PIP: The International Conference on Population and Development held in Cairo in September 1994 recognized the need for reducing unwanted fertility and promoting smaller families within reproductive health services along with improving women's equality in education, health, and economic opportunity. The implementation of the main message would require an ideological transformation both for the population and for the development establishments. The implementation of a broadened population policy must incorporate the reduction of gender disparities as the primary goal. The problem is that the UNFPA has no influence over resources allocated to child health, female education, economic opportunities for women, or empowerment of women. Reproductive health and family planning programs should be integrated within the broader health services; however, reproductive health may not receive the desired high priority. Family planning programs are also expected to solve two problems: to improve individual well-being and to reduce overall fertility. Managers are likely to implement the reproductive health approach if it is a cost-effective way of reducing total fertility. However, no evidence exists to show that treating reproductive tract infections is a cost-effective way of reducing fertility. The primary objective of family planning programs should be empowerment of individuals to achieve their own reproductive goals in a healthful manner. Fertility reduction should be linked to fertility reduction by focusing on unwanted childbirth and to reproductive health services. The redesign of contraceptive services from a reproductive health perspective would deal with the contraindications of each method by developing standards for screening and focusing as well on the diagnosis and treatment of these conditions. The suggested role of the population sector in the tasks of development and family planning lies in promoting the main message to a wider national and international audience, organizing family planning programs for attaining replacement level fertility, building professional alliances, and mobilizing resources.