Vice Chairman of State Administration Council Deputy Prime Minister Vice-Senior General Soe Win addresses World Population Day 2022
NAY PYI TAW July 11
World Population Day was observed at Myanmar International Convention Centre 2 in Nay Pyi Taw at 9 am today addressed by Patron of Central Census Commission Vice Chairman of State Administration Council Deputy Prime Minister Vice-Senior General Soe Win.
Also present were the chairman of Constitutional Tribunal, the chairman of Union Election Commission, Union ministers, the Union auditor-general, the Nay Pyi Taw Council chairman, deputy ministers, members of central committee to organization the ceremony, subcommittee members, NGOs, diplomats and officials.
The Vice-Senior General said World Population Day came into existence on 11 July 1987 when the global population reached 5 billion. The Day is observed annually to pay attention to the emergency population problems and multiple development programs for entire mankind.
Myanmar has been observing the World Population Day since 1990 and the present one is the 33rd ceremony. The ceremonies have reflected Myanmar’s serious participation in the missions, objectives and work programs of UN as a global family member.
This years’ theme of the World Population Day is “A world of 8 billion: Towards a resilient future for all - Harnessing opportunities and ensuring rights and choices for all”. So, all the opportunities in hand must be effectively realized, and at the same time, rights and choices of all humans should be respected.
In highlighting the populationrelated problems of the world, he said the global population has exceeded 7.9 billion mark and it will reached 8 billion soon. It is a success for the world as well as mankind which is a result of longer life expectancy due to the developing health sector and a decrease in maternal and child mortality rate.
The invention and production of vaccines for COVID-19 in a short period shows the global people’s ability to face and address the problems. Moreover, innovative communication technologies have turned challenges into opportunities during the stay-at-home period. But the indicators show an inequality in developments and advancements.
The world is still witnessing the maternal deaths and the infant mortality rate is stillhigh in the majority of developing countries. Gender inequality can be found in many sectors and places and some people are still far away from modern communication technologies.
Global population is increasing with acceleration, but not in a harmonious manner. The annual global population growth rate between 2020 and 2025 is one percent. But the rates are not the same in developing and developed countries. Many Asian countries including China and India can reduce their population growth rate to less than one percent, but in most the African countries the rate is from 2 percent to 3 percent and above. The gap is even wider in average life expectancy and birth rates of the countries.
Inequality and serious challenges still exist.
Developed countries are experiencing a shortage in work force and increase in old age population due to falling birth rates. On the other hand, the less developed countries are struggling to fulfill the needs of rapidly increasing populations.
There is also an unprecedented rise in the population of the persons facing food shortages, water scarcity and the evil consequences of climate changes.
The major of world population are still suffering the impacts of COVID-19 and the follow-up problems.
As population is growing rapidly, low-income countries and the countries earning the income more than the middle class are facing many difficulties in implementing the alleviation of poverty, famine and malnutrition, healthcare services for all the people, education and other essential projects with the State budgets. The root cause of such problems is one of the difficulties and hindrances to the way to implement the sustainable development goals of the United Nations for solving the problems of increasing number of population.
The rapid population growth highlights the health problems of pregnant mothers facing in the giving birth to the children, weakness of family plans, needs of birth-spacing and reproductive health services and lack of gender equality. The United Nations reviewed that millions of global people need to have lesser information for reproductive health and lesser necessary services.
Once, the countries having high birth rate had workable population with declining number of dependents. So, some of them possess the demographic dividend. On the other hand, some countries are facing the problems of increasing number of senior citizens and shortages of labour due to lesser population growth rate. Hence, global countries are facing different problems related to the population.
Hence, UN member states are joining hands in tackling the global challenges without leaving anyone to be able to meet the sustainable development goals. In order to meet the goals related to population growth among other goals, the International Conference on Population and Development called the Nairobi Summit (ICPD+25) held in Nairobi of Kenya in November 2019 decided the main sectors such as reproductive health, enhancement of women’s capacity and gender equality.
The Vice-Senior General said he would like to explain the progress of agreements related to the population changes of Myanmar adopted by the 25th internaitonal population conference.
