Message by Family Affairs Minister Mitcy Larue on World Population Day |11 July 2019

Minister Larue

‘25 years of ICPD: Looking back, looking forward’

“As a country we must look back at our past, what has happened over the past 25 years, what has been done to ensure friendly family planning programmes, implement and promote reproductive health systems, support our families through social protection measures, provision of effective child protection, a plethora of elderly assistance systems, and other existing programmes.”

Family Affairs Minister Mitcy Larue said this in her message to mark World Population Day today.

World Population Day, which seeks to focus attention on the urgency and importance of population issues, was established by the then-Governing Council of the United Nations Development Programme in 1989, an outgrowth of the interest generated by the Day of Five Billion, which was observed on July 11, 1987.

Minister Larue’s message reads:

“In 2019, we commemorate 25 years of the international conference which took place in Cairo, Egypt which considered population and development issues. It is thus appropriate that the United Nations Fund for Population Activities (UNFPA) has adopted the theme ‘25 years of ICPD: Looking back, looking forward’.

“As a country we must look back at our past, what has happened over the past 25 years, what has been done to ensure friendly family planning programmes, implement and promote reproductive health systems, support our families through social protection measures, provision of effective child protection, a plethora of elderly assistance systems, and other existing programmes.

“The International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) programme of Action reaffirms that the path to sustainable development is through equitable achievement of dignity and human rights, good health, good governance and accountability, and national promotion of an integrated and holistic socio-economic environment. This is why the government of Seychelles has been in the front line to prioritise the needs of its people by accelerating the implementation of ICPD and related international commitments (such as the implementation of the agenda 2030 and 2063).

“In November, this year, Seychelles will join other governments, advocates, health organisations, women and youth activists and non-governmental organisations in Kenya for the Nairobi Summit. The summit will seek clear commitments that will advance the goals of the ICPD and security, rights and dignity of all.

“While celebrating the World Population Day (WPD) we are also aware of the need to adopt a ‘gender lens’ in order to ensure its mainstreaming into other areas of ICPD mandates including the related issues of adolescents and youth which continue to be challenging. These are the areas that we will need to focus on and put all our resources together to ensure that our children, our adolescents, our youth are resilient enough as they grow towards adulthood. The statistics indicate that we still have pockets of school drop-outs, teenage pregnancies, substance abuse among the young people and the increasing number of youth who are reluctant to join the existing labour market.

“If our population is lacking such important and crucial components that are necessary for its wellbeing which range from physical, economic, moral to spiritual then we cannot escape poverty in its multi-dimensions. Conversely, if we work together towards gender equality, youth engagement and commitments, children’s wellbeing as well as the wellbeing of the vulnerable groups, we will reap positive outcomes of the ICPD by alleviating poverty, improving health outcomes and addressing other population concerns especially those of young people.

“As we celebrate the World Population Day, let us put our heads, hearts and hands together to ensure that NO ONE IS LEFT BEHIND in our advancement towards the sustainable development goals while simultaneously implementing the ICPD Programme of Action

“Happy World Population Day.”