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UN DESA Policy Brief No. 172: The New Landscape of Fertility and Family Planning 30 Years After Cairo and Beijing
Thirty years after the landmark Cairo and Beijing conferences, the world has witnessed both progress and continued challenges
in many aspects of sexual and reproductive health, including adolescent childbearing and contraceptive use. Within the broad picture of progress and stalls in sexual and reproductive health, this policy brief examines in more depth the changes in adolescent birth rates and family planning in the context of global fertility decline over the last 30 years and discusses the challenges of living up to the commitments made at Cairo and Beijing moving forward.
UN DESA Policy Brief No. 161: On the path to an older population: Maximizing the benefits from the demographic dividend in the least developed countries
While many least developed countries (LDCs) are still experiencing persistently high fertility and rapid population growth, they have also begun to experience progressive population ageing. Preparing for population ageing in LDCs will be critical for achieving sustainable development and ensuring that no one is left behind. Maximizing the benefits from the demographic dividend will provide an opportunity for these countries to develop economically before their populations become much older.
UN DESA Policy Brief No. 159: Demographic Outlook for the Small Island Developing States: Implications of Population Trends for Building Resilience and Prosperity across SIDS
SIDS have small populations, limited resources and are highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. Understanding their demographic outlook will help them to address these unique challenges.
UN DESA Policy Brief No. 153: India overtakes China as the world’s most populous country
Taking account of future population trends in national development planning is essential for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, in particular, those related to poverty, food security, health, education, gender equality, decent work, inequality, urbanization and the environment, and for ensuring that no one is left behind.
UN DESA Policy Brief No. 147: Old age inequality begins at birth: life course influences on late-life disability
Improving working conditions and access to quality education across the lifecycle can help reduce inequality in health outcomes among older adults. Expanding healthcare coverage and addressing the social determinants of health are also vital.
UN DESA Policy Brief No. 145: On the importance of monitoring inequality in life expectancy
Financing and enhancing statistical capacity for high-quality, timely and reliable disaggregated data in developing countries, is essential to better understand and respond to inequalities in life expectancy.
UN DESA Policy Brief No. 140: A World of 8 Billion
Wealthy countries and the international community should support sustainable development in low-income and lower-middle-income countries by providing the necessary technical and financial assistance so that their economies can grow rapidly using technologies that minimise environmental harms.
UN/DESA Policy Brief #102: Population, food security, nutrition and sustainable development
Despite progress in recent decades, in 2019, almost 690 million people, or 8.9 per cent of the global population, were undernourished. After more than a decade of steady decline, the number of undernourished people has been rising since 2014.
UN/DESA Policy Brief #68: COVID-19 and Older Persons: A Defining Moment for an Informed, Inclusive and Targeted Response
Multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination experienced by older persons are exacerbated during the COVID-19 pandemic and aggravate their vulnerabilities.