A very warm welcome to Copenhagen and to the Women Deliver Ministers Forum. And thank you for allowing me to take just a few minutes of your lunch-time.

I do not need to explain to this group the concept of Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights - it is known to you all. And you are all aware of the outcome of the International Conference on Population and Development and what the world committed to in Cairo in 1994.

For me, it is very simple and can be summed up as the fundamental right to decide freely and responsibly over your own body and your own life. This is a fundamental right that should be enjoyed by all.

However, this is far from the reality for too many – especially girls and women.  I recently returned from a visit to Burkina Faso, one of the poorest countries in the world and a country with one of the highest rates of gender inequality. Despite progress and a strong will- both politically and from civil society - to strengthen and accelerate that progress, the situation for girls and women remains tough:

• 1:48 women continue to die giving birth og during pregnancy
• FGM/C, early and forced marriage and violence against women are widespread
• Access to and use of contraception and family planning is limited
• A high number of teenage pregnancies; and
• Lack of access to healthcare and skilled birth attendance

In the course of the next four days you will hear of such challenges and more;

I know you are not here at this Forum to hear about the challenges you know all too well. But, bear with me.  I hope that by briefly setting the scene it will help to stimulate your discussions on what each of you can do to take development to another level – to commit to how you will work to ensure that the new SDG framework truly delivers for women and girls.

Since 2012, I have had the privilege to serve as a member of the High Level Task force for International Conference on Population Development. The objective of the Task Force was to ensure that the ICPD Agenda was squarely positioned in the new 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 Global Goals.

The point of departure for the Task Force was that women’s empowerment and gender equality, the rights and empowerment of adolescents and youth, and sexual and reproductive health and rights had to be essential pillars of any sustainable development agenda. And that these are essential elements of any vibrant, healthy society and economy.

Did we succeed? Well it depends on how we define success.  Given that the socially conservative thought regarding women has increased in the past decades, my answer, in short, would be yes. The 2030 Agenda and the 17 Global Goals adopted last year presents a transformative agenda that pledges to leave no one behind.

It contains one, stand-alone goal for gender equality as well as integrating gender equality across other goals. Goal number 3 on ensuring healthy lives and the promotion of well-being for all, at all ages contains important commitments to women’s health, including; to reduce global maternal mortality and to ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive health-care services, including family planning, information and education.

Did we solve all issues? Here my answer would be that the 2030 Agenda takes us a very important part of the way - but there still is a long way to go.

During the past years, I have traveled to a number of developing countries and I have had many encouraging meetings and witnessed in some of these countries that policies regarding gender, family, sexuality, and reproductive rights have become more expansive. And wherever I travel, meeting young people – especially young girls – impresses and inspires me.

Whilst in Burkina Faso, I met with a group of youth peer educators – a group trained to offer information and services on issues of sexual and reproductive health based on the premise that most young people feel more comfortable receiving information from people of the same age group, rather than from adults.

Their commitment to and belief in their job was so, convincing that I (together with the Danish Minister of Foreign Affairs) ended up inviting a young man and young girl from that group to share their knowledge and experiences with us here, at Women Deliver and to be inspired and take home new ideas, initiatives and networks to further strengthen their work in supporting the health and protecting the future of Burkina Faso’s youth.

Young people are the future. They hold the promise that things can change for the better. That development never stops. That there are always things that need improving and transforming to something better. Their empowerment holds the key to resolving many of today’s and tomorrow’s global challenges.

The 2030 Agenda – with all the promises it delivers – could have, should have delivered a stronger outcome for young people. Key elements such as improving youth friendly services, unhindered access to quality, evidence based information, universal access to comprehensive sexuality education are issues I wish had been given more prominence in that Agenda.

I am pleased to see that ”Youth as Co-Drivers of Progress” is the theme for your meeting tomorrow and I look particularly forward to hearing the outcome of your discussions.

I wish you success with your deliberations over the next hours and your meetings over the coming days in determining what each of you can do, as key decision-makers, to take development to the next level.  And I hope you will inspire one another, be inspired, have open and frank discussions about the challenges you are facing in your countries and build strong but, flexible partnerships that will lead to the advancement of the health, rights and well-being of girls and women everywhere.

Thank you