World Population day is an annual event, observed on July 11 every year, which seeks to raise awareness of global population issues.World Population Day was instituted in 1989, and the event was established and organised by the Governing Council of United Nations Development Programme. This event was inspired by the world’s population reaching five billion on July 11, 1987. The world population is estimated to be 7.4 billion as of March 2016. India ranks 2nd after China in being the most populated country in the world.
Top 5 most populated countries (approximately):-
- China: 1,382,512,535
- India: 1,327,278,584
- USA: 324,118,789
- Indonesia: 260,581,674
- Brazil: 209,567,812.
Theme -World Population Day – 2016: ‘Investing in teenage girls’
The theme highlights the importance of empowering teenage girls by providing them access to basic information about their health, human rights, and reproductive rights, so they become agents of positive change in their communities. These young women can also explore websites like yourlovingchoices.org/ to get information on STDs, STIs, pregnancy options, abortion, contraception methods, pregnancy symptoms, etc. Knowing all such details might reduce the chances of unplanned pregnancies and the possibility of acquiring sexual diseases in teenagers.
The teenage years are for girls the time of exploration, learning, and increasing autonomy But, teenage girls may face enormous challenges around the world. Many young girls are considered by their communities or parents to be ready for marriage and motherhood. Leaders and communities must focus on and stand up for the rights of teenage girls, particularly those who are poor, out of school, exploited, or subjected to harmful traditional practices, the United Nations has said, marking World Population Day with a call to bolster the success of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development by investing in better opportunities for teen girls.
Aim of this World Population Day celebration
- The day aims at increasing people’s awareness on various population issues such as the importance of family planning, gender equality, poverty, maternal health and human rights.
- UNFPA’s programmes aim to end child marriage, curb adolescent pregnancy, and to empower girls to make informed choices about their health and lives.
- In 2015, UNFPA programmes helped 11.2 million girls between ages 10 and 19 gain access to sexual and reproductive health services and information.
- United Nations Development Programme is paying great attention towards health problems of the community people as it is the leading cause of the ill health as well as the death of the pregnant women worldwide.
- It has been distinguished that around 800 women are dying daily in the procedure of giving birth to a baby. Some have even had their baby be injured as they’ve given birth and have had to take legal action (click here to learn more) to rectify this injustice.
- The campaign of the World Population Day every year increases the knowledge and skills of the people worldwide towards their reproductive health and family planning.
- World Population Day is observed in more than 200 countries to bring awareness to people about importance of small families and living healthy lives.
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
- The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is the United Nations‘ global development network, Headquartered in New York City.It provides expert advice, training, and grants support to developing countries, with increasing emphasis on assistance to the least developed countries.
- UNDP works with nations on their own solutions to global and national development challenges.
- The UNDP Administrator is the third highest-ranking official of the United Nations after the United Nations Secretary-General and Deputy Secretary-General.
