Since 1994 the Population Institute (PI) has organized and implemented an Eastern European and Central Asian Country Consultation that has involved representatives from 17 different countries (Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Georgia, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Poland, Romania, Slovak Republic, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan. The goal of the consultation is to provide assistance to the non-governmental leaders of the Newly Independent States in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. The Population Institute believes it is important that these newly democratic nations have opportunities to speak frankly and openly about the wide range of social, economic, and health related challenges they encounter in their countries.

PI has worked with the Eastern European and Central Asian countries for over a decade in order to assist civil societies in these countries find their individual voices through their involvement in the world community. International forums like the Eastern European and Central Asia Country Consultation facilitate this process by providing an opportunity for the non-governmental sector to speak candidly about social, economic and health issues facing their countries.

In the 2004 and 2005 Consultations for example, country representative participants reported on a wide range of topics including reproductive health, infant and maternal mortality, influenza, tuberculosis, malaria, SARS, sexually transmitted diseases including HIV/AIDS, and gender issues. There is a crucial link between population and health issues and although population is decreasing in many of these countries, the challenges to reproductive health remain: maternal and child mortality is still very high in the region, access to quality medical care inconsistent and abortion rates are still high.
In 2005, the Eleventh Annual Eastern European and Central Asian Country Consultation was held May 5 - 8 in Munich, Germany. The theme of this conference was “Reproductive Health Progress.”  The 2006 conference, with participants from more than 20 countries takes place in Copenhagen, Denmark June 2 - 5, 2006.