News from Population Matters.
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Number of women and girls subjected to harmful practices still growing
The latest UNFPA State of the World Population report shows that every year, millions of women and girls across the world are still subjected to violent and harmful practices, including the three most prevalent: child marriages, female genital mutilation, and son preference and gender-biased sex selection. Due to population growth and stagnating progress towards gender…
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How much would it cost to end the worst gender inequalities?
A new UN report summarises the Nairobi Summit on ICPD25, a key international conference held in November 2019 which aimed to boost global progress on women’s rights and sexual and reproductive health. One key outcome of the meeting was its revelation that ending maternal deaths, gender-based violence and unmet family planning needs is affordable and…
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Coronavirus and contraception in rural Kenya: SRH should be a priority every day
Dandelion Africa Director Wendo Aszed looks at how COVID-19 is affecting women in rural Kenya. Today I woke up worried about a lady in my village called Ekadon. I worried about her mud hut with tinned roof, held by stones, that it would fall on her at night or be swept away by the raging…
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Millions of women have no say over what happens to their bodies
Almost half of women in 57 low- to middle-income countries have no decision-making power regarding their health, contraceptive use and sex lives, according to a new UN report. A shocking quarter of women feel they are unable to turn down sex with their husband or partner and one in ten women have no say over…
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UN report: World still largely hostile to girls
Despite some progress over the past 25 years, girls under age 18 around the world continue to face unacceptable discrimination and violence driven by deeply entrenched gender inequality, according to a new report. The report, A New Era For Girls: Taking stock of 25 years of progress, was launched by UNICEF, Plan International and UN…
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Which European countries spend the most on global family planning?
A new report shows that Europe spent a total of 845 million Euros on global sexual and reproductive health (SRH) and family planning in 2018 – an overall increase of 5% compared to 2017. Encouragingly, 10 out of the 12 reviewed countries either increased or maintained their funding levels, yet major shortfalls and political barriers…
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Chris Packham: we need to talk about population
In a powerful BBC documentary broadcast this week, Population Matters patron Chris Packham examined the challenges of population growth, and made an impassioned plea for “the elephant in the room” to become a core part of environmental debate. His programme has prompted an outpouring of positive responses (including almost 100 new members for Population Matters),…
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Unmet needs: conversations with the women left behind
Population Matters’ Director, Robin Maynard, summarises events at this month’s Nairobi Summit on ICPD25, and recounts his experience of meeting young women and their families in Africa’s largest slum and surrounding rural communities. The controversy around the UN’s International Population and Development Conference (known by its acronym ICPD25, being the first held since the initial Cairo…
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Time to talk population again
This week, representatives from Population Matters will attend one of the most significant global meetings on population and development in recent years, the Nairobi Summit on ICPD 25. They will be taking the message that securing sustainable population is an essential goal, that it can and must be done through means that respect and enhance…
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Four out of five women live in countries rated ‘poor’ or ‘very poor’ for gender equality
A major new report on the state of gender equality in 129 countries reveals that women and girls continue to be discriminated against across the globe, with four out of five women living in the lowest scoring countries. The report, Harnessing the power of data for gender equality, published by Equal Measures 2030, introduces the…