World Population Day is Observed in the Jewel

World Population Day is observed internationally on July eleventh and seeks to focus attention on the urgency and importance of population issues.  It was established by the then-Governing Council of the United Nations Development Program in 1989.  The theme for this year is, “Family Planning is a Human Right” and signifies the fiftieth anniversary of the International Conference on Human Rights.  Tisa Grant is the liaison officer at UNFPA.

Tisa Grant

Tisa Grant, Liaison Officer, UNFPA

“As a country, not specifically commemorating World Population Day but we do have activities in country to acknowledge family planning as a human right which is the theme for World Population Day this year.  As you may know, this year marks the fiftieth anniversary of the resolution of family planning being a human right.  This took place on May 13th, 1968 and so it’s a very big deal for us that, you know, at the fiftieth anniversary that we highlight this particular achievement.  It’s a very hard-won human right and we want to make sure that this World Population Day we allow a space for talking about this hard-won right so that future generations do not take for granted the fact that this right did not come by so easily, and also so we continue to make the efforts necessary to strengthen global rights and development framework, but also the actions that we take in the country.  Belize has taken a lot of strides in terms of making family planning an option and accessible to everybody.”