News
PSN participates in London Global Parliamentarians’ Family Planning Conference 15 May 2013
Source: PSN & EPF
Ahead of this week's G8 summit, a Global Parliamentarians' Conference took place in London last week to focus the attention of key decisions on the need for prioritization of family planning in the new emerging development framework.
Greenpeace blogs about population and ecology 7 May 2013
Source: PSN
A blogpost has been published by Greenpeace International highlighting the significance of world population growth to sustainability, and the importance of investment in women’s rights, education and family planning.
CPD resolution reaffirms SRHR needs of migrants 30 April 2013
Source: EuroNGOs
After a difficult week of negotiations, a resolution was adopted at the 46th Commission on Population and Development reaffirming human rights of all migrants and the need to address women’s vulnerabilities in policies and programmes on international migration.
High-Level Task Force for ICPD issues policy recommendations for realizing universal reproductive health 25 April 2013
Source: High-Level Task Force for ICPD
The High-Level Task Force for the implementation of ICPD Beyond 2014 has today made policy recommendations for realizing the commitments made at the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD).
Urbanisation can be 'force for good' says World Bank 18 April 2013
Source: The Guardian
Urbanisation can accelerate progress towards the millennium development goals (MDGs), but careful planning is essential to prevent the growth of slums, pollution and crime that can derail achievements, according to a report on rural-urban dynamics and the MDGs.
Too Much Too Many: New resource from South Africa 18 April 2013
Source: David Johnson, Too Much Too Many
Too Much Too Many follows David Johnson's six month South African road trip. This article provides a taster of the 100 articles he’s writing from 100 locations, each highlighting a different population or consumption impact on South Africa’s diverse communities, breathtaking landscapes and iconic wildlife.
The Guardian publishes PSN letter on population and food security 10 April 2013
Source: PSN / The Guardian
A letter by PSN has been published in The Guardian, highlighting the potential for investment in voluntary family planning programmes to advance food security.
Increased family planning investment is needed to meet rising demand, says new study 28 March 2013
Source: PSN
A new study published in The Lancet projects that by 2015, 233 million women worldwide who are married or in a union will have an unmet need for modern contraceptives, highlighting the drastic need for increased investments in family planning.
Environmental threats could push billions into extreme poverty, warns UN 17 March 2013
Source: The Guardian
The number of people living in extreme poverty could increase by up to 3 billion by 2050 unless urgent action is taken to tackle environmental challenges, a major UN report warned on Thursday.
PSDA participates in Post-2015 Global Leadership Meeting on Population Dynamics 16 March 2013
Source: PSN
The Global Leadership Meeting on Population Dynamics convened this week in Dhaka, Bangladesh, and was attended by The Population and Sustainable Development Alliance (PSDA). The draft outcome document is now available, containing a number of recommendations and inputs from PSDA.
Activists welcome hard-fought UN agreement on women's rights 16 March 2013
Source: The Guardian
Negotiations end with agreement on ending violence against women at the fifty-seventh Commission on the Status of Women at the UN in New York, but civil society groups express concerns as sexual and reproductive health and rights and other issues prove contentious again.
EuroNGOs position paper: population dynamics in the post-2015 agenda 8 March 2013
Source: EuroNGOs & PSN
PSN has contributed to a new position paper by EuroNGOs entitled "Addressing population dynamics in the post-2015 development framework: fulfilling rights, empowering women, investing in youth, advancing sustainable development."
Integrated PHE project in Philippines is a success story 1 March 2013
An opinion piece by Sierra Club has highlighted a Population Health Environment (PHE) programme integrating family planning with with marine conservation, by Population and Sustainable Development Alliance member Path Foundation Philippines, Inc.
PSN and PSDA participate in UN population dynamics thematic consultation meeting 21 February 2013
PSN and other representatives of the Population and Sustainable Development Alliance joined civil society representatives in Geneva this week for the population dynamics civil society global thematic consultation meeting.
UN to hold special session in 2014 on population 21 February 2013
Source: Associated Press / The Washington Post
The U.N. General Assembly has decided to hold a special session next year to assess implementation of the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development, adopted by world leaders nearly two decades ago to slow population growth and advance reproductive health and rights.
Beyond2015 population dynamics position paper 20 February 2013
Source: PSN
PSN has contributed to a position paper on population dynamics in the post-2015 development agenda by the global civil society campaign Beyond2015.
Towards universal access to reproductive health in the Philippines 23 January 2013
Source: Huffington Post
The Executive Director of the UNFPA reflects on a reproductive health bill in the Philippines, which has taken 15 years to pass and will allow poor women access to affordable contraception for the first time.
