World Population Day 2020: Preserving the health and rights of women and girls
World Population Day 2020: As people around the world grapple with the new coronavirus pandemic, World Population Day this year focuses on multiple challenges – health, economic and social. The COVID-19 crisis has spared no country, rich or poor. Reproductive health, family planning and mental health – among other issues – have taken a step back, as medical resources have been stretched due to the pandemic.
World Population Day 2020 theme
“How to protect the health and rights of women and girls now” in the midst of the pandemic is the theme of this year’s World Population Day.
Why focus on women and girls
Reports have shown that domestic violence has increased worldwide in the midst of foreclosure. The National Commission for Women in India has reported a dramatic increase in the number of complaints. Women also make up the largest share of frontline health workers, according to a United Nations report. In India, in the midst of isolation, there have been many cases of pregnant women unable to go to health centers to give birth.
According to a study by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), “47 million women in low and middle income countries may not have access to modern contraceptives” in the event of interruptions of the lock type. Women are also hardest hit economically due to the COVID-19 crisis. According to the report, around 60% of women worldwide earn their living by working in the informal sector.
World Population Day and our role
- Experts say it is important to create and celebrate awareness.
- Get to know the women and girls in our neighborhood and find out their problems.
- Talk about family planning, the right to health care, gender equality, sex education and human rights with the women around us who have not had the opportunity to receive an education appropriate in their childhood.
The United Nations Development Program recommended the establishment of World Population Day in 1989, inspired by the public interest and awareness created by the “Five Billion Day” on July 11, 1987, when the world‘s population reaches 5 billion inhabitants.