Currently, Myanmar possesses more than 55 million population, in which women’s population is over two million more than men’s. A woman generally gives birth to two children, and so Myanmar’s birth rate reaches the replacement level fertility.
As a consequence of the high birth rate in last decades, Myanmar has high workable youth population as a demographic dividend. Hence, the State Administration Council arranges to efficiently utilize the power of youths in development projects of the nation, take workable population in the projects of respective regions into consideration and create job opportunities for them in conformity with their education qualification.
It is estimated that Myanmar may seek the demographic dividend in around 2060. Hence, it is necessary to make preparations for short and long term plans with correct policies and arrangements. After 2060, the country may face the increasing number of senior citizens and shortage of labour. As such,preparations must be made for ensuring the powerful social protection system. The government is continuously monitoring and assessing it, and relevant ministries need to join hands with organizations.
The decline of birth rate does not cover all parts of the nation and different groups. Such a rate is still different in all parts.
Some regions and groups are facing high birth rate as well as mother dead rate and mortality rate. Some inequility measures have been in availbility of information and reproductive health services. To be able to reduce these inequility measures, it is necessary to uplift reproductive health, enhance capability of women and ensure gender equality.
In fact, the reproductive health is concerned not only with women but with men and rights and health of all youths. Likewise, it is concerned with the whole community as well as the nation.
Only when all the people can have easy access to reproductive health services, will it be depending the future of the nation. The rights enjoyed by women to utilize the reproductive health utilities of their own accord is the best investment for the State to reach the path of long term development.
According to the population and health survey conducted by the Ministry of Health in 2015-2016 fiscal year, 97 percent of married women between aged15 and 49 have knowledge about modern birth-spacing processes but 51 per cent of them use it. The percent of unmet need for family planning accounts for 16 percent, and the areas far from the family planning face high birth rate.
Therefore, it is necessary to take effective measures by cooperating in projects being carried out under the leadership of the Ministry of Health to enable regions, groups and people in need of access to services for family planning, contraceptive health and reproductive health.
In connection with the enhancement of capabilities of women, 65 percent of married women were able to make their own decisions in three fields such as personal hygiene, purchase of goods required for families and visits to parents and relatives, according to 2015-2016 population and health survey and it was also found that women who were able to make their own decisions in the fields could enjoy higher pregnancy care. Therefore, it is necessary to take comprehensive measures to enhance the abilities of women to make their own decisions.
Concerning employment of women, it is found that the labour force of women cannot be utilized fully for the socioeconomic development of the country as only 52 percent of women joined the workforce, according to the interim population census for 2019. It is necessary to enhance the abilities of women and create job opportunities for them.
In connection with domestic violence, it is found that 15 percent of women suffered physical violence since the age of 15 and 20 percent of married women between the ages of 15 and 19 suffered domestic violence. It can be seen that there are still many tasks to be carried out in sectors such as reproductive health, enhancement of capabilities of women and gender equality.
As COVID-19 will persist for a long time according to the prediction of the WHO, it is important to forecast the longterm impacts of the pandemic on population and socio-economic conditions of the country and to reduce the impacts to the minimum on vulnerable groups like the elderly, the handicapped, patients with chronic diseases and women. Measures must be taken to prevent disruptions in requirements for reproductive health of women while accelerating awarenessraising campaigns on reproductive health and rights for women and teenagers.
In addition, more efforts must be made to provide healthcare services for pregnant mothers, to lower maternal and child mortality rate and to achieve an accessible healthcare system.
To provide job opportunities for youths while the country is enjoying the population benefits, it is necessary to grab the chances resulting from remedial programs and effective and correct policies and programs must be implemented without undermining the rights and choices of individuals.
As it can be seen that many countries in the world managed to turn challenges into opportunities, it is important for all to create a better future aiming at building a union based on a disciplined multi-party democracy system and democracy and federal system by turning current challenges into opportunities.
Then, Union Minister for Immigration and Population U Khin Yi explained the population benefits and the policy review of Myanmar.
Afterwards, an animation video clip related to World Population Day 2022 was played.
Then, the Vice-Senior General viewed the exhibition booth of World Population Day 2022 together with the participants.