Ulaanbaatar, 18 July 2017 – In December 1990, the United Nations General Assembly officially declared July 11 World Population Day and has since been commemorated by member states through raising and enhancing awareness of population issues and their socio-political implications. 

This year’s theme for the World Population Day is “Family Planning: Empowering People, Developing Nations” 

Accessing the family planning services has been widely acknowledged as an integral element of human rights and social development, and it is also one of the most cost effective approaches to address maternal and child health. Mongolia has achieved remarkable progress in reducing maternal and child mortalities in the last two decades. However, the demand satisfied for family planning has decreased from 94 percent to 77 percent between 2003 and 2013 with the abortion ratio remaining consistently high reaching at 234 per 1,000 live births by the end of 2016 in Mongolia.

Prevalence of syphilis among pregnant women was also increased from 1.7 percent in 2007 to 5.1 percent in 2014 which calls for timely action to tackle unmet need for family planning in the country.

“Therefore, providing women and couples with family planning information and services is essential,” says Naomi Kitahara, UNFPA Representative. “It is an internationally recognised human right for individuals to decide freely when and how many children to have. It has been proven that women who are able to plan and space the birth of their children have a greater opportunity to complete their schooling, earn a better living, have a higher income, and make significant contributions to the country’s economic development.”

At the occasion of the World Population Day, UNFPA estimates that for every dollar spent for contraceptives above the current level, the cost of pregnancy-related care is reduced by $2.30. It means that family planning is critical not only because everyone should have the right to access quality sexual and reproductive health services, but also because family planning is an area to be invested upon for economic development of the country.

Today, the UNFPA, the Parliament, the Ministry of Health and the National Statistics Office came together for a joint press event dedicated to marking the World Population Day 2017, in a forum to inform population issues globally and in Mongolia, and how working together to promote the rights of Mongolians through family planning is integral to overall national development.

The programme featured the D. Sarangerel, Member of Parliament, Dr. A. Tsogtsetseg, Minister of Health, Ariunzaya, NSO Chairperson, and Naomi Kitahara, UNFPA Representative.

For more information, please contact UNFPA Mongolia at contact@unfpa.org.mn