PANCHKULA, 11 July : BUTTERFLY , Nature Club of India (BNCI) commemorated the World Population Day at Panchkula. On this occasion, the BNCI organized separate events in Industrial Area (I), Abhaypur, Buddanpur and Indira-Rajiv Colony. The main thrust was to generate awareness among migrants regarding the ill-effects of population explosion and gender sensitization. Theme of the year’s World Population Day focuses on “Investing in Women’s Health and Education”.
Pinki H Madaan, President BNCI shared with the gathering that since 1990, different organizations have been marking ‘World Population Day’ with a variety of activities and events focusing on the importance of population to overall development strategies. The current year is the 20th anniversary of the Day coincides with the 40th anniversary of UNFPA and the 15th anniversary of the historic International Conference on Population & Development that guides UNFPA’s work.
She further added that UNFPA promotes the right of every woman, man and child to enjoy healthier life and equal opportunity; supporting countries in using population data for policies and programmes to reduce poverty and to ensure that every pregnancy is wanted, every birth is safe, every young person is free of HIV/AIDS and every girl/woman is treated with dignity and respect.
Dr. Avnish Jolly stressed that complications of pregnancy and childbirth are leading killers of women in the developing world. Maternal mortality represents the largest health inequity in the world. This health gap will only deepen unless we increase social investments, maintain health gains and expand efforts to save more women’s lives. In developing countries, women’s health has critical economic importance. They are more than half of the agricultural labour force; growing 80 per cent of staple crops in Africa and in South-east Asia.
Ms. Renu Gandhi, Project Officer, Adult Education Department (Panjab University) talked about the global financial and economic crisis threatens to reverse hard-won gains in education and health in developing countries. Among those hardest hit are women and girls. Even before the crisis, women and girls represented majority of the world’s poor. Now they are falling deeper into poverty and face increased health risks, especially if they are pregnant.
Mr. H.R. Bhardwaj, Advocate Punjab & Haryana High Court advocated, “Let us advance the rights of women and girls; empower them as highly productive and meaningful members of society capable of contributing to economy. There can be no better investment on this day or any other rather to educate our daughters”. Investments in public health, education, child care and other social services help to mitigate the impact of the crisis on entire family and raise productivity for a healthier economy
People in large number from different parts and communities of the Panchkula participated in the commemoration of International Population Day.