How does UNFPA’s work on population issues relate to its focus on reproductive health and gender issues?
Population dynamics, including growth rates, age structure, fertility and mortality, migration and more – influence every aspect of human, social and economic development. The other core areas of UNFPA’s work, including reproductive health and women’s empowerment, powerfully influence population trends and dynamics. Until 1994, population planning often took the form of reaching specific demographic targets. The 1994 International Conference on Population and Development, however, underscored and reaffirmed the idea that individuals and couples are at the heart of development and enjoy the basic human right to decide freely and responsibly the number and spacing of their children. These decisions, multiplied across communities and countries, are what create population trends. Knowledge of countries’ demographic situations has increased significantly over the years, and there is evidence that investments in education and reproductive health reduce poverty. During the past four decades,
