Support youth now to secure better future: UNFPA report
As October draws to a close, a new tally of the global population does as well. In its latest report, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) reveals how the planet is now home to 7 billion people. The 'State of World Population 2011' report puts the spotlight on how the actions we take now will influence the future of generations to come. The decisions we make today will impact whether the younger generations will have healthy, sustainable and prosperous lives or if they will be forced to fight inequalities, wrestle with economic setbacks or deal with environmental decline. In the foreword of the report, entitled 'People and Possibilities in a World of 7 Billion', UNFPA Executive Director Dr Babatunde Osotimehin said: 'With planning and the right investments in people now - to empower them to make choices that are not only good for themselves, but also for our global commons - our world of 7 billion can have thriving sustainable cities, productive labour forces that fuel economies, and youth populations that contribute to the well-being of their societies.' What does the growing population represent? It is a testament for humanity because people are not only living longer, but children are surviving across the globe as well. It should be noted, however, that there are a number of countries that have not felt the positive effects of this change. Some countries are reaping many benefits while others are not. Also, disparities in rights and opportunities are apparent between men and women, boys and girls, according to the report. It is crucial that work be done now to ensure equality in the future. Reaching the 7 billion mark 'is a challenge, an opportunity and a call to action,' noted Dr Osotimehin at the report's launch in London, United Kingdom on 26 October. The report was presented in over 100 cities across the globe. The UNFPA official pointed out that of the 7 billion people, young people (between the ages of 10 and 24) represent 1.8 billion of that total. 'Young people hold the key to the future, with the potential to transform the global political landscape and to propel economies through their creativity and capacities for innovation,' Dr Osotimehin said. 'But the opportunity to realize youth's great potential must be seized now. We should be investing in the health and education of our youth. This would yield enormous returns in economic growth and development for generations to come.' The Programme of Action of the 1994 Cairo International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) and its call to give people the right to make their own reproductive decisions continue to be the optimal guides for what lies ahead. 'With the 2014 anniversary of the ICPD rapidly approaching, the data indeed show that the road to equitable economic and social development runs straight through the centre of our mandate at UNFPA,' Dr Osotimehin remarked. 'But our work is far from done. Consider that there are 215 million women of childbearing age in developing countries who lack access to voluntary family planning. 'There are millions of adolescent girls and boys in the developing world who have too little access to sexuality education and information about how to prevent pregnancies or protect themselves from HIV. In pockets of the world where women's status is low, infant and child survival are also low. 'And we must tear down economic, legal and social barriers, to put women and men and boys and girls on an equal footing in all spheres of life.'For more information, please visit:United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA):http://www.unfpa.org/public/To access the State of World Population 2011 report, click:http://www.unfpa.org/swp/ (here)
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