PRESS CONFERENCE on launch of 2007 population report

 

“In 2008, for the first time in history, more than half of the world’s people will be living in towns and cities,” Ann Erb Leoncavallo of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) said today at a Headquarters press conference.

Launching the UNFPA report “State of World Population 2007: Unleashing the Potential of Urban Growth”, she said the world was undergoing the largest wave of urban growth in history.  Within a single generation, the urban population in Africa and Asia was set to double.  Between 2000 and 2030, Asia’s urban population would grow from 1.4 billion to 2.6 billion, Africa’s from nearly 300 million to 740 million, and that of Latin America and the Caribbean from nearly 400 million to more than 600 million.

She said the report, the thirtieth issued by UNFPA on the state of the world population, was a call to action because the vast urban expansion in developing countries had global implications and required a global response.  Realistic planning called for explicit consideration of the needs and rights of slum dwellers and the urban poor, as well for their participation.  Providing minimally serviced land for the poor, with clean water, shelter and sanitation, would help meet present and future needs.  Most growth was anticipated in smaller cities of half a million people or less, so those required greater attention.

As climate change would affect poor countries, cities and individuals more severely, best practices needed to be shared and cities needed to plan ahead, she said.  Contrary to popular belief, most urban growth was the result of natural increases rather than migration.  In response, policymakers should shift emphasis from stemming migration to delivering social services and investing in women, including in education and health, reproductive health and family planning.  The report also drew attention to the large youth population in cities in developing countries, particularly in urban slums, which called for greater investments in basic services, employment and housing.

Joining Ms. Leoncavallo at the press conference was the President of Americans for UNFPA, Anika Rahman.  Americans for UNFPA, formerly the United States Committee for UNFPA, was founded in 1998 as a non-partisan, charitable organization.  It generates awareness of UNFPA’s work and raises funds for its field programmes.  It also advocates for the release of congressional monies earmarked for the United Nations Fund. 

On urbanization, Ms. Rahman added that the prevailing view was that it caused more problems than it solved.  However, cities offered the best chance of reducing poverty and containing environmental damage.  For women in particular, cities offered better educational facilities, more diverse employment options and more opportunities for social and political participation.

She said the imperative articulated in UNFPA’s report was for policymakers to plan now for future growth, as that would mean the difference between prosperity and a downward spiral.  Policymakers who were aware of the interactions between the local and global spheres, the short- and long-term, would support growth and economic development, making urbanization a positive force for change.  In that regard, she highlighted New York City’s establishment of an office of long-term planning and sustainability and the Green Apple initiative as a model of proactive planning in support of the estimated population growth of 1 million by 2030.

However, while the City of New York and others around the world were taking action, the United States Government was one step behind, she said.  In that regard, she expressed her “ongoing dismay at the Bush Administration’s continued de-funding of the UNFPA”.  The United States had helped to create the UNFPA in 1969, and although Congress continued to allocate a contribution to it, the Administration had blocked funds, in the amount of $262 million, for the past five years.  Just this month, President George Bush had threatened to veto the 2008 Foreign Operations Appropriations bill, in part, because the language of the bill would make it harder for him to withhold the contribution to UNFPA, she said.

Answering correspondents’ questions, Ms. Leoncavallo said United Nations agencies, including the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT) and other development agencies, were well aware of the situation and realized that there was a need to shift attention and resource allocations to deal with poverty in cities and towns, without diverting monies from programmes geared to the rural populations.  The Economic and Social Council would raise the matter during its high-level segment and ministerial review in Geneva in July.  The Population Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs was always proactive in talking about urban growth. 

Asked what mechanisms were available to limit the population pressure on urban areas, she said many cities were unprepared for the fact that, within a generation, their populations would double.  The report called for global attention to the matter, because the challenge was more than any city could handle individually.  As natural growth, and not migration, was the main cause of the spike in population, the challenges demanded immediate response by planners, social services, the international development community and donor countries.

In response to a question about the high rents in New York City and about the problems in New Orleans after Katrina, Ms. Leoncavallo said those issues were local and were outside the report’s scope.  The UNFPA’s general position was that affordable housing should be available to all.

Addressing the issue of the Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) auditing UNFPA activities in North Korea, another focus of correspondents, she said the OIOS report had been taken very seriously by the governing board of the organization and its decisions had been published on the UNFPA website.  The UNFPA was completely committed to accountability, which was a priority in her organization.  She was also proud of progress made in its audit system and in its accountability framework within the past few years.

Ms. Rahman added that her non-governmental organization viewed the audit issue as a political one.  The Bush Administration had de-funded the UNFPA and was just looking for additional excuses to continue that position.  Her organization was opposed to that de-funding, as the UNFPA was doing incredibly valuable work in 140 countries around the world.  In fact, the United States had been one of the prime movers behind the call for the audit. Asked about the lower birth rates in cities, Ms. Leoncavallo said that women and families in cities tended to have lower fertility rates.  One factor was that fewer children were needed for such things as working the fields or fetching water.  The lower birth rates in urban centres were also a result of increased access to education and family planning.  The report argued for ensuring universal access to reproductive health services, including family planning, and to education.  Both were internationally agreed development goals. 

To questions about the slums in Rio de Janeiro, with its problems of gun violence, as well as to the situation in Africa, she said the problems in slums were just the beginning to unfold.  The report called for attention to the slums as potential breeding grounds for social unrest and gangs.  There was a need for improved government for cities and increased social investment, not only in Africa, but globally.

The battle to meet the Millennium Development Goals, especially halving poverty by 2015, would be waged in the cities of the developing world, she said.  There had been many attempts to stem migration to urban areas, but they had been largely futile.  Now was the time to address the need of the peoples living in the cities, particularly regarding education, water and sanitation.  A priority was the least developed countries, which had the world’s highest population growth.  The process of globalization was also contributing to urban growth.

As there were more male than female children born, one correspondent asked about UNFPA’s position on coercion.  Ms. Leoncavallo answered that the UNFPA worked daily to end coercion regarding pre-natal sex selection.

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For information media • not an official record