A/RES/S-21/2 Page 3 6. The Programme of Action recommended a set of interdependent quantitative goals and objectives. These included universal access to primary education, with special attention to closing the gender gap in primary and secondary school education, wherever it exists; universal access to primary health care; universal access to a full range of comprehensive reproductive health-care services, including family planning, as set out in paragraph 7.6 of the Programme of Action; reductions in infant, child and maternal morbidity and mortality; and increased life expectancy. The Programme of Action also proposed a set of qualitative goals that are mutually supportive and of critical importance to achieving the quantitative goals and objectives. 7. The Programme of Action articulates a comprehensive approach to issues of population and development, identifying a range of demographic and social goals to be achieved over a 20-year period. While the Programme of Action does not quantify goals for population growth, structure and distribution, it reflects the view that an early stabilization of world population would make a crucial contribution to realizing the overarching objective of sustainable development. 8. According to the United Nations estimates and projections, the world's population will exceed 6 billion for the first time in 1999, of which nearly 80 per cent will be living in developing countries. Depending on the quality and the magnitude of the actions taken over the next five to ten years in the areas of population policy and reproductive health, including the provision of family planning services, world population will total somewhere between 6.9 billion and 7.4 billion in 2015. The majority of the world's countries are converging in a pattern of low birth and death rates, but since these countries are proceeding at different speeds, the emerging picture is that of a world facing increasingly diverse demographic situations. The world's reproductive age population continues to grow at a slightly higher rate than the world's population as a whole, reflecting the large number of young people entering their childbearing years. The Programme of Action rightly emphasizes the need to integrate population concerns fully into development strategies and planning, taking into account the interrelationship of population issues with the goals of poverty eradication, food security, adequate shelter, employment and basic social services for all, with the objective of improving the quality of life of present and future generations through appropriate population and development policies and programmes. 9. The five-year review of progress shows that the implementation of the recommendations of the Programme of Action has shown positive results. Many countries have taken steps to integrate population concerns into their development strategies. Mortality in most countries has continued to fall in the five years since the adoption of the Programme of Action. The Conference's broad-based definition of reproductive health is being accepted by an increasing number of countries and steps are being taken to provide comprehensive services in many countries, with increasing emphasis being given to quality of care. The rising use of family planning methods indicates that there is greater accessibility to family planning and that more and more couples and individuals are able to choose the number and spacing of their children. Many countries, both countries of origin and countries of destination, have taken important steps, including, inter alia, at the regional level, aimed at better managing international migration flows through bilateral and multinational agreements. In addition, many civil society organizations are contributing to the formulation and implementation of policies, programmes and projects on their own or in partnerships with governmental and intergovernmental organizations as well as the private sector. 10. However, for some countries and regions, progress has been limited and, in some cases, setbacks have occurred. Women and the girl child continue to face discrimination. The human immunodeficiency virus/acquired /...