UNFPA report in Baghdad highlights barriers to family size in Iraq
The event, held on World Population Day and attended by government representatives, diplomats, and civil society, reframed the demographic debate, shifting the focus from numbers to human rights and choices, with significant implications for Iraq.
The report highlights that Iraq's current fertility rate stands at 3.3 children per woman, and 3.2 in the Kurdistan Region. While this is higher than in many parts of the world, the underlying challenges preventing families from achieving their aspirations are universal. The global report, which surveyed 14,000 people across 14 countries, found that while most people desire two or more children, roughly one in five believe they will be unable to achieve their preferred family size.
'Prevailing narratives often present two simplified, contradictory options: either an 'imminent population collapse' or an 'overpopulation crisis',' said Ms. Hind Jalal, the UNFPA Representative in Iraq. 'However, our report reveals a deeper, more complex truth – fertility rates are largely declining because many individuals feel unable to form the families they desire. This is the real crisis.'
The report identifies several key obstacles that prevent people from realizing their reproductive goals, many of which are particularly acute in Iraq:
Economic Constraints: Over half of all global survey participants cited economic pressures as a primary barrier. This resonates strongly in Iraq, where youth in a country of over 46 million people often struggle to achieve the financial security needed to start and support a family.
Access to Healthcare: Limited access to quality, affordable reproductive health and family planning services was another major factor identified.
Conflict and Instability: One in five people globally expressed deep anxiety about conflict, environmental challenges, and the political situation. The report notes these are 'tangible factors in Iraq given its history of instability,' influencing long-term family planning decisions.
The UNFPA's report is a call to action for governments to move away from population targets and instead focus on creating conditions that empower individuals. This includes ensuring access to a full range of family planning services, dismantling harmful social norms, and building a world where having children is a celebrated choice, not a source of anxiety.
'We must provide an integrated set of family planning services that allow people to make their own decisions freely,' Ms. Jalal concluded. 'And we must work for a world that is sustainable, safe, just, and marked by lasting peace.' The launch in Baghdad underscores the urgency of this message for Iraq's future development.
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