Latest news with #UnitedNationsPopulationFund
MTV Lebanon
an hour ago
- Health
- MTV Lebanon
UN: ‘Unprecedented Decline' in World Fertility Rates
Namrata Nangia and her husband have been toying with the idea of having another child since their five-year-old daughter was born. But it always comes back to one question: 'Can we afford it?' She lives in Mumbai and works in pharmaceuticals, her husband works at a tyre company. But the costs of having one child are already overwhelming - school fees, the school bus, swimming lessons, even going to the GP is expensive. It was different when Namrata was growing up. "We just used to go to school, nothing extracurricular, but now you have to send your kid to swimming, you have to send them to drawing, you have to see what else they can do." According to a new report by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the UN agency for reproductive rights, Namrata's situation is becoming a global norm. The agency has taken its strongest line yet on fertility decline, warning that hundreds of millions of people are not able to have the number of children they want, citing the prohibitive cost of parenthood and the lack of a suitable partner as some of the reasons. UNFPA surveyed 14,000 people in 14 countries about their fertility intentions. One in five said they haven't had or expect they won't have their desired number of children. The countries surveyed - South Korea, Thailand, Italy, Hungary, Germany, Sweden, Brazil, Mexico, US, India, Indonesia, Morocco, South Africa, and Nigeria - account for a third of the global population. They are a mix of low, middle and high-income countries and those with low and high fertility. UNFPA surveyed young adults and those past their reproductive years. "The world has begun an unprecedented decline in fertility rates," says Dr Natalia Kanem, head of UNFPA. "Most people surveyed want two or more children. Fertility rates are falling in large part because many feel unable to create the families they want. And that is the real crisis," she says. "Calling this a crisis, saying it's real. That's a shift I think," says demographer Anna Rotkirch, who has researched fertility intentions in Europe and advises the Finnish government on population policy. "Overall, there's more undershooting than overshooting of fertility ideals," she says. She has studied this at length in Europe and is interested to see it reflected at a global level. She was also surprised by how many respondents over 50 (31%) said they had fewer children than they wanted. The survey, which is a pilot for research in 50 countries later this year, is limited in its scope. When it comes to age groups within countries for example, the sample sizes are too small to make conclusions. But some findings are clear. In all countries, 39% of people said financial limitations prevented them from having a child. The highest response was in Korea (58%), the lowest in Sweden (19%). In total, only 12% of people cited infertility - or difficulty conceiving - as a reason for not having the number of children they wanted to. But that figure was higher in countries including Thailand (19%), the US (16%), South Africa (15%), Nigeria (14%) and India (13%). "This is the first time that [the UN] have really gone all-out on low fertility issues," says Prof Stuart Gietel-Basten, demographer at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. Until recently the agency focused heavily on women who have more children than they wanted and the "unmet need" for contraception. Still, the UNFPA is urging caution in response to low fertility. "Right now, what we're seeing is a lot of rhetoric of catastrophe, either overpopulation or shrinking population, which leads to this kind of exaggerated response, and sometimes a manipulative response," says Dr Kanem. "In terms of trying to get women to have more children, or fewer." She points out that 40 years ago China, Korea, Japan, Thailand and Turkey were all worried their populations were too high. By 2015 they wanted to boost fertility. "We want to try as far as possible to avoid those countries enacting any kind of panicky policies," says Prof Gietel-Basten. "We are seeing low fertility, population ageing, population stagnation used as an excuse to implement nationalist, anti-migrant policies and gender conservative policies," he says. UNFPA found an even bigger barrier to children than finances was a lack of time. For Namrata in Mumbai that rings true. She spends at least three hours a day commuting to her office and back. When she gets home she is exhausted but wants to spend time with her daughter. Her family doesn't get much sleep. "After a working day, obviously you have that guilt, being a mom, that you're not spending enough time with your kid," she says. "So, we're just going to focus on one."
