December 3, 2002	Tuesday	Ramazan 27,1423

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ISLAMABAD, Dec 2: The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) will launch State of the World Population Report 2002, on Tuesday.

The report titled ‘poverty and possibilities: making development work for the poor’- will be launched in Pakistan at a press briefing to be held at a local hotel at 4pm.

The Planning Commission deputy chairman, Dr Shahid Amjad Chaudhry, and UNFPA representative in Pakistan, Dr Oliver Brasseur, will explain the main features of the report.

According to the report, to overcome poverty, countries must ensure women’s reproductive health and rights and also target development efforts to the poor. It says good reproductive health for women is essential for ending poverty.

Addressing population concerns is critical to meeting the United Nations millennium development goals of cutting global poverty and hunger in half by 2015, reducing maternal and child mortality, curbing HIV/AIDS, advancing gender equality and promoting environmentally sustainable development.

The UNFPA report argues that to meet these goals in developing countries, urgent action is needed to combat poor reproductive health, unwanted fertility, illiteracy and discrimination against women. It shows countries that invest in health, including reproductive health and family planning, in education and women’s empowerment, register slower population growth and faster economic growth.