India’s 1.4 billion people present 1.4 billion possibilities

UN Under-Secretary General Dr. Natalia Kanem visits India for UNFPA's 50th anniversary, emphasizing women's rights and health to achieve SDGs by 2030.

UN Under-Secretary General and UNFPA Executive Director Dr Natalia Kanem is in the country to mark UNFPA’s 50 years in India. In the run-up to her visit to Mumbai, where she will chair the South Asia Laadli Media Awards for Gender Sensitivity ceremony on October 9, she spoke to Yogesh Pawar in an exclusive interview to HT.

India’s 1.4 billion people present 1.4 billion possibilities

What are UNFPA’s priorities for achieving the sustainable development goals (SDGs) by 2030? What role can India play in accelerating the achievement of the global goals?

With just over five years to go before 2030, the deadline to achieve the SDGs, an ambitious global effort is underway to get as close as possible to achieving them and to ensure this progress is built upon and benefits everyone. The rights and choices of women and girls underpin these efforts to achieve sustainable development.

Together with governments, as well as other UN agencies and partners, UNFPA will seek to improve access to sexual and reproductive health care in developing countries, where reproductive health problems are a leading cause of ill health and death for women and girls of childbearing age. It empowers women and girls to study, work and break the cycle of poverty. It not only improves their lives, but those of their families and communities too.

We must also eliminate harmful practices like child marriage which keep girls out of school, and advocate for young people’s access to health care, skills development and jobs.

India’s actions matter. If India achieves the SDGs, the world takes a huge step forward. The country’s commitment is reflected in its motto: “Together for all, progress for all.”

30 years after ICPD what are some global challenges that remain to be addressed?

Since the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) in Cairo, more women have been able to claim their right to health and exert agency over their own bodies. Access to modern contraception has increased, leading to fewer deaths from pregnancy and childbirth, and we have seen a decline in teen pregnancy.

India has been part of this success story. The unmet need for family planning, for example, is down from 19.5% in 1992 to 9.4% in 2020. 30 years ago, maternal mortality was a big issue. Maternal deaths have since dropped significantly and India is now on its way to achieving the SDG target of 70 deaths per 1,00,000 live births.

Globally too, many women and girls, particularly those from underserved communities, still remain excluded from this progress. The global average maternal mortality rate has significantly declined over the past three decades, yet a woman still dies every two minutes from preventable pregnancy and childbirth-related complications.

Maternal death rates are much higher in poorer countries, with a lifetime risk of 1 in 49 deaths in low-income countries compared to 1 in 5,300 in high-income countries. Discrimination in various forms contributes to poor maternal health outcomes. Therefore, while fewer women are dying while giving birth today than before, the burden of suffering is disproportionately borne by disadvantaged and marginalized communities. This is why efforts to address inequalities remain important in India and in many other countries around the world.

It is crucial that, together, we end the discrimination and exclusion that disadvantaged women of all diversities face when seeking sexual and reproductive health care and provide quality healthcare for everyone.

India has become the most populous nation. How does UNFPA perceive this demographic shift? What opportunities and challenges do this present for India’s development?

India’s 1.4 billion people present 1.4 billion possibilities. If we invest in people, including their health and wellbeing across the life course, we can tap into their unlimited potential and solve many next-generation problems. India is a young nation with the largest cohort of young people anywhere in the world. India’s young population is a major global resource.

At the same time, India also has an ageing population. The percentage of the population over 60, currently at 10 per cent, is likely to double by 2050. This calls for greater investments in geriatric care, pensions, housing and other forms of assistance. The majority of these older persons will be women, and social policies will need to be tailored to their needs.

UNFPA is completing 50 years of being in India. What have been the major milestones in the journey so far?

UNFPA is proud to have contributed over the past 50 years to India’s significant progress in reproductive health and women’s empowerment. Over that time, there has been a notable reduction in maternal mortality, child marriage, and unmet need for family planning, saving countless lives. These achievements have fostered a more equitable society with improved health outcomes and greater opportunities for women and girls.

Strong leadership, clear vision, and essential investments in health systems were crucial to these successes. UNFPA collaborated with government, civil society, and development institutions to strengthen health systems, collect better population data and challenge harmful gender norms.

Given the prolonged crises that many regions of the world are currently encountering, how is UNFPA managing the humanitarian–development transition in countries where it is operational?

UNFPA remains focused on improving the lives of women and girls in developing countries, who are getting repeatedly hit by crisis after crisis, and struggling to make lasting progress.

Our commitment to them is expressed in our efforts to end the unmet need for family planning, as well as in our quest to end preventable maternal deaths and gender-based violence – our ‘three zeros’.

The most sustainable approach to working in humanitarian crises and fragile situations is to reinforce existing health and protection systems, rather than setting up duplicate services.

Wherever possible, our teams work with existing health and social workers and women-led groups to strengthen services and expand access in the immediate and longer term. Where infrastructure has been destroyed or doesn’t yet exist, we act rapidly to set up mobile clinics, and safe spaces for women and girls.

We provide safe birth kits and quality maternal health medicines to prevent maternal deaths. We also supply menstrual hygiene supplies and dignity kits with essential items that protect the health and dignity of women and girls in all settings.

Resources and funding are limited. With soaring humanitarian needs – including from conflicts, climate disasters and pandemics such as COVID-19 – we are working to ensure that our emergency responses support longer-term development solutions, and that our ongoing development work builds resilience to crisis.

What are some of the core areas in which UNFPA’s interventions have made a demonstrable difference?

UNFPA is one of the world’s largest suppliers of essential reproductive health supplies, including condoms. We have a unique partnership set up to help us do this: the UNFPA Supplies Partnership.

The Partnership expands access to contraceptives and maternal health medicines, while strengthening health policies, health systems, and the financing they rely upon. It reaches over 20 million women and girls annually in the lowest-income countries.

In 2023, the Partnership helped avert 9.5 million unintended pregnancies as well as 200,000 maternal and child deaths. It reached 23 million women and girls in 54 of the world’s poorest countries.

Last year alone, UNFPA provided reproductive health services to 10 million people in 50 countries hit by crises. That’s the difference UNFPA is proud to make!