Son preference drives population growth in India 14 January 2013
Source: Guttmacher Institute
A new study has highlighted that preference for sons in India is undermining desire for smaller families and slowing decline in population growth.
Dealing With Urbanisation - Lessons From Brics? 10 January 2013
Source: IRIN
In another four decades, urban residents will account for 66 percent of the population in developing countries, says the Population Division of the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA).
Global food waste must be addressed to feed growing world population 10 January 2013
Source: PSN & IMecheE
Up to fifty per cent of all food produced worldwide goes to waste, according to a new report by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (UK) highlighting a crucial issue to be overcome if the increasing demands for food over coming decades are to be sustainably met.
UN adopts decision promoting gender balance in climate change negotiations 21 December 2012
Source: Outreach Magazine, Stakeholder Forum
Mary Robinson, Former President of Ireland, has written an article reflecting on lessons from the recent UN climate change summit that adopted a decision to strengthen women's representation and participation in climate change negotiations.
'Climate change is taking place before our eyes' – the weather of 2012 18 December 2012
Source: The Guardian
The Guardian has named 2012 'the year abnormal weather became normal' in a review of the year's weather which records shrinking Arctic sea ice, record temperatures, flooding, droughts, hurricane Sandy and super-typhoon Bopha.
PSDA contributes to population dynamics in the post-2015 agenda consultation 10 December 2012
Source: PSN
The Population and Sustainable Development Alliance (PSDA) has responded to several online discussions taking place as part of the thematic consultation on population dynamics in the post-2015 agenda.
Doha climate change deal clears way for 'damage aid' to poor nations 8 December 2012
Source: The Guardian
The Doha climate change conference has closed, with agreement reached on a new climate deal that will see funds paid to poor nations for ‘loss and damage from climate change’, and with some nations, including Australia, Norway and the EU, signing up to new carbon-cutting targets.
PSDA seminar looks towards 2015 and the sustainable development goals 3 December 2012
Last week the PCCA, now known as the Population and Sustainable Development Alliance (PSDA), held a seminar examining possibilities for integrating focus on population dynamics and sexual and reproductive health and rights into the Sustainable Development Goals and post-2015 international development agenda.
Additional family planning investments would save developing countries over $11 billion a year, says UN 14 November 2012
Source: UNFPA
Access to family planning is an essential human right that unlocks unprecedented rewards for economic development, says a new UNFPA report focusing on family planning, human rights and development.
PSN briefing paper calls for post-2105 focus on population and reproductive rights 2 November 2012
In advance of the meetings in London this week of the High-Level Panel on the Post-2015 development agenda, PSN has produced a briefing note setting out key recommendations for the new development framework.
Coal resurgence threatens climate change targets 29 October 2012
Source: The Guardian
Biggest increase in coal usage for 50 years threatens to put climate change targets out of reach.
The forgotten girls: By 2020 there will be 50m child brides under the age of 15 7 October 2012
Source: The Independent
This week's international 'Day of the Girl' offers governments, the UN, and charities an opportunity to address a shocking - and growing - trend.
PSN responds to international development committee inquiry into post-2015 development agenda 5 October 2012
Source: PSN
PSN has responded to an inquiry by the UK parliamentary International Development Committee (IDC), calling for increased focus on the neglected issues and perspectives of gender, sexual and reproductive health and rights and population dynamics within the emerging post-2015 development agenda.
Population of over-60-year-olds to reach one billion within the decade 1 October 2012
Source: UNFPA
The number of older persons is growing faster than any other age group, says a new report, released today on International Day of Older Persons by UNFPA and HelpAge International.
PSN Fact Sheet on benefits of investment in family planning 25 September 2012
Source: PSN
PSN has published a fact sheet outlining the rationale for increased investment in voluntary family planning programmes that respect and protect rights, updated with the latest data on unmet need for modern contraception and the benefits and cost-saving effects that addressing this unment need would bring.
Rapid urban expansion threatens biodiversity 17 September 2012
Source: Yale School of Forestry & Biodiversity
A brief window of opportunity exists to shape the development of cities globally before a boom in infrastructure construction transforms urban land cover, according to a new study forecasting urban expansion to 2010 and impacts on biodiversity.
Population, climate change and sustainable development in Africa: new PAI report 11 September 2012
Source: PAI
Population is growing more rapidly in sub-Saharan Africa than other regions of the world, making people more vulnerable to climate change impacts and undermining sustainable development on the continent, according to a new report by PAI and AFIDEP.
