Expert group meeting on population and sustainable development, in particular, sustained and inclusive economic growth

DCULPEPP — Thu, 01 Jul 2021 14:10:00 +0000

Wednesday, 21 July 2021 - 9:15am to Thursday, 22 July 2021 - 5:15pm

Overview

The special theme of the fifty-fifth session of the Commission on Population and Development will be Population and sustainable development, in particular sustained and inclusive economic growth. The theme is related to chapter III of the Programme of Action adopted by the International Conference on Population and Development, which took place in Cairo in September 1994. That chapter emphasized the need to integrate population in development strategies and to address the interlinkages between population, sustained economic growth and poverty on the one hand, and between population and the environment on the other. These issues remain relevant today and have, in fact, assumed new importance and urgency.

Since the Cairo conference, there has been an accumulation of evidence on environmental problems attributable to unsustainable patterns of production and consumption. Such problems are compounded and amplified by continuing population growth. Population ageing, a gradual but relentless global demographic trend, brings the potential of economic benefits and personal opportunities associated with longer and healthier lives, as well as increased fiscal and macroeconomic pressures. As more countries are entering advanced stages of population ageing, those with persistently low levels of fertility face the reality or the prospect of population decline and need to formulate appropriate policy responses.

This expert group meeting will review the latest evidence and analysis of these topics, drawing from the experiences of countries in all regions of the world. The presentations and discussion during the expert meeting are expected to generate inputs for the preparation of the Secretary-General's report on the theme of the fifty-fifth session of the Commission.