced fertility rates are accompanied by strategic investments in education and jobs. Currently, much of sub-Saharan Africa is on the cusp of this phenomenon. Using lessons learned from Asian and South-Asian countries, the demographic dividend could become a meaningful opportunity for economic growth and sustainable development for the world’s poorest countries. 

Women and Energy: New Frontiers 
There have been many women pioneers in the emerging field of renewable and clean energy technology and finance. This panel will highlight women’s leadership and innovative ideas in energy while discussing the connections between energy and women’s lives and health around the world. 

Plenary Lunch: How to Think about Population, Sustainability and Women’s Rights 
From the first conference on population and development in Bucharest in 1974, the question of whether population growth contributes to poverty and environmental degradation has been contested. The development of a woman-centered human rights approach to population at the Cairo conference was lauded by some as a paradigm shift and by others as diminishing the financial commitment to reproductive health. The increasing interest in reducing the negative effects of climate change has opened the debate once again. This panel will discuss that debate and what it means for women. 

The GLC Secretariat also hosted a GLC Business Meeting, for the council, led by the GLC chair, Joy Phumaphi to bring all of the members attending the conference together, including Fred Sai, Helen Clark, Tarja Halonen, Musimbi Kanyoro and Kavita Ramdas.