World Population Day is observed on 11 July every year to reaffirm the human right to plan a family. It encourages activities to create awareness about the importance of family planning throughout the world. This day also tries to spread knowledge about other important issues including gender equality, poverty, maternal health and human rights. Business groups, community organisations and individuals in many ways celebrate the day worldwide.

World Population Day was instituted in 1989 as an outgrowth of the Day of Five Billion, marked on 11 July 1987. The United Nations authorised the event as a vehicle to build awareness about population issues and the impact they have on family, community and the environment. Since then, with the United Nations Population Fund's (UNFPA) encouragement, governments, non-governmental organisations, institutions and individuals organise various educational activities, seminars and discussions to celebrate the annual event.

Fight poverty: Educate girls

This year's theme is to educate girls to a wide range of development issues, including poverty, human rights and gender equality. Providing the girl-child access to quality education is the key to eliminate discrimination and reduce population. Substantial evidence shows that educated girls are less likely to marry early in life, to have an unwanted pregnancy and to engage in high-risk behaviour such as drug abuse and unsafe sex.

UNFPA has invested in various programmes to give financial support to ensure the education of the girl-child. UNFPA participates with other UN agencies in the 10-year UN Girls' Education Initiatives, which aims to eliminate gender discrimination and gender disparity in the education system by emphasising the importance of basic education. This is a part of the global effort to reduce poverty and is closely linked to the global “Education for All movement”.

For this, UNFPA advocates for young girls’ education and supports adult women literacy programmes. Population education, which started in the late 1960s as a major area in UNFPA programme assistance in many countries, continues to this day. In co-ordination with UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) and other UN agencies, it remains to be a major component of education programmes in some 90 countries worldwide.

UNFPA's current efforts have linked education with measures to improve content, quality, and life skills. Through the sexuality education programmes it supports, UNFPA has contributed to better quality education for young people through the inclusion of new curricula, which cover life skills, HIV/AIDS prevention, gender issues, reproductive health, family life, and sexuality education.

At the core of this inter-agency programme, funded by the United Nations Foundation, are these fundamental building blocks:

• Creating an environment conducive to keeping girls in school through the secondary level; or at least ensure they are literate.
  
• Ensuring that the particular reproductive health needs of adolescents are addressed and youth-friendly services provided.
  
• Working with communities, including local political and religious leaders, to increase public awareness of the reproductive and sexual health issues affecting adolescents.
  
• Providing life skills and counselling so that adolescent girls are aware of their rights and know about available services.
  
• Developing vocational training and income-generating programmes for adolescent girls to increase their status, independence and opportunities.
  
• Mobilising the support of decision makers at all levels to support programmes aimed at improving adolescent sexual and reproductive health.
  
• Contributing to equitable and sustainable development by reinforcing the capacity of national governments to engage girls in the social, economic and political life of the country.