Joint Statement on World Population Day 2006

This year on World Population Day, the focus is on young people. From a 10-year-old girl to a young man of 24, their needs are different, their cultures diverse. Yet, all over the world, young people want to be heard and involved. They want opportunity for all.

Yet today, more than 500 million people aged 15 to 24 live on less than $2 per day; 96 million young women in developing countries do not know how to read or write; and 14 million adolescent girls aged 15 to 19 become mothers every year, most of them without the presence of skilled birth attendants. Every day, 6,000 young people are newly infected with HIV. And the burden of caring for those with HIV related illness and children orphaned by AIDS very often falls on young girls, who as a consequence are not able to attend school.

These challenges lie at the heart of goals set by world leaders to reduce poverty and improve health and human well-being. The Millennium Development Goals will not be met unless young people are actively involved in policymaking and programming, and their voices are heard, needs are met and human rights respected.

The European Commission and UNFPA champion young people’s rights to education, health and employment. We recognize that investments in young people promote social and economic growth and better prospects in life. Key to these efforts are keeping girls in school, building life skills, delaying marriage and pregnancy until adulthood, and preventing HIV infection.

The European Union and UNFPA are committed to addressing the needs of young people. The European Commission partners with UNFPA, national governments and civil society to improve the lives of young people around the world, through initiatives such as the Reproductive Health Initiative for Youth in Asia, the Reproductive Health Initiative for Youth in the South Caucasus, as well as programmes in African countries such as Zimbabwe and Malawi.

Today, on World Population Day, we pledge our continued determination to work side by side with young people as partners in development. For we know that young people are not only the future, they are the present and their leadership should be supported today to help build a better world for all of us.