-As He Launches 2024 State of World Population Report
IPNEWS: Vice President Jeremiah Kpan Koung on Thursday, July 11, called on the intelligentsia to continuously utilize evidence-based research and available data, one of which is the 2024 State of World Population Report, to inform national policy decisions and implement programs that improve the livelihoods of the citizens.
The report, which is titled, “Interwoven Lives, Threads of Hope: Ending Inequalities in Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights,” is an annual report published by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the specialized UN agency for sexual and reproductive health.
Vice President Koung officially launched the Report on Thursday, marking the celebration of World Population Day.
Editions of the World Population Reports usually cover and analyze development trends in world population and demography, highlighting specific regions, countries, and population groups, and the unique challenges they face.
In Vice President Koung’s address to Liberians and development partners, he urged his audience and others for them to continuously use evidence-based research and available data to inform national policy decisions and implement programs that improve the livelihoods of the citizens.
He noted that the celebration of this day is set aside to highlight the importance of population dynamics in development and to promote comprehensive and inclusive policies that ensure human rights, social justice, and sustainable development.
The Vice President asserted that the theme for this year’s celebration, “Embracing the Power of Inclusive Data Towards a Resilient and Equitable Future for All,” is particularly significant.
He reminded everyone that 30 years ago, at the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD), the world agreed to put people, especially the rights of women and girls, at the heart of development.
He indicated that this has led to significant progress in women’s access to reproductive care, reductions in maternal deaths, and improvements in gender equality; something he said triggered his call for a continuous evidence-based research and available data.
VP Koung used the occasion to commit the government’s ARREST Agenda to use evidence-based research data to address the socio-economic challenges faced by the citizens across the country.
He added that as the government implements the ARREST Agenda, the government is dedicated to ensuring that the rights of women and girls, the young people are mainstreamed across all sectors, providing a foundation for the future.
The VP added: “We will also work with the legislature to ensure that the laws and policies we pass reflect our national priorities, and are inclusive of all people, particularly the elderly and people with disabilities.”
He informed the ceremony that he embraced the opportunity to work with the 55th Legislature and constituted the Legislative Committee on Population and Development (LCPD).
According to him, with technical and financial assistance from the United Nations Fund, the committee of 20 lawmakers will strategically advance policy discussions on reproductive health, women’s empowerment, gender equality, the elderly, adolescent and youth.
At the same time, VP Koung has encouraged all Liberians to take an interest in reading and widely sharing this year’s State of the World Population Report.
He said the report contains valuable information and analyses on global, regional, and national population dynamics. “We must also continue to analyze and use the census data to understand population trends and dynamics in Liberia and track our development progress”.
Meanwhile, UNFPA Resident Coordinator, Madam Bidisha Pillai reading the UNFPA Executive Director, Dr. Natalia Kanem’s World Population Day statement, stressed that to end inequality, find and grow peace and prosperity, weave more threads of hope, the world needs to do more for inclusion.
Madam Pillai added that for humanity to progress, people must be counted wherever they are and whoever they are in all their diversity, noting that to go uncounted is to be made invisible and, as a result, left un-served.
She indicated that World Population Day 2024 is a moment to ask who is still going uncounted and why – and what this costs individual, societies and the global efforts to leave no one behind.
The foreign diplomat said it is also a moment for all of everyone to commit to doing more to ensure that the data systems capture the full range of human diversity so that everyone is seen, can exercise their human rights and can reach their full potential.
