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Organized by the United Nations Department of Global Communications (DGC), the 2024 UN Civil Society Conference (9-10 May) in Nairobi is pivotal in the journey towards shaping a collaborative future. With a focus on inclusivity and innovation, it provides a platform for civil society to contribute to the Pact for the Future negotiations, promoting networked multilateralism and SDG17 alignment. Amidst the critical preparations for the Summit of the Future, the conference aims to amplify diverse voices and initiatives, ultimately contributing to an inclusive vision for the future.
They make up 49.7% of the global population, yet women and girls are often ignored in discussions on demographics, with their rights violated in population policies. This pervasive injustice keeps women and girls out of school, the workforce and leadership positions; limits their agency and ability to make decisions about their health and sexual and reproductive lives; and heightens their vulnerability to violence, harmful practices and preventable maternal death, with a woman dying every two minutes due to pregnancy or childbirth.
This year’s World Population Day focused on unleashing the power of gender equality. Women and girls make up 49.7% of the global population, yet they are often ignored in discussions on demographics, with their rights violated in population policies. We must advance gender equality to create a more just, resilient and sustainable world. When women and girls are empowered by societies to exert autonomy over their lives and bodies, they and their families thrive. UNFPA highlights the need to advance gender equality to help realize the dreams of all 8 billion of us on our planet.
Despite comprising 49.7% of the global population, women and girls are frequently overlooked when discussing demographics, resulting in their rights being violated within population policies. We must advance gender equality to create a more just, resilient and sustainable world. When women and girls are empowered by societies to exert autonomy over their lives and bodies, they and their families thrive. On this World Population Day (11 July), let’s highlight the need to advance gender equality and uplift the voices of women and girls to unlock our world’s infinite possibilities!
When Tropical Cyclone Freddy slammed into Madagascar, Mozambique and Malawi, 32,000 pregnant women were due to give birth within weeks. The destruction of homes, health facilities and travel routes during the cyclone made childbirth much more perilous. Around 5,000 of the women could expect to experience complications in their final months of pregnancy or during childbirth, which, without access to skilled care, could prove fatal. A climate crisis is an obstetric emergency. After a two-hour journey on an ambulance recently repaired by UNFPA, Mercy, 37, gave birth to healthy twin boys.
Silvia Francisco joined the UNFPA programme, aimed at empowering younger generations across Angola to take charge of their sexual and reproductive health – to help an HIV+ relative.
UNFPA helps us discover the real-life stories of three Ukrainian mothers who each gave birth amidst the chaos of the war in Ukraine. Anna and her 2-month-old baby trapped beneath the Azovstal Steel Plant. Maryana, a frontline medic captured by Russian soldiers in Mariupol while pregnant. Ania who gave birth in an occupied city without electricity or water and with limited medical care.
Instead of celebrating the world’s population landmark of 8 billion people, media reports have been overwhelmingly fearful. UNFPA’s latest population report asks what is fact and what is fiction.
New data reveals population anxieties are widespread and governments are increasingly adopting policies aimed at raising, lowering or maintaining fertility rates. But efforts to influence fertility rates are very often ineffective and can erode women’s rights, according to this year’s UNFPA landmark report 8 Billion Lives, Infinite Possibilities: the case for rights and choices. As an instrument that highlights emerging issues in the field of sexual and reproductive health, the State of World Population Report 2023 also urges a radical rethink of how countries address changing demographics.
Large numbers of people are affected by infertility, according to a new report by WHO. Around 17.5% of the adult population – roughly 1 in 6 worldwide – experience infertility, showing the urgent need to increase access to affordable, high-quality fertility care. The new estimates show limited variation of infertility between regions. The rates are comparable for high-, middle- and low-income countries, indicating that this is a major health challenge globally. Lifetime prevalence was 17.8% in high-income countries and 16.5% in low- and middle-income countries.
Divya Chaudhry has a clear vision of her future and aspires for a career in science – she is at the top of her class and holds a leadership role in a UNFPA-supported youth health project.
As fertility declines and life expectancy rises, the global population is ageing fast. By 2050, the number of people aged 65+ will be over twice the number of children under 5, and about the same as the number of children under 12. Here are some striking facts from UNFPA's #8BillionStrong
Can the planet sustain such a number? Is the global population collapsing? Should we be worried? These are the questions asked each time the world notches another 1 billion. Let UNFPA debunk 3 common myths about the world population and see what it all means for a world of 8 billion people.
In 2022, the world’s population reached 8 billion people. While it took the global population 12 years to grow from 7 to 8 billion, it will take approximately 15 years for it to reach 9 billion, a sign that the growth rate of the global population is slowing. Yet levels of fertility remain high in some countries - those with the lowest income per capita. The United Nations follows population and other global issues in addition to its initial goals of peace and security, human rights, international law and development.