NDTV
an hour ago
- Politics
- NDTV
Trump's Cuts Are 'Devastating' For Vulnerable Women Worldwide: UN
The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has faced budget cuts before, but the impact of President Donald Trump's policies has been even more "devastating" for reproductive health worldwide, chief Natalia Kanem told AFP. The agency has been targeted by US conservatives since the Kemp-Kasten Amendment's enactment in 1985 by Congress, when the administration of then president Ronald Reagan rallied against China's population policies, accusing Beijing of promoting forced abortions and sterilizations. All subsequent Republican presidencies have cut US funding to UNFPA, and the second Trump administration is no exception. "We've had over $330 million worth of projects ended," virtually overnight, in "some of the hardest hit regions of the world" like Afghanistan, Kanem said in an interview coinciding with the release of the UNFPA's annual report Tuesday. "So yes, we are suffering." Kanem pointed to the Zaatari refugee camp in Jordan as an example, where over the years more than 18,000 pregnancies were delivered by "heroic midwives" who "conducted these over 18,000 deliveries without a single maternal death, which you know, in a crisis situation is extraordinary." "Those maternity wards today have closed. The funding cuts immediately have meant that those midwives are no longer able to do their jobs," Kanem said. Although it is too soon to estimate the precise impacts of the US cuts, they will inevitably result in increased maternal mortality and more unintended pregnancies, according to Kanem. "What's different this time for UNFPA is that our ecosystem of other reproductive health actors who might be able to fill in for us," Kanem said, adding they are "reeling from huge impact of having their funding denied." The Trump administration has slashed many such external aid programs. "So it is very lamentable that this year, to me, has been drastically worse than ever before, precisely because now everybody is caught up in the whirlwind." "The withdrawal of the United States from the funding arena for reproductive health has been devastating," Kanem said. Desire and rights American policy is not only marked by funding cuts, but also a challenge to gender equality matters. "There will be debates about concepts, but there shouldn't be any debate about the non-negotiability of the rights and choices of women and adolescent girls," Kanem emphasized. "We always embrace change, but we should not compromise on these common values which spell the difference between life and death for women and girls all around the world," she continued. "Women deserve support. Adolescent girls deserve to finish their schooling, not become pregnant, not be bartered or sent off into marriage as a non-solution to issues that families may face." The UNFPA's annual report, published Tuesday and based on the results of an survey of 14,000 people from 14 countries -- nations which represent over a third of the world's population -- also underscores concerns that millions of people around the world cannot create the families they desire. More than 40 percent of those over the age of 50 reported not having the number of children they wanted -- with 31 percent saying they had fewer kids than they desired and 12 percent saying they had more than they wanted. More than half of respondents said economic barriers prevented them from having more children. Conversely, one in five said they were pressured into having a child, and one in three adults reported an unintended pregnancy. The majority of people "live in countries where fertility rates have fallen so far and so fast that they are below replacement," Kanem said. "We know that the issue of population pressure takes almost like a headline drastic view. Some people think there are way too many people. Others are saying we don't have enough, women should have more babies," Kanem said. "What UNFPA really cares about is a woman's true desire, rights and choices," Kanem said.
Indian Express
6 hours ago
- General
- Indian Express
‘Millions unable to realise reproductive goals': UNFPA State of World Population Report 2025 reveals crisis of fertility aspirations
One in three adult Indians (36%) face unintended pregnancies, while 30% experience unfulfilled desire for having either more or fewer children. Notably, 23% faced both, according to the United Nations Population Fund's (UNFPA) 2025 State of World Population (SOWP) Report released Tuesday morning. 'Vast numbers of people are unable to create the families they want,' Dr Natalia Kanem, executive director of UNFPA, told reporters at a virtual media conference. 