CPD44 stresses reproductive health as key to healthier, wealthier societies
UNITED NATIONS, New York, 11-15 April 2011 — The relationship between high-fertility, high maternal and child mortality and high incidence of extreme poverty was underlined at the 44th session of the Commission on Population and Development, which addressed the theme of “fertility, reproductive health and development.”
Sha Zukang, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, in his introductory statement, spoke of world leaders call at the MDG Summit in September 2010 for universal access to reproductive health by 2015: “Their appeal reflects the lessons of history. Lower levels of fertility are associated with higher family incomes, increased well-being for women and children, and fewer maternal deaths.”
Babatunde Osotimehin, , the new Executive Director of the United Nations Population Fund said it is time to make universal access to reproductive health a reality: ““We need to keep pushing to make universal access to reproductive health a reality,” said Dr. Osotimehin. “Investing in the health and rights of women and young people is not an expenditure; it is an investment in our future”. This was underlined in a recent report of the United Nations Secretary-General which states that family planning and demographic change alone cut poverty by one seventh in developing nations between 1960 and 2000 and could produce another one-seventh drop by 2015, in world that will soon have seven billion people.
Margaret Pollack, , US Director for Multilateral Coordination and External Relations and Senior Advisor on Population Issues at the Department of State reaffirmed support for the UN Secretary General’s Global Strategy for Women’s and Children’s Health “which encourages investments in women and girls to meet the health-related Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) – particularly MDGs 4 and 5 where progress is far off track… My government's own commitment – the Global Health Initiative – aims to provide a package of integrated health services based on strong health systems that emphasize country ownership. Like the ICPD Program of Action, this initiative focuses on women, girls, and gender equality to fight disease and promote health worldwide. Mr. Chairman, President Obama underscored our deep commitment to eradicating extreme poverty at the MDG Summit last September. Access to reproductive health services, including family planning, is a central element of the United States’ development work. “