World Population Day – Celebrated July 11, 2012

World Population Day 2012: Universal Access to Reproductive Health Services

On 11 July – World Population Day – many activities and campaigns will call attention to the essential part that reproductive health plays in creating a just and equitable world. Help us generate greater commitment to the idea that everyone has a right to reproductive health.

This year focuses on the theme of “Universal Access to Reproductive Health Services.” Reproductive health problems remain the leading cause of ill health and death for women of childbearing age worldwide. Some 222 million women who would like to avoid or delay pregnancy lack access to effective family planning. Nearly 800 women die every day in the process of giving life. About 1.8 billion young people are entering their reproductive years, often without the knowledge, skills and services they need to protect themselves. On the World Population Day, many activities and campaigns will call attention to the essential part that reproductive health plays in creating a just and equitable world.

Reproductive health is at the very heart of development and crucial to delivering the UNFPA vision — a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe, and every young person’s potential is fulfilled.

Universal access to reproductive health by 2015 is also one of the targets of the Millennium Development Goals. But we have a long way to go.

Reproductive health problems remain the leading cause of ill health and death for women of childbearing age worldwide. Some 222 million women who would like to avoid or delay pregnancy lack access to effective family planning. Nearly 800 women die every day in the process of giving life. About 1.8 billion young people are entering their reproductive years, often without the knowledge, skills and services they need to protect themselves.

Reproductive Health & family Planning Resource Kit

Relevant Treaties, Agreements on Right to Family Planning

U N I T E D N A T I O N S
MESSAGE @ THE SECRETARY-GENERAL
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MESSAGE ON WORLD POPULATION DAY
11 July 2012

“On this World Population Day, I call for urgent, concerted action by Member States to bridge the gap between demand and supply for reproductive health care. We must mainstream reproductive health and rights into all development and poverty reduction plans. Investing in universal access to reproductive health is a crucial investment in healthy societies and a more sustainable future.”

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
Message for World Population Day
11 July 2012

“The world’s population has more than tripled since the United Nations was created in 1945, and keeps growing. With more than 7 billion people now inhabiting the planet, we face ever greater demands on shared resources and significant challenges to the achievement of internationally agreed development goals.

Multiple crises – food, fuel and financial – have caused significant suffering and served as a wake-up call about the need to pay far more attention to the building blocks of sustainable development. Reproductive health is an indispensable part of the sustainable development equation. Women and young people who are in good health, and who have the power and means to make their own decisions about how many children to have — and when to have them — are better able to contribute to the development of their societies.

Yet only one in three rural women in developing countries receives adequate care during pregnancy. Teenage pregnancies are still commonplace in most parts of the world, often driven by poverty and a lack of education. More than 200 million women and adolescent girls have no access to contraceptives. And voluntary family planning programmes are starved for resources almost everywhere.

We can – and must – do better. On this World Population Day, I call for urgent, concerted action by Member States to bridge the gap between demand and supply for reproductive health care. We must mainstream reproductive health and rights into all development and poverty reduction plans. Investing in universal access to reproductive health is a crucial investment in healthy societies and a more sustainable future.”

“In the face of new environmental challenges, the United Nations must not only promote sustainable development, it must lead by example. UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, is committed to environmental protection and the implementation of the UN Climate Neutral Strategy.”

Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin, Executive Director, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)

The tremendous interest generated by the Day of 5 Billion on 11 July 1987 led to the establishment of World Population Day as an annual event. For more than 20 years, 11 July has been an occasion to mark the significance of population trends and related issues.

In 2011, as the world population is expected to surpass 7 billion, UNFPA and partners launched a campaign called 7 Billion Actions. It aims to engage people, spur commitment and spark actions related to the opportunities and challenges presented by a world of 7 billion people.

In many ways a world of 7 billion is an achievement: Globally, people are living longer and healthier lives, and couples are choosing to have fewer children. However, because so many couples are in, or will soon be entering, their reproductive years, the world population is projected to increase for decades to come. Meeting the needs of current and future generations presents daunting challenges.

Whether we can live together equitably on a healthy planet will depend on the choices and decisions we make now. In a world of 7 billion people, and counting, we need to count each other.

7 BILLION & ME – ADD YOUR STORY