'The issue is lack of choice, not desire, with major consequences for individuals and societies. That is the real fertility crisis, and the answer lies in responding to what people say they need: paid family leave, affordable fertility care, and supportive partners,' Kanem said. This year's report, 'The real fertility crisis: The pursuit of reproductive agency in a changing world' has called for a shift from panic over falling fertility to addressing unmet reproductive goals. SOWP 2025 underlines that millions of individuals are unable to realise their real fertility goals. This is the real crisis, not underpopulation or overpopulation. And, the answer lies in greater reproductive agency – a person's ability to make free and informed choices about sex, contraception, and starting a family. The report draws on academic research and new data from a UNFPA–YouGov survey spanning 14 countries, including India. The report finds that one in five people globally expect not to have the number of children they desire. Key drivers include the prohibitive cost of parenthood, job insecurity, housing, concerns over the state of the world, and the lack of a suitable partner. A toxic blend of economic precarity and sexism plays a role in many of these issues, the report shows. Barriers include financial limitation, housing constraints Key findings from the UNFPA–YouGov Survey 2025, an online poll with 14,000 respondents, reveal multiple barriers to reproductive autonomy in India. Financial limitations are one of the biggest barriers to reproductive freedom. Nearly four in 10 people say financial limitations are stopping them from having the families they want. Job insecurity (21%), housing constraints (22%), and the lack of reliable childcare (18%) are making parenthood feel out of reach. Health barriers like poor general well-being (15%), infertility (13%), and limited access to pregnancy-related care (14%) add further strain. Many are also holding back due to growing anxiety about the future—from climate change to political and social instability. Nineteen per cent faced partner or family pressure to have fewer children than they personally wanted. Trends need deeper investigation The report challenges global narratives around 'population explosion' versus 'population collapse'. Replacement-level fertility, commonly defined as 2.1 births per woman, is the rate at which a population size remains the same from one generation to the next. While India may have reached replacement-level fertility of 2.0, many people, especially women, still face significant barriers to making free and informed decisions about their reproductive lives and significant disparities persist across regions and states. These barriers create what the report identifies as India's 'high fertility and low fertility duality. According to Professor T V Sekher from the International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS), Mumbai, the real worry is the decline in population size instead of concern over population explosion. 'The possibility of population extinction is getting attention now. Low fertility is inevitable, and India is no exception. A large number of urban Indian couples prefer only one child, irrespective of boy or girl. Fertility will go down further. Efforts taken by many countries to boost their fertility levels did not succeed. China is a classic example in recent times,' he said. Dr S Iruduya Rajan, chairperson of the Institute of Migration and Development, Kerala, observed that the concerns raised in the latest report are highly relevant to India. 'Based on my understanding, at least 10% of couples in India face difficulties in conceiving, which is evident from the rapid increase in fertility clinics across urban areas. Additionally, around 10% of newly married young couples are uncertain about whether to have children now or delay parenthood,' Dr Rajan said. 'It is important to understand the reasons behind this hesitation—what factors are demotivating them from starting a family. Furthermore, about 30% of couples stop at having just one child, even though they may have the desire for a second. These trends need deeper investigation to understand the social, economic, and personal factors influencing such decisions,' he added. 'Deep inequalities across states, castes, income groups' In the 1970s, women on average had nearly five children. Now, they have close to two. This milestone reflects progress in health and education, but masks regional diversity in the Total Fertility Rate, which is the average number of children a woman will have in her lifetime. Andrea M Wojnar, UNFPA India Representative, explained that thanks to improved education and access to reproductive healthcare, India has made progress in lowering fertility rates. 'However, deep inequalities persist across states, castes, and income groups,' she said. Fertility has fallen below the replacement level (2.1) in 31 states/UTs, but remains high in Bihar (3.0), Meghalaya (2.9), and Uttar Pradesh (2.7). Urban-rural gaps persist, and seven states have yet to reach replacement TFR in rural areas. In Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Delhi, many couples delay or skip childbirth due to costs and work-life conflict, especially among educated middle-class women. This duality reflects differences in economic opportunities, access to healthcare, education levels, and prevailing gender and social norms. 