No action is currently pending on H.R. 895. Nations participating in the 1994 conference, which included representatives from the U.S., acknowledged the close link between slowing population growth, alleviating poverty and protecting the environment. A Programme of Action was agreed to emphasizing the need to improve the status of women and ensure gender equality worldwide. It also identified reproductive rights as a basic human right and that rapid population growth is most effectively slowed when women are able to choose the number and spacing of their children. These forums were held to discuss recent successes, current problems, barriers, and necessary actions to further the goals made at the Cairo conference.
Early results suggest that progress is slowly being made.
Representatives from many countries reported progress and policy implementation that furthers the Programme of Action, but many acknowledged that they still lack the financial resources to fully achieve their goals. Because the Programme of Action has fallen far-short of its target goals, funding turned out to be the principle subject at the Hague conference. Ironically, developing countries, many of them with severe economic problems, remain more committed to the Programme of Action, while donor countries have lagged far behind. The problems associated with population growth and suburban sprawl have caught the attention of the 106th Congress. The first of several hearings in Congress was held in on March 17 in the Senate to debate the merits of various sprawl-related proposals.