The 15andCounting campaign wants to promote better access to sexual and reproductive health services and information for all young people.

The campaign was launched this year to mark the 15th anniversary year of the landmark International Conference on Population and Development (1994). The petition will be presented to the secretary general of the United Nations to persuade governments to promote, protect and fulfil their promise to provide better access to sexual and reporductive health services for all young people.

Co-ordinated by the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) the petition is asking all governments around the world to prioritise young people’s sexual and reproductive health and rights, including comprehensive sex education and information and youth friendly health services.

• 15andCounting is a campaign to demand better access to sexual health services and education for everyone, regardless of your age, gender or where you live.
• 15andCounting is connecting young people around the world to work together for better access to sexual health services and information.
• 15andCounting encourages open and honest discussion to persuade governments to get serious about young people’s health and wellbeing.

Over 110,000 people have signed the petition. Have YOU? Click below to sign up:

Why now?

15 years ago at the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) in Cairo, 179 governments agreed on an inspiring and visionary plan to give universal access to services and information to improve the sexual and reproductive health of everyone by 2015.

People born at the time of the ICPD are now 15 years old and form part of the largest cohort of young people the world has ever seen – some 1.5 billion. These 15 years old and have needs, desires and expectations that the world seems unprepared to address. Too many governments have failed to make good on their promises. This failure puts the lives and health of tens-of-millions of young people at risk.

Only five years remain for the vision of ICPD to become reality, unless governments deliver on their promises young people will be denied services and information critical to their health and wellbeing.