UNECE marks the 2012 World Population Day under the motto of Universal Access to Reproductive Health Services.
Worldwide, reproductive health problems remain the leading cause of ill health and death for women of childbearing age. 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. The UNECE region is faced with large disparities regarding reproductive health: for instance, in CIS countries, on average 23 maternal deaths occur per 100,000 live births, in the EU it is only six (2010).[1] Reproductive health is at the heart of development, an interdependence that was acknowledged at the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD), a milestone event in the history of population and development. It marked a shift away from top-down population policies towards an approach of empowering people, enabling them to take informed decisions.
A total of 179 governments signed up to the ICPD Programme of Action. The benchmarks agreed in Cairo at the ICPD, together with benchmarks adopted at ICPD+5 became key elements of the Millennium Development Goals designed in 2000. In 2012, the ICPD Beyond 2014 Review has been launched and the UNECE secretariat will lead the process in the region. The Review aims to take stock of progress made and challenges faced in implementing the ICPD programme as a basis to define the post 2014-agenda. A Global Survey will be conducted with regional commissions, including UNECE, coordinating its implementation in the respective region. The Survey questionnaire will be disseminated during the second half of July 2012. UNECE member States will be requested to complete the Global Survey questionnaire by the end of October 2012 – a process that should include national stakeholder meetings to validate responses. Based on a thorough analysis of country data, a regional report will be prepared by the UNECE and a regional population conference is expected to take place in July 2013 to discuss outcomes as well as the way forward.
The regional process will feed in to the global review process which will culminate into an analytical global report with recommendations, and a shorter report by the Secretary-General which will be considered by both the 47th session of the Commission on Population and Development in 2014 and a United Nations General Assembly Special Session, tentatively planned for 24 September of the same year.
For more information on the UNECE’s work on population: http://www.unece.org/pau/welcome.html
For more information on World Population Day:
http://www.unfpa.org/public/world-population-day