-As They Review Addis Ababa Declaration on Population and Development +10
IPNEWS: The Ministry of Finance and Development Planning with support from UNFPA has conducted a National Stakeholders Consultation Meeting on Addis Ababa Declaration on Population and Development (AADPD+10) Review.
Speaking at the meeting Wednesday, July 5, 2023, at the Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Ministerial Complex in Congo Town, Augustus Flomo, Deputy Minister for Economic Management disclosed that the Addis Ababa Declaration was adopted ten years ago when Africa population was at 1.1 billion.
“We understand the composition that has been put on the table about some of the significance around population for which 10 years later we are now 1.4 billion, which shows a lot of movements in terms of demand to specific services that will be needed to program and accommodate additional three hundred million people that have been added to the population of African countries,” Minister Flomo said.
According to him, as MFDP does findings and implements policies and programs, the ministry has to keep its eyes on the population because the ministry is planning and implementing for people as to allow them to have access to good health services and development.
“We are here today because Liberia’s commitments (88) to AADPD remains unwavering, and the government agenda is working in line with other individual countries as it relates to the AADPD,” Minister Flomo revealed.
The MFDP Deputy Minister stated that the ministry could not achieve the reports or present the progress Liberia has made without the ministry and UNFPA working together to implement or check such progress.
Minister Flomo urged participants to reflect on the things that are needed to change the lives of those additional numbers of citizens that have been added to the population ten years later.
He said from 2008, Liberia has conducted two censuses which showed that the population is 5.2 million people, stressing that the population is growing and will never hold back.
He indicated that after the consultation meeting, there would be a country report representing Liberia’s progress and commitment that was signed. He said Liberia has made a lot of progress in working with its 88commitments with African countries.
Minister Flomo explained that after the meeting, the technical team of MFDP will review the data and look at some of the reports across the PAPD as regards to what has been achieved by the government, which will allow the team to make a country report on what was adopted in Addis Ababa ten years ago as ministers from the African region.
For her part, UNFPA Resident Representative Ms. Bidisha Pillai said the United Nations Population Fund’s mandate is very important in ICPD and ACPD agenda, which is the platform or foundation to understand population development.
Ms. Pillai further stated that UNFPA can help the government if there are opportunities to do a large-scale population like the just-ended census. “It is time for everyone to realize and enjoy all the rights and choices because the population of growth is growing,” she said.
The UNFPA Resident Representative indicated that the process of the Addis Ababa Declaration on Population and Development started 30 years ago in Cairo, Egypt, when regional member states met under the action program of development.
