World Population Day-2016 will be observed today across the country as elsewhere in the world with a call to provide support and investment in teenage girls across the world. The theme of the day is “investing in teenage girls” who face a lack of school and early marriage and motherhood which leaves them vulnerable to illness, injury and exploitation.
To observe the day, an elaborate programme has been taken to create mass awareness among the people. The programme included rallies and discussions.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon issued a message on the occasion of the World Population Day-2016.
To mark the day, the UN secretary general stated that “I urge all governments, business and civil society to support and invest in teenage girls. Everyone deserves the benefit of economic growth and social progress. Let us work together to ensure a life of security, dignity and opportunity for all”.
He said half of all sexual assaults worldwide are committed against girls aged 15 or younger. In developing countries, one in three girls is married before she reaches 18, he said. And teenage girls are less likely than teenage boys to start or finish secondary school, he said.
Ban Ki-Moon said the international community has committed to a new sustainable development agenda built on the principles of equity and human rights. A central objective of the Sustainable Development Goals is to leave no one behind.
Rectifying these inequalities is critical for the success of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, he said. That is why it includes the specific Goal of achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls, he said.
In Bangladesh the main function of the day would be held at Osmani Memorial Hall in the city. Health and family welfare minister Mohammad Nasim is expected to attend the function as the chief guest.
Besides, Bangladesh Television, Bangladesh Betar, private TV channels would air special programmes while special supplements will be published in different national dailies.
World Population Day is observed annually on 11 July to raise awareness of global population issues. The date was chosen because it was on or around 11 July 1987 that the world’s population reached five billion people. That figure is now nearly 7.5 billion, and the United Nations estimates it will be around 11.2 billion by the year 2100.
