Population

In Nepal, where health authorities there reported a suspected cholera outbreak a few days ago, national health authorities are leading the response and have activated the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene — or WASH— Cluster, with support from the United Nations team there.

Following consultations with the Executive Board of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres announced today the appointment of Diene Keita of Guinea as the Fund’s new Executive Director. She succeeds Natalia Kanem of Panama to whom the Secretary-General is deeply grateful for her dedicated service and outstanding commitment to the Organization.

The UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) reports that on 10 July in Bangui, leaders of two armed groups, the 3R and the UPC, took part in a ceremony where they committed to laying down their arms and rejoining the 2019 Peace Agreement.

Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks, delivered by United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Executive Director Natalia Kanem, to the UNFPA Award ceremony in New York today:

Following is UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ message for World Population Day, observed on 11 July:

A United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) report, released today, finds that one in five people globally do not expect to have the number of children they desire. Key drivers include the prohibitive cost of parenthood, job insecurity, housing, concerns over the state of the world and the lack of a suitable partner.

The Commission on Population and Development failed to adopt an outcome document today as it concluded its fifty-eighth session, with delegates sharply divided about support for sexual and reproductive rights, and some questioning commitment to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Declining fertility rates, persistently high child mortality rates, international migration, and a surge in urbanization over the past several decades have significantly shaped global population trends — and will continue to do so, the Commission on Population and Development heard today.

Overstretched, underfunded health systems that cannot meet the needs of the most vulnerable are undermining gains made towards sustainable development, the Commission on Population and Development heard today as it entered the third day of its current session.

In a world in which every individual has access to high-quality, affordable health services, including sexual and reproductive care, young people can shape their own futures and older persons can age with dignity, speakers at the Commission on Population and Development stressed today as it continued its fifty-eighth session.