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Educate Girls - End poverty : Celebrating World Population Day, 11 July 2009
11 July 2009
Women are economic agents who invest their earnings into raising healthier and better-educated children. Progress in social and economic development goes hand-in-hand with gender equality. No investment in development costs so little as family planning and brings benefits that are so far-reaching, such as creating conditions that enable women to enter the labour force and families to devote more resources to each child, thereby improving family nutrition, education levels and living standards.
In times of economic crisis, voluntary family planning information and services are more important than ever in enabling individuals to make their own decisions to space births and stay healthy for their families.
Ms. Gillian Mellsop, UNICEF Representative addressing
the participants of the walkathon |
Ready to walk towards gender equality |
This year witnessed the 20th World Population Day. The Day's inception in 1989 by the then UNDP Governing Council prompted its endorsement by the United Nations General Assembly as an opportunity to build better awareness of population issues and their relation to development. Since then the day is marked annually to highlight the links between population, poverty and development. This year the theme is 'Responding to the Economic Crisis: Investing in Women is a Smart Choice'.
Participants of the walkathon |
Finishing line |
In Kathmandu UNFPA celebrated the day with Nepal SBI Bank by organizing a walkathon from Babar Mahal to Jawalkhel and a fair at the ground next to the zoo. The Ministry of Health and Population organized a National Inaugural Programme at the National Health Training Center with the participation of Minister for Health and Population Umakanta Chaudhary and other senior officials at the ministry. During the programme the Minister said that the government had a population management policy that requires inter-sectoral collaboration. He also stated that in the new budget reproductive health would be stressed. Ms. Ugochi Daniels, Deputy Representative of UNFPA in Nepal reassured the Minister of UNFPA's support to the Government of Nepal.
District Development Committees and District Health Offices in Dadeldhura, Dang, Kapilvastu, Rautahat, Mahottari and Saptari organized various activities such as speech contest, essay contest, cricket match, street drama, radio drama and interactions.
Blood donation |
Ms. Ugochi Daniels, UNFPA Deputy Representative
addressing participants in the Programme at the
National Health Training Centerine |
|
World Population Day in Kapilvastu organized by the District Development Committee and the District Health Office |
World Population Day in Saptari organized by the District Development Committee and the District Health Office |
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