'The real demographic dividend comes when everyone has the freedom and means to make informed reproductive choices. India has a unique opportunity to show how reproductive rights and economic prosperity can advance together,' Wojnar added. Limited infertility services in public sector Infertility remains under-prioritised in India and needs to be considered for inclusion under the government's health insurance schemes. An estimated 27.5 million Indian couples face infertility, yet public sector services are limited, while private care remains expensive and largely confined to urban centres. Social stigma is particularly harsh on women, though fertility challenges affect both sexes as per the report. UNFPA's vision for India calls for 'demographic resilience'—societies' ability to adapt to population change without sacrificing human rights. The report outlines five key pillars for India's rights-based approach. These include expanding sexual reproductive health services with universal access to contraception, safe abortion, maternal health, and infertility care, removing structural barriers by investing in childcare, education, housing, and workplace flexibility, promoting inclusive policies, extending services to unmarried individuals, LGBTQIA+ persons, and other marginalised groups, improving data and accountability beyond fertility rates to measure unmet family planning needs and bodily autonomy, and fostering social change through community initiatives challenging stigma and building health literacy. Anuradha Mascarenhas is a journalist with The Indian Express and is based in Pune. A senior editor, Anuradha writes on health, research developments in the field of science and environment and takes keen interest in covering women's issues. With a career spanning over 25 years, Anuradha has also led teams and often coordinated the edition. ... Read More
Saudi Gazette
6 hours ago
- Health
- Saudi Gazette
World fertility rates in 'unprecedented decline', UN says
MUMBAI — Namrata Nangia and her husband have been toying with the idea of having another child since their five-year-old daughter was born. But it always comes back to one question: 'Can we afford it?' She lives in Mumbai and works in pharmaceuticals, her husband works at a tyre company. But the costs of having one child are already overwhelming - school fees, the school bus, swimming lessons, even going to the GP is expensive. It was different when Namrata was growing up. "We just used to go to school, nothing extracurricular, but now you have to send your kid to swimming, you have to send them to drawing, you have to see what else they can do." According to a new report by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the UN agency for reproductive rights, Namrata's situation is becoming a global norm. The agency has taken its strongest line yet on fertility decline, warning that hundreds of millions of people are not able to have the number of children they want, citing the prohibitive cost of parenthood and the lack of a suitable partner as some of the reasons. UNFPA surveyed 14,000 people in 14 countries about their fertility intentions. One in five said they haven't had or expect they won't have their desired number of children. The countries surveyed — South Korea, Thailand, Italy, Hungary, Germany, Sweden, Brazil, Mexico, US, India, Indonesia, Morocco, South Africa, and Nigeria — account for a third of the global population. They are a mix of low, middle and high-income countries and those with low and high fertility. UNFPA surveyed young adults and those past their reproductive years. "The world has begun an unprecedented decline in fertility rates," says Dr Natalia Kanem, head of UNFPA. "Most people surveyed want two or more children. Fertility rates are falling in large part because many feel unable to create the families they want. And that is the real crisis," she says. "Calling this a crisis, saying it's real. That's a shift I think," says demographer Anna Rotkirch, who has researched fertility intentions in Europe and advises the Finnish government on population policy. "Overall, there's more undershooting than overshooting of fertility ideals," she says. She has studied this at length in Europe and is interested to see it reflected at a global level. She was also surprised by how many respondents over 50 (31%) said they had fewer children than they wanted. The survey, which is a pilot for research in 50 countries later this year, is limited in its scope. When it comes to age groups within countries for example, the sample sizes are too small to make conclusions. But some findings are clear. In all countries, 39% of people said financial limitations prevented them from having a child. The highest response was in Korea (58%), the lowest in Sweden (19%). In total, only 12% of people cited infertility - or difficulty conceiving - as a reason for not having the number of children they wanted to. But that figure was higher in countries including Thailand (19%), the US (16%), South Africa (15%), Nigeria (14%) and India (13%). "This is the first time that [the UN] have really gone all-out on low fertility issues," says Prof Stuart Gietel-Basten, demographer at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. Until recently the agency focused heavily on women who have more children than they wanted and the "unmet need" for contraception. Still, the UNFPA is urging caution in response to low fertility. "Right now, what we're seeing is a lot of rhetoric of catastrophe, either overpopulation or shrinking population, which leads to this kind of exaggerated response, and sometimes a manipulative response," says Dr Kanem. "In terms of trying to get women to have more children, or fewer." She points out that 40 years ago China, Korea, Japan, Thailand and Turkey were all worried their populations were too high. By 2015 they wanted to boost fertility. "We want to try as far as possible to avoid those countries enacting any kind of panicky policies," says Prof Gietel-Basten. "We are seeing low fertility, population ageing, population stagnation used as an excuse to implement nationalist, anti-migrant policies and gender conservative policies," he says. UNFPA found an even bigger barrier to children than finances was a lack of time. For Namrata in Mumbai that rings true. She spends at least three hours a day commuting to her office and back. When she gets home she is exhausted but wants to spend time with her daughter. Her family doesn't get much sleep. "After a working day, obviously you have that guilt, being a mom, that you're not spending enough time with your kid," she says. "So, we're just going to focus on one." — BBC
Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Health
- Yahoo
World fertility rates in 'unprecedented decline', UN says
Namrata Nangia and her husband have been toying with the idea of having another child since their five-year-old daughter was born. But it always comes back to one question: 'Can we afford it?' She lives in Mumbai and works in pharmaceuticals, her husband works at a tyre company. But the costs of having one child are already overwhelming - school fees, the school bus, swimming lessons, even going to the GP is expensive. It was different when Namrata was growing up. "We just used to go to school, nothing extracurricular, but now you have to send your kid to swimming, you have to send them to drawing, you have to see what else they can do." According to a new report by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the UN agency for reproductive rights, Namrata's situation is becoming a global norm. The agency has taken its strongest line yet on fertility decline, warning that hundreds of millions of people are not able to have the number of children they want, citing the prohibitive cost of parenthood and the lack of a suitable partner as some of the reasons. UNFPA surveyed 14,000 people in 14 countries about their fertility intentions. One in five said they haven't had or expect they won't have their desired number of children. The countries surveyed - South Korea, Thailand, Italy, Hungary, Germany, Sweden, Brazil, Mexico, US, India, Indonesia, Morocco, South Africa, and Nigeria - account for a third of the global population. They are a mix of low, middle and high-income countries and those with low and high fertility. UNFPA surveyed young adults and those past their reproductive years. "The world has begun an unprecedented decline in fertility rates," says Dr Natalia Kanem, head of UNFPA. "Most people surveyed want two or more children. Fertility rates are falling in large part because many feel unable to create the families they want. And that is the real crisis," she says. How should countries deal with falling birth rates? Why a nation of 1.45 billion wants more children The influencers who want the world to have more babies - and say the White House is on their side "Calling this a crisis, saying it's real. That's a shift I think," says demographer Anna Rotkirch, who has researched fertility intentions in Europe and advises the Finnish government on population policy. "Overall, there's more undershooting than overshooting of fertility ideals," she says. She has studied this at length in Europe and is interested to see it reflected at a global level. She was also surprised by how many respondents over 50 (31%) said they had fewer children than they wanted. The survey, which is a pilot for research in 50 countries later this year, is limited in its scope. When it comes to age groups within countries for example, the sample sizes are too small to make conclusions. But some findings are clear. In all countries, 39% of people said financial limitations prevented them from having a child. The highest response was in Korea (58%), the lowest in Sweden (19%). In total, only 12% of people cited infertility - or difficulty conceiving - as a reason for not having the number of children they wanted to. But that figure was higher in countries including Thailand (19%), the US (16%), South Africa (15%), Nigeria (14%) and India (13%). "This is the first time that [the UN] have really gone all-out on low fertility issues," says Prof Stuart Gietel-Basten, demographer at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. Until recently the agency focused heavily on women who have more children than they wanted and the "unmet need" for contraception. Still, the UNFPA is urging caution in response to low fertility. "Right now, what we're seeing is a lot of rhetoric of catastrophe, either overpopulation or shrinking population, which leads to this kind of exaggerated response, and sometimes a manipulative response," says Dr Kanem. "In terms of trying to get women to have more children, or fewer." She points out that 40 years ago China, Korea, Japan, Thailand and Turkey were all worried their populations were too high. By 2015 they wanted to boost fertility. "We want to try as far as possible to avoid those countries enacting any kind of panicky policies," says Prof Gietel-Basten. "We are seeing low fertility, population ageing, population stagnation used as an excuse to implement nationalist, anti-migrant policies and gender conservative policies," he says. UNFPA found an even bigger barrier to children than finances was a lack of time. For Namrata in Mumbai that rings true. She spends at least three hours a day commuting to her office and back. When she gets home she is exhausted but wants to spend time with her daughter. Her family doesn't get much sleep. "After a working day, obviously you have that guilt, being a mom, that you're not spending enough time with your kid," she says. "So, we're just going to focus on one."