Twenty more Niles needed to feed growing population 10 September 2012
Source: Reuters
The world needs to find the equivalent of the flow of 20 Nile rivers by 2025 to grow enough food to feed a rising population and help avoid conflicts over water scarcity, a group of former leaders said on Monday.
Philippines gears up for reproductive health bill battle 7 September 2012
Source: The Guardian
Church and state lock horns over proposed family planning legislation that has reached parliament after years of wrangling.
Food shortages could force world into vegetarianism, warn scientists 26 August 2012
Source: The Guardian
Water scarcity's effect on food production means radical steps will be needed to feed population expected to reach 9bn by 2050, according to research by some of the world's leading water scientists.
Humanity exhausted earth's budget for the year in eight months 22 August 2012
Source: Global Footprint Network
Today, 22 August, is Earth Overshoot Day, marking the date when humanity has exhausted nature's budget for the year, warns the Global Footprint Network.
Asian megacities risk disaster, finds study 15 August 2012
Source: Asian Development Bank (ADB)
Asia must act now to pave the way for green, resource-friendly cities or face a bleak and environmentally degraded future, says a new Asian Development Bank (ADB) report.
Water scarcity in the Andes: impact of population growth 17 July 2012
Source: American Geophysical Union (AGU)
Population growth poses an imminent threat to the supply of water to key urban cities in the Andes, and will significantly exacerbate the impacts of climate change upon water security, according to a new study.
London Family Planning Summit: What is a result in a rights-based world? 12 July 2012
Source: MSI
At the London Family Planning Summit yesterday PSN’s Karen Newman moderated an event co-hosted by Marie Stopes International and the UK Sexual and Reproductive Health Network on rights-based approaches to health.
Rich countries pledge $2.6bn for family planning in global south 11 July 2012
Source: The Guardian
Rich countries have pledged $2.6bn over the next eight years at today’s family planning summit in London, in what was described as a breakthrough for the world's poorest women and girls. The money, coupled with commitments from developing countries, is expected to provide access to family planning for 120 million women in the global south.
The Lancet calls for the rebirth of family planning 10 July 2012
Source: The Lancet
Ahead of the London Family Planning Summit taking place this week, leading medical journal The Lancet has published a Family Planning Series reviewing the evidence for the effects of population and family planning on people’s well-being and the environment.
PSN and UK SRHR Network call for FP Summit to exceed ambitions 4 July 2012
Source: PSN & the UK SRHR Network
Ahead of the London Family Planning Summit taking place next week, PSN has joined other members of the UK Network on Sexual & Reproductive Health and Rights in signing a supportive statement calling for the summit to exceed ambitions.
Reproductive rights are critical to sustainable development: messages from Brazil’s youth for Rio+20 3 July 2012
Source: PSN
While attending the Rio+20 summit, PSN's Sarah Fisher participated in a visit to a community centre where young people where young people were learning about their sexual and reproductive health and rights, as reported in a blog by Nature journal.
Pregnancy kills or injures one million girls a year, warns Save the Children 26 June 2012
Source: Save the Chidlren
Pregnancy is the biggest killer of teenage girls worldwide, with one million dying or suffering serious injury, infection or disease due to pregnancy or childbirth every year, Save the Children said today in a report issued ahead of the London Family Planning Summit.
Clinton: family planning key to sustainability 22 June 2012
Source: Associated Press via The Guardian
Rio de Janeiro - Hillary Rodham Clinton took a stand for women's reproductive rights during the Rio+20 United Nations conference on Friday, saying "women must be empowered to make decisions on whether and when to have children" if the world is to attain agreed-upon sustainable development goals.
Gro Harlem Brundtland censures Rio+20's gender equality outcomes 22 June 2012
Source: The Guardian
Absence of reproductive rights reference in UN Women's call to action and the Rio+20 outcome document is 'a step backwards', says former Norway prime minister.
PSN responds to the Rio+20 consensus document; the future we wanted? 22 June 2012
Source: PSN
As world leaders convene in Rio de Janeiro for the final day of the Rio+20 UN Conference on Sustainable Development PSN’s Sarah Fisher reflects on the consensus document reached, having participated in the summit as part of the Population and Climate Change Alliance.
New data shows little progress in meeting demand for contraception in developing countries 20 June 2012
A new study by the Guttmacher Institute and UNFPA has found that an estimated 222 million women in developing countries have an unmet need for contraception, and that progress in addressing unmet need has been very slow, with the number of women with an unmet need in the poorest 69 countries having increased.