The world celebrates “World Population Day” on July 11 every
year to raise awareness regarding population related issues. The day which
celebrates its 29th year in 2018 was a result of efforts of many countries and
the underlying human principles that form the crux of plan of action to contain
population and to improve life for the living beings. This year’s theme is
“Family Planning is a Human Right”.
Years ago, in Palais de Chaillot in Paris, France,
representatives from round the globe gathered together to formulate a document
which is now known as the “The Universal Declaration of Human Rights.” The
document which has been translated in over 500 languages was revisited 19 years
later in 1968. It was a part of Proclamation of Teheran (International
Conference on Human Rights, Teheran). The conference was “declared open” by,
the then, United Nations(UN) Secretary-General, U Thant in April of 22 in 1968.
On May 13 of 1968, the document proclaimed, “Parents have a basic human right
to determine freely and responsibly the number and the spacing of their
children.” This is said to be the cornerstone for what is now called “World
Population Day.”
The observation of the day came into existence when the
Governing Council of UNDP (United Nations Development Programme) recommended
celebrating July 11 every year as “World Population Day.” The date was selected
as a consequence of “Five Billion Day” celebrated on July 11, 1987 which is
considered as the approximate date the population of the world crossed 5
billion.
This year’s theme is "Family Planning is a Human
Right." The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Executive Director ,
Natalia Kanem, said, on the occasion, that in developing regions, some 214 million women still lack safe and
effective family planning, for reasons ranging from lack of information or
services, to lack of support from their partners or communities.
In terms of numbers, India with 1.3 billion people has
maintained an annual population change rate of 1.2% from 2010-2017 with 66% of
the population in 15-64 age bracket (as of 2017 according to United Nation).
NITI Aayog data shows that with a TFR of 2.3 in 2016, the average life
expectancy of men and women stands at 67 and 70 respectively.
As India inches closer to being the country with the largest
population by 2024, the world should foster a common path of development and
move towards the goal of making "Family Planning" a human right for
all across the length and breadth of the world.
Chetan Thathoo
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