This is an account of the 1994 Cairo International Conference on Population and Development and of its significance. From the Conference emerged a programme of action which aims to tie population policies to development and the role of women and to reduce the rate of population growth. The book recounts what actually happened at the Conference, focusing on the central issues and the way in which attempts were made to reconcile opposing positions so as to achieve concensus on an effective programme of action. It also takes a much wider perspective on the whole population debate, arguing that the Cairo conference represents a quantum leap in the way that the population issue is now seen.