Half a century ago, the world was warned of the imminent explosion of "the population bomb." There were fears that humanity would suffer mass starvation. And that societies would plunge into turmoil - because of overpopulation.

<p>UNFPA Executive Director Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin responds to <i>New York Times</i> editorial on "The Race to Improve Global Health".</p>

UNFPA is concerned about the impact of the recent escalation of violence in and around Damascus, particularly on women, youth and their families in areas under fire. The Fund is also alarmed over raging violence against civilians in other parts of the country, which has forced large numbers of women and girls to flee for safety into Iraq’s Kurdistan region.

Earlier this year, I met Muneera Sha’ban in Za'atari refugee camp in Jordan. A 65-year-old midwife, Muneera retired years ago, but every day at 6 am, she embarks on the two-hourbus journey from Jordan’s capital, Amman, to the camp near the Syrian border. Muneera trains midwives working in the camp and supervises them in UNFPA supported clinics which provide antenatal, obstetric, delivery and post-natal care.
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"The dynamism and imagination of young people can transform the social and economic fortunes of developed and developing countries alike," UNFPA Executive Director Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin said in his statement on the occasion of International Youth Day With their dynamism and imagination, young people can transform the social and economic fortunes of developed and developing countries alike. With more than 12 per cent of all 15- to 24-year-olds migrating across borders today, this year’s International Youth Day focuses on how young migrants move development forward.

With over 400,000 civilians currently displaced around the city of Homs, Syria, particularly in the area of Al-Waer, due to heavy fighting, it is estimated that hundreds of pregnant women may require urgent medical attention.

Complications from pregnancy and child birth are the leading cause of death among the 6 million girls aged 15-19 who give birth each year, especially in developing countries. Adolescent pregnancy is not just a health issue, it is a development issue. To bring these issues to global attention, this year’s World Population Day is focusing on adolescent pregnancy.

<p>Investing in women's health is a key to economic development. In this opinion piece for Kyodo News, Dr. Osotimehin calls for increased investments in women's health in Africa, which has the highest maternal mortality ratio in the world with 57 per cent of all maternal deaths occurring on the continent.</p>

In this blog for the Huffington Post, the UNFPA Executive Director sketches out the grim, everyday reality faced by 200 million women living with obstetric fistula. "We cannot allow this grave injustice to continue," he concludes.

In this Opinion piece published in The Hill'sCongress Blog, the Executive Director of UNFPA argues that high rates of adolescent pregnancy in the developing world, caused by lack of access to information and contraceptives, as well as social norms favouring early marriage and childbearing,  perpetuate a vicious cycle. Too many adolescent girls  – married and unmarried – become pregnant at too young an age, abandon their education and do not contribute their full potential to their local and national economies.

<p> <span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning:18.0pt;mso-bidi-font-weight:bold">An estimated 2 to 3 million women and girls in developing countries are living with obstetric fistula, a condition that has been</span> <span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">virtually eliminated in industrialized nations.</span> </p>

In this piece published by Inter Press Service in advance of the Women Deliver conference, UNFPA's Executive Director talks about family planning and maternal health as two key vectors for lifting developing nations out of poverty.