Population Projections Show World Must Act Faster to Help Women in Poor Countries, Says UNFPA Head

UNITED NATIONS, New York—New projections of the world’s population should spur more urgent action to stop the spread of HIV/AIDS and help more women and men determine freely the size of their families, UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, said today.

The Fund was commenting on new figures from the Population Division of the United Nations Secretariat, showing an upward revision of population projections. According to its just released World Population Prospects: The 2004 Revision, the number of people in the world is expected to rise by 2.6 billion, from today’s 6.5 billion to 9.1 billion in 2050. The report’s 2002 edition had projected a population of 8.9 billion in 2050.

Almost all growth will take place in developing regions, where population is expected to rise from today’s 5.3 billion to 7.8 billion, according to World Population Prospects. By contrast, developed countries’ population will remain mostly unchanged, at 1.2 billion.

Future population growth depends on the future path of fertility, says World Population Prospects, echoing a recent report by the United Nations Secretary-General, stressing that projections were “contingent on ensuring that couples have access to family planning and that efforts to arrest the current spread of HIV/AIDS epidemic are successful in reducing its growth momentum”.

“We must take more urgent action to promote access to reproductive health, including family planning, and fight HIV/AIDS to save millions of lives from AIDS and maternal death, as well as to reduce poverty in developing countries,” said Thoraya Ahmed Obaid, UNFPA’s Executive Director. “As the world reviews the Beijing women’s conference next week, we must promote women's rights to protect their welfare and health, especially reproductive health. Too many of our sisters in developing countries are lost to their families and societies due to maternal death. We must do better to empower women to help eliminate poverty and promote prosperity.”

The population of the 50 least developed countries is projected to more than double, passing from 0.8 billion in 2005 to 1.7 billion in 2050, World Population Prospects reports. Growth in the rest of the developing world is also projected to be robust, it adds.

“Developing countries suffer most of the world’s deaths from AIDS and lose most of the half million women who die each year from childbirth-related causes,” said Ms. Obaid. “It is vital for all donors to invest the amounts they have pledged to tackle these problems in the poor countries that lack the resources to do so. Developing nations have said in many forums that they need additional resources to prevent HIV/AIDS, expand maternal health and facilitate socio-economic development for their rising populations.”

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UNFPA is the world’s largest multilateral source of population assistance. Making motherhood safer for all women is at the heart of the Fund’s mandate.

Contact Information:

Kristin Hetle
Tel.: +1 212-297-5020
Email: hetle@unfpa.org

Omar Gharzeddine
Tel.: +1 (212) 297-5028
Email: gharzeddine@unfpa.org

Abubakar Dungus
Tel.: +1 (212) 297-5031
Email: dungus@unfpa.org