Speech of UN Philippines Resident Coordinator Gustavo Gonzalez at the Launch of the 2024 State of the World Population Report

The speech was delivered during the launch of UNFPA's 2024 State of the World Population Report. Read more about the report's key findings here.

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Every year, I have the opportunity of joining the Government and UNFPA in the launch of one of the most relevant reports of the United Nations: the State of World Population report.  

This piece of research has been framing UN’s policies on development and population for decades. Thus, allow me to start by congratulating the Commission on Population and Development and my UNFPA colleagues for such valuable contribution to development.  

This year, the report focuses on “Ending Inequalities in Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights”.   

Over the years we have learned about the tremendous impact that sexual and reproductive health can have on a country's development trajectory. We know that suitable access to sexual and reproductive health and rights can decrease child marriage, decrease teenage pregnancies and of course prevent a number of sexually transmitted infections. 

The report highlights two critical dimensions across population issues: “Inequality” and “Intersectionality”. 

On inequality, we still face significant inequities in access to sexual and reproductive health rights, worldwide. On intersectionality, sexism and racism have significantly influenced health structures, systems and services.  

More broadly, we also see that these two dimensions have slowed down progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals even here in the Asia-Pacific. Inequality shows that countries in special situations have experienced much slower progress compared to the rest of the region, and intersectionality reflects where some groups become disadvantaged and are at greater risk of being left behind depending on sex, education level, age, income, ethnicity and other factors.  

The report is, fundamentally, a call to action to partners involved in sexual and reproductive health and rights to: 

1. To promote inclusivity through greater mindfulness of intersectionality – that takes into account factors like ethnicity, race, and sexual orientation is vital for addressing inequities. 
2. To invest in sexual and reproductive health and rights and mainstream gender equality – because these benefit society as a whole and enables us to harness gender dividends. 

For us, the United Nations Country Team in the Philippines, our response to this call to action is captured in our United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework for 2024 to 2028. 

Under our first strategic priority on Human capital development, inclusion, and resilience building, we will contribute to government programs to facilitate access to maternal, newborn, child development, sexual and reproductive health services. We will work with government to improve resilience of and access to reproductive and child health services during emergencies. 

We will also enhance capacities of government institutions and civil society to protect women, children and vulnerable groups against violence and harmful practices. 

In closing, I would like to note that this State of the World Population Report 2024 is a great contribution to the on-going preparations for the UN Summit of the Future to be held in New York in September later this year.  

The Summit is intended to forge a new consensus on multilateralism to better meet the needs of the present while also preparing for the challenges of the future. Ending inequalities in sexual and reproductive health and rights will require a reinvigorated people-centered global architecture that is forward-looking and responsive to the needs not only of this generation but also the next one. 

Thank you.