Syrian Arab News Agency S A N A
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Damascus, SANA – World Population Day is observed on July 11th, and in 2018 the theme of this event is “Family Planning is Human Right.”
On this occasion, Executive Director of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Natalia Kanem sent a message affirming that family planning isn’t just about human rights; it is pivotal for empowering women, limiting poverty, and achieving sustainable development.
Kanem said that there are around 214 million women in developed areas in the world who lack access to family planning methods either due to lack of knowledge or lack of methods, stressing the need to provide all the needs and requirements for family planning by 2030.
She stressed the need for states to providing sexual and reproductive care and reproductive rights services to everyone.
In a statement to SANA, Chairman of the Syrian Commission for Family Affairs and Population Akram al-Qesh said that prior to the crisis, Syria made considerable strides in improving demographic, social, and health indicators, approaching the millennium goals in reproductive health.
Al-Qesh noted that the crisis had a negative impact on improving indicators and hindered access to reproductive health in some areas, but the Commission is working with the relevant authorities to set up a plan to improve indicators through a new intervention program.
He said that the population policies documents have been updated in provinces, which covers specifying population issues, challenges, and plans to address them, and this includes issues related to general health and reproductive health.
Al-Qesh said that work is also underway to carry out programs and plans that target women, children, youths, and the elderly, adding that the national framework for empowering woman has been set up, along with the framework for empowering youths, early childhood strategy, and elderly strategy.
Hazem Sabbagh
