Source: United Nations MIL OSI b
In a world in which every individual has access to high-quality, affordable health services, including sexual and reproductive care, young people can shape their own futures and older persons can age with dignity, speakers at the Commission on Population and Development stressed today as it continued its fifty-eighth session.
Health is not a privilege; it is a human right, Catharina Jannigje Lasseur (Netherlands), Chair of the Commission, underscored in the opening segment of the session. The theme of this year’s session, which will take place from 7 to 11 April, is “Ensuring healthy lives and promoting well-being for all at all ages”.
While acknowledging the progress made — maternal and child mortality has declined, lifespans are longer — she stressed: “If we are honest with ourselves,” too many health-related targets are not on track. Too many women and girls are still denied their bodily autonomy or face violence. Too many women still die giving birth and too many young people still lack access to comprehensive sexuality education. And too many communities, especially those in humanitarian and climate-vulnerable contexts, are still left behind.
This inequity must be tackled, she stressed, through resilient and equitable health systems that meet people’s needs across the life course — from birth to old age.
The opening segment also featured statements by Guy Ryder, Under-Secretary-General for Policy in the Executive Office of the Secretary-General; Natalia Kanem, Executive Director, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA); Li Junhua, Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, Department of Economic and Social Affairs; Harini Amarasuriya, Prime Minister of Sri Lanka; and Abdoulaye Bio Tchané, Minister of State for Planning and Development of Benin.
In the afternoon, the Commission held a panel discussion to consider the Secretary-General’s reports on ensuring healthy lives and promoting well-being for all at all ages (document E/CN.9/2025/2); on programmes and interventions for the implementation of the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development in the context of ensuring healthy lives and promoting well-being for all at all ages (document E/CN.9/2025/3); and on the flow of financial resources for assisting in the further implementation of the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development (document E/CN.9/2025/4).
People Living Longer, Having Smaller Families
The discussion began with Cheryl Sawyer, Chief of the Population Trends and Analysis Branch of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs’ Population Division, who noted the diverse demographic outlook across the world. Some countries have high levels of fertility and are growing rapidly while others have historically low levels of fertility. However, she stressed, all populations are following a similar path towards longer lives and smaller families – a process known as “demographic transition”. The diversity “stems from the fact that countries are at different stages in this process”, she said.
Renewed Political Commitment Key to Strengthen Health Systems
In low-income countries where the size of the population is projected to increase over the coming decades, it will be critical to renew the political commitment to strengthen health systems and mobilize enough public resources to meet the health needs of growing populations. The rising number of births in these countries will also require substantial investments to meet the growing demand for public health interventions, including childhood immunizations, she added.
Over the next 25 years, she said, the global population aged 60 years or older is expected to increase by 72 per cent, from 1.22 billion in 2025 to 2.11 billion by 2050. This will require changes in health and social protection systems as the number of older persons needing long-term care is projected to more than double. In lower-middle-income countries, the population of older persons is growing faster than the capacity of long-term care systems, “necessitating an increased reliance on unpaid care, which is often performed by women who are themselves aging”, she said. “Expanding long-term care systems and promoting norms of gender equality and caregiving are critical steps towards achieving healthy aging,” she stressed.
She also highlighted the need for “data-driven decision-making” to identify and prioritize critical needs. Despite the uncertainty, she pointed out, compared to other trends such as economic growth or technological advances, the pace and direction of population change “is far more predictable, at least in the short and medium terms”. Leveraging the foresight that can be gained from a robust understanding of population trends is critical for accelerating progress, she said.
Calls to Address Maternal Mortality, End Barriers to Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights
Next, Alessio Cangiano, acting Chief of the Population and Development Branch of UNFPA’s Programme Division, stressed the need to address maternal mortality. Midwifery is a proven cost-effective model for healthcare delivery in both stable and humanitarian contexts, he added, noting that community health workers also play a pivotal role in expanding healthcare to rural or underserved populations. Their work is especially useful for ensuring prenatal and postnatal maternal and newborn care, and for increasing the rates of childhood vaccination and in-home care for older persons. “Community health workers often operate as first responders,” he added.
Also stressing the importance of universal access to sexual reproductive health and rights, he said that many individuals, especially women and girls, continue to encounter systemic barriers that hinder such access. “Universal access to modern contraception, skilled attendance at birth and screening for HIV and other sexually transmitted infections are amongst the health interventions providing the highest returns on investments,” he added.
Government Budgets Deprioritizing Health
“Promoting universal health coverage is the best way to ensure people have access to quality health services, without financial hardships,” he added. Such coverage has substantial benefits not only for health, but for economic growth. However, since 2000, domestic Government health expenditure as a share of gross domestic product (GDP) has remained low for most low-income and lower-middle-income countries, he said, expressing concern about the “long-standing deprioritization of health” in Government budgets.
He also highlighted the need to use digital technology wisely, noting that mobile health platforms have allowed people in remote or underserved areas to receive critical health information and services by means of their phones. Telemedicine is revolutionizing diagnostics, treatment and care. He then pointed to the power of “georeferencing” — for instance, mapping the proximity of emergency services in preparation for climate disasters.
Half of Global Population Lacks Essential Health Services
The panel also included Pascale Allotey, Director of the Department of Sexual and Reproductive Health and Research of the World Health Organization (WHO), who noted that half of the world’s population — some 4.5 billion people — still lack access to essential health services, while nearly 2 billion people face financial hardship due to health costs. “These are not just numbers; they reflect the daily reality of people forced to choose between health and household survival,” she said, adding that progress towards universal health coverage has slowed.
“But, we also have evidence that progress is not only possible, but is already happening,” she added. Countries that have made the most headway are the ones that have tackled six critical challenges head on, she said, adding that the first of these is establishing strong primary healthcare services. “More accessible, more responsive and more equitable” primary healthcare is a critical investment. Secondly, financial protections and sustainable health financing are indispensable, she said, calling for the elimination of financial barriers that push families into poverty simply for seeking care. This is especially urgent as international health aid continues to decline.
Investment in Health and Care Workforce Crucial
The third key challenge is to invest in the health and care workforce, she pointed out, adding that the projected global shortfall in health workers has increased from 10 million to 11.1 million. Without well-trained and equitably distributed health workers, even the most ambitious health goals will fall short. Fourthly, “we must better leverage digital health data and artificial intelligence,” she said, adding that these tools hold immense promise to improve health literacy and enhance service delivery. Yet, their potential remains underutilized, “especially in settings that stand to benefit the most”, she added.
The fifth challenge is to ensure that “the commitment to leave no one behind must be real and must be resourced”, she said, pointing out that, by 2030, 60 per cent of the world’s poorest will live in fragile conflict-affected and vulnerable settings, where access to even basic health services will be at risk. Finally, she said, “we need focused, integrated action on critical outcomes”, such as reducing maternal mortality, advancing sexual and reproductive health and tackling noncommunicable diseases.
Commission’s Work Programme Adopted, Bureau Set Up
Also today, the Commission adopted the provisional agenda (document E/CN.9/2025/1) as well as the proposed organization of its work for the session (document E/CN.9/2025/L.1/Rev.1).
Further, it appointed Romero Veiga (Uruguay), Joselyne Kwishaka (Burundi) and Galina Nipomici (Republic of Moldova) as Vice-Chairs for its fifty-eighth session. Ms. Kwishaka will also assume the responsibility of Rapporteur for the session.