Lusaka, 11 July 2011, Today marks World Population Day in an important year for the global population–onOctober 31, the world population will reach 7 billion. In the 24 years since the first World Population Day, two billion people have joined the global
community – a remarkable growth considering it took over 150 years for the global population to grow from 1 to 3 billion.
Projections by the United Nations forecast the world’s population to rise to 9.2 billion by 2050.
Here in Zambia, we have seen similar remarkable population growth. Owing in large part to improvements in health care, including access to facilities and essential
medicines, and commensurate declines in infant and under-5 mortality rates, the population has grown from 8 million in 1990 to over 13 million today.
Although the annual population growth rate has been slowly declining, it is still high at 2.8% - each year; the population in Zambia grows by 350,000 people.
With this in mind, World Population Day provides an opportunity to pause and reflect on the remarkable achievements realized in Zambia, by people working together in a spirit of harmony, cooperation, and mutual respect.
“World Population Day seeks to focus attention on the urgency and importance of population issues, particularly in the context of overall development plans and programmes, and the need to find solutions”, said Mr. Duah Owusu-Sarfo, the United Nation’s Population Fund (UNFPA) representative to Zambia.
“It is also a day when we are reminded of our shared responsibility – to each other and to the land that we share. Although this is a remarkable year for the world’s population, we should not lose focus on the importance of each and every person as individuals.”
Population growth is not in and of itself a bad thing – its effects on development, both positive and negative, should not be exaggerated. What it means is that, for the world as a whole as well as here in Zambia, it is a Duah Owusu-Sarfo, UNFPA Representative(C); Mainga Luwabelwa, Assistant Director of National Planning, Ministry of Finance and National Planning (L); and Mr. Richard Banda, Census Manager,
Central Statistics Office(R)challenge when more people are confronted with the challenges of poverty, disease, and limited freedom of choice.
With a growing population comes an increased demand for access to essential social services – to education, health care, safe water, and sanitation – as well as greater needs for job creation, transportation, agricultural land and infrastructure. A larger population, unless matched by investment in social services,
places greater stresses on our shared natural resources.
A larger community, globally as well as here in Zambia, also provides tremendous potential. Working together, we have unprecedented opportunities to share ideas, unleash human potential, and cooperate toward common outcomes, such as achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). There are more people, with more voices and more hands, to work together to address underlying social and economic
conditions of underdevelopment.
Youth are an important part of the global community – they constitute more than a quarter of the world’s population, with most living in developing countries. In Zambia, there are more youth than ever before-almost half the population is under the age of 15, due to significant improvements in post-natal care.
Owusu-Sarfo said, “We are therefore reminded on World Population Day of the importance of investing in young people. Each and every adolescent deserves to grow up healthy, free of hunger, with access to education, and with decent prospects for employment.”
Investments and improvements in health, especially sexual and reproductive health, as well as in Education (secondary and tertiary), will ensure that youth are
equipped to be a powerful force for Zambia’s future economic growth and prosperity.
With a growing population comes a reminder of the role of girls and women– and of the enormous risks and challenges that they continue to face around the world.
As the sisters, daughters, and mothers of Zambia, girls and women are a powerful transformative voice for the country. Addressing gender equality, including reducing gender based violence and improving opportunities for access to positions of decision-making and economic empowerment, will help ensure the fullest participation of all Zambians in breaking the cycle of poverty.
“If every girl today could stay in school, have the number of children she desires, and live free of gender based violence and discrimination, we would see an end to child marriage, improved health for children and families, and women taking their rightful place in society,” said Owusu-Sarfo. Here in Zambia, it is important
to remember that 591 out of 100,000 mothers die each year while giving birth.
Protecting and promoting reproductive health and rights is critical – concerted action on this will help ensure that Zambia reaches its MDG target for improving maternal health and gender equality thereby the rest of the targets by 2015.
Last June, the United Nations launched the Global Strategy for Women’s and Children’s Health, a $40 billion partnership between a number of UN agencies and key international partners, to build on existing synergies and efforts to accelerate progress on many of the MDGs, including reducing child mortality and improving
maternal health – success in these areas will in turn be a driver for realizing progress on many of the other MDGs.
This year, the 2011 Population Day marks the launch of the UN campaign, “7 Billion Actions” (www.7BillionActions.org), which will highlight how, now more than ever, individuals have the ability and the power to be a force for monumental change.
This is according to a statement by Sirak Gebrehiwot.
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