"Participants at the Fifth International Parliamentarians' Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) ended [a two-day meeting in Istanbul, Turkey, on] Friday with a joint pledge to advocate for increased funding for full implementation of the decades-old ICPD Programme of Action," Inter Press Service reports. According to the news service, "about 300 members of parliament from 110 countries issued the Istanbul Statement of Commitment [.doc], reiterating their commitment to achieve the goals laid out in the ICPD Programme of Action adopted in Cairo, Egypt, in 1994." "According to the statement, implementation of the program is 'essential for countries to reduce poverty and social and economic inequality, improve the lives of their people and safeguard the health and rights of women, including sexual and reproductive health rights,'" IPS writes.