Awareness rally marks World Population Day

This year the United Nations has chosen ‘Investing in Teenage Girls’ as the theme for World Population Day.

In a speech at the event, Minister Nguyen Thi Kim Tien of the MoH underscored the fact that teenage girls around the globe face more difficulties and challenges than teenage boys.

Many teenage girls are considered by their communities and parents to be ready for marriage and motherhood and are forced to quit school early, damaging their future education and career prospects.

UNFPA Executive Director Dr Babatunde Osotimehin echoed Mrs Tien’s view saying that marginalized girls are vulnerable to poor reproductive health and more likely to become mothers while still children themselves.

She was emphatic in putting forth the proposition that young women have a fundamental human right to understand and control their own bodies and shape their own lives.

Mrs Tien also pointed out that young people aged 10-24 account for nearly 40% of the nation’s population, stressing it is the responsibility of all citizens to ensure that all teenagers receive a good education.

On the occasion, the MoH and UNFPA called for more national investment in teenage girls and to end child marriage, curb adolescent pregnancy, and for the empowerment of young girls to make informed choices in regards to their health and life.