World Population Day 2018 highlights issues with growing population

This year's theme: Family Planning is a Human Right

ORLANDO, Fla. – World Population Day brings awareness to population issues every year on July 11. 

Since its creation in 1989 by the U.N., this day has highlighted themes to educate on population growth such as "Empowering people, developing nations" and "Investing in teenage girls." 

This year's theme is "Family Planning is a Human Right." 

Established as a basic right 50 years ago, family planning encourages individuals to responsibly decide the number and spacing of their children. Deciding how many children you want, if any, allows for sustainable development in a world with a quickly growing population, according to the UN Population Fund.

"Yet, in developing regions, some 214 million women still lack safe and effective family planning methods, for reasons ranging from lack of information or services to lack of support from their partners or communities," a spokesperson from the U.N. Populations Fund wrote in a statement. "This threatens their ability to build a better future for themselves, their families and their communities,"

The UN Population Fund supports family planning by providing quality contraceptives, strengthening national health systems and promoting gender equality. 

Access and use of this right helps to reduce infant mortality rate, prevent HIV/AIDS and slow population growth, according to the World Health Organization

Here’s what you should know about the annual awareness day and the world’s changing demographics.

  • World Population Day was established by the United Nations in 1989 to “focus attention on the urgency and importance of population issues.”

  • World Population Day has a new theme each year. This year’s theme is “Family Planning is a Human Right.”

  • 2018 marks 50 years since the 1968 International Conference on Human Rights, where it was globally affirmed for the first time that parents have the right to decide when and how often to have children, if at all.

  • The U.N. Population Fund (UNPFA) supports family planning worldwide by ensuring quality contraceptives, strengthening national health systems and more.

  • According to the U.N., the world’s population is expected to reach 8.6 billion in 2030 and 9.8 billion in 2050.

  • The U.S. Census Bureau projects that older adults will outnumber chil­dren for the first time in U.S. history by 2035.

  • The Census website names mixed-race people as the fastest-growing racial or ethnic group over the next several decades, followed by Asians and Hispanics.


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