Not panic
Executive Director of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). Natalia Kanem called on governments to focus on women, children and marginalized groups rather than being afraid of population.
“I understand that not everyone will be able to celebrate this moment. Some worry, our world is overpopulated. Compared to that, the logistics to save life is insufficient. But I want to say clearly, this number of people should not be a cause of panic.”
He argues that, in the past, different countries have tried to reverse the trend of population decline and growth in different ways. Sometimes a strict one-child policy was implemented, sometimes restrictions were placed on family planning or abortion. None of those policies served the original purpose, and the results were dangerous.
“Again we cannot allow serious human rights abuses to happen… nothing more, where a woman’s ability to decide when to conceive or whether to conceive at all is taken away. This population panic can divert our attention from where we should be focusing.”