Marking the World Population Day, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan on Thursday stressed the importance of enhancing reproductive health in its role fighting poverty.
In his message, the Secretary-General said that in the eight years since the International Conference on Population and Development in Cairo in 1994, there has been improved levels of schooling, higher survival rates of children, and better access toreproductive health services including voluntary family planning.
He added that birth rates are dropping faster than expected in several large developing countries, and global population growth is slowing.
"This virtuous circle in turn makes further progress possible,"the Secretary-General said.
In her message on the occasion, the Executive Director of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), Thoraya Obaid, said that one in four of all women in developing countries are adversely affected by lack of proper maternal health care.
She said the need for reproductive services was especially important in the fights against HIV/AIDS, as they empower women and young people with life-saving messages and skills to help stopthe disease from spreading.
(Xinhua News Agency July 12, 2002)
