The
number of people living on the planet has greatly increased in recent years --
2000 years ago there were about 200 million people; by 1900 that number had grown
to 1.6 billion; by 2007 there were 6.7 billion people alive. The more people there
are, the more resources are consumed and the greater the strain on the ecosystems
of the world.
Every
minute 140 babies are born. On July 11, 1987 one newborn in Yugoslavia was declared
to be the 5 billionth human alive on the planet. Now, every July 11 is celebrated
as World Population Day, to highlight the importance of addressing and finding
solutions to population issues.
The
United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) partners with governments and non-governmental
organizations in 140 countries to promote reproductive health. These programs
help to save lives, slow the spread of HIV and encourage equal rights for men
and women. This, in turn, helps to reduce poverty and stabilize population growth,
creating more healthy and prosperous families, communities and a better world.
Education is
one key to stabilizing the world population. When girls have equal access to education
and equal participation in the workforce, they don't start families at such a
young age and don't have as many children when they do start families. Promoting
equal rights for men and women benefits everyone, helps to reduce poverty and
save lives.
Every
minute, a woman in the developing world dies from treatable complications of pregnancy
or childbirth. With better access to health care, half a million woman's lives
and seven million infants wouldn't needlessly die. Better reproductive health
services would help slow down the AIDS epidemic. Every day, 14,000 people, half
under 25, are infected with HIV/AIDS. Family planning for the world's poor is
essential. The birth rate is highest in the world's poorest places.
At
the Millennium Summit in the year 2000, the world's leaders agreed to achieve
universal access to reproductive health by 2015, promote gender equality and end
discrimination against women. Population Day is a time to remind our leaders about
their promise to meet these goals.
