The UN Secretary-General's message on World Population Day

Our human family is larger than ever.

Yet leaders are falling woefully behind in efforts to build a peaceful and prosperous world for all.

Halfway to the 2030 deadline the Sustainable Development Goals are dangerously off track. Gender equality is almost 300 years away. Progress on maternal health and access to family planning has been glacial. 

This year’s World Population Day focuses on unleashing the power of gender equality. 

Gender-based discrimination harms everyone – women, girls, men, and boys. Investing in women uplifts all people, communities, and countries.

Advancing gender equality, improving maternal health, and empowering women to make their own reproductive choices are both essential in themselves, and central to achieving all the Sustainable Development Goals.

Let us stand with women and girls fighting for their rights. And let us intensify our quest to make the Sustainable Development Goals a reality for all 8 billion of us.