 |
 |
11 July - World Population Day |
| |
|
|
More than 1 billion
young people are between the ages
of 15 and 24. They need supportive
relationships and respect.
© UNFPA,
Abbas/Magnum Photos |
Statement by Kofi Annan,
UN Secretary General
"The theme of this year’s World
Population Day, “One billion adolescents:
the right to health, information and services”,
highlights the need to support young people
in their efforts to lead safe, rewarding
lives and contribute to the well-being of
their families and communities.
"Throughout the world, millions of
girls and boys are deprived of an education,
harming their individual prospects and those
of society at large. In some countries,
half of all girls are married before the
age of 18, often resulting in early childbearing
that poses serious health risks to both
mother and child. Experience shows that
educated women are more likely to marry
later, and have healthy and better educated
children, who will pass on these benefits
from one generation to the next. Education
and information also influence how many
children they will have. If a woman were
to wait until age 23, instead of age 18,
to have her first child, that alone could
reduce the momentum in population growth
by over 40 per cent.
"Information and services are also
crucial in the fight against AIDS and the
broader quest for good health. Young people
should know how the HIV virus is transmitted,
and how to protect themselves from infection.
This is important everywhere but is absolutely
critical in countries where infection rates
are already high or quickly rising. Reproductive
health services and factual information
about reproductive health will also help
young people to avoid risky behaviour, unwanted
pregnancy and poor health in general. And
in conflict zones, where levels of sexual
violence and abuse are dramatically heightened,
young people need appropriate and sensitive
services to recover and participate in their
country’s return to normal life.
"If the world is to achieve the Millennium
Development Goals and implement the programme
of action adopted at the International Conference
on Population and Development in Cairo in
1994, the most effective interventions will
involve young people themselves. It is they
who can best identify their needs, and who
must help design the programmes that address
them.
"One of every six people
on earth is an adolescent. In the developing
world, more than 40 percent of the population
is under age 20. The decisions these young
people make will shape our world and the
prospects of future generations. On this
World Population Day, let us recognize their
right to the health, information and services
they need and deserve."
General Resources
Related Organisations (see FMO Organisations
directory for more)
- Population,
migration and refugee studies: information
sources
Guide highlighting information resources
located at Columbia University Libraries
and on the Internet.
- Discussion
papers - Universite de Neuchatel.
Swiss Forum for Migration and Population
Studies (FSM/SFM)
Provides full text access to the discussion
papers of FSM. These are research, evaluation
and commentary papers on aspects of migration,
asylum, and integration research, politics
and policies broadly defined.
- InfoNation
- United Nations Cyberschoolbus
Allows users to construct statistical
tables comparing and contrasting data
for up to five countries at a time. Data
figures are available for the following
areas: population, economy, environment,
health and technology. Links to more detailed
country profiles are also provided; these
include maps, basic demographic details,
and links to news sources.
- CPOP
current projects: roundtable on the demography
of forced migration - National Academy
of Science. Committee on Population (CPOP)
Established 1999 to serve as "an
interdisciplinary, nonpartisan focal point
for taking stock of what is known about
demographic patterns in refugee situations,
applying this knowledge base to assist
both policy makers and relief workers,
and stimulating new directions for innovation
and scientific inquiry in this growing
field of study." Access to the complete
text of all the Roundtable's publications.
- Guia
del mundo - Instituto del Tercer Mundo
Annual reference book provides information
and data on countries around the world.
It is divided into two sections: the theme
section reviews current issues such as
indigenous people, population, water,
climate change, globalization, work, drugs,
etc.; in the country section, users will
find historical information, a review
of relevant events, maps, photos, statistical
and demographic data for over 200 nations.
- World
health report 2002: reducing risks, promoting
healthy life - World Health Organization
(WHO)
Report quantifies the health risks faced
by the world's population today and looks
at how these risks can be reduced in the
future in order to increase life expectancies.
The complete text of the report is provided
in PDF format, with overviews available
in all six official WHO languages.
- Publications
- Institute for the Study of International
Migration (ISIM), Georgetown University.
Examines a range of issues relating to
international migration including "causes
of and potential responses to population
movements, immigration and refugee law
and policy, comparative migration studies,
the integration of immigrants into their
host societies, and the effects of international
migration on social, economic, demographic,
foreign policy and national security concerns,"
and internal displacement.
- Reproductive
health in refugee situations: an inter-agency
field manual - UNHCR, WHO, UNFPA &
International Planned Parenthood Federation
(IPPF)
Manual to support the delivery of reproductive
health services in the field. Chapters
cover safe motherhood, sexual/gender-based
violence, sexually transmitted diseases,
family planning, among other issues. Also
notable is Appendix 2, which summarizes
basic rights to reproductive health based
on international human rights instruments.
A glossary of terms is presented in Appendix
3.
- PopNet
Comprehensive directory of population-related
websites listed by organization, by region
and country, or by topic within countries.
|
