WORLD FACES CRITICAL CHOICES AS POPULATION PASSES 6 BILLION, UNITED NATIONS REPORTS

Press Release
POP/738

WORLD FACES CRITICAL CHOICES AS POPULATION PASSES 6 BILLION, UNITED NATIONS REPORTS

NEW YORK, 20 September (UNFPA) -- on Wednesday, 22 September, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) will release the report: The State of World Population 1999, 6 Billion: A Time for Choices. Dr. Nafis Sadik, UNFPA Executive Director, will launch the report in London at a press conference at the Foreign Press Association, starting at 11 a.m. local time (1000 GMT).

Press conferences are scheduled at United Nations Headquarters in New York, at 9:30 a.m., and in various cities throughout the world. In Washington, Stirling D. Scruggs, Director of UNFPA's Information and External Relations Division, will discuss the report at the National Press Club, at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, 21 September.

This year's State of World Population report highlights the critical challenges and choices facing countries as the global population passes 6 billion -- twice what it was in 1960. The "Day of 6 Billion" will be marked next month, on 12 October. More than 78 million people will be added this year. With more than a billion young people entering their childbearing years, population will continue to grow well into the twenty-first centry, especially in poor countries.

At a 1994 conference in Cairo, 179 governments agreed that population is closely linked to prospects for alleviating poverty, empowering women and protecting the environment. They acknowledged the right to reproductive health, and called for gender equality and universal access to reproductive health care including family planning. Examining issues such as reproductive choice, maternal mortality, HIV/AIDS, adolescents' needs and health sector reform, the UNFPA report shows that the Cairo action plan has already led to substantial progress, despite obstacles including a deep shortfall in international funding.

THE UNFPA helps developing countries to improve reproductive health and family planning based on individual choice, and to formulate population policies in support of sustainable development.

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FOR MORE INFORMATION London: Peter Robbs, (01480) 465328, fax 492724, peter.robbs@ukonline.co.uk New York: William A. Ryan, (212) 297-5279, fax 557-6416, ryanw@unfpa.org or Stan Bernstein, (212) 297-5039, bernstein@unfpa.org Washington: Sarah Craven, (202) 326-8713, fax 289-4415, scraven@ccmc.org Other cities: Victoria Rector, (212) 297-5022, fax 557-6416, rector@unfpa.org

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Note: The State of World Population 1999 is embargoed until 22 September, 1000GMT.