This opinion piece arguing about the importance of access to family planning services for adolescent girls, by UNFPA Executive Director Babatunde Osotimehin, was published in the Global Motherhood Blog of the Huffington Post.

<p> <span>"People are the central concern of sustainable development and efforts to promote more sustainable development pathways must take account of people – their numbers, location and age structures, as well as their living conditions, ambitions and opportunities," stated Anne-Birgitte Albrectsen, Deputy Executive Director of UNFPA, at briefing event "The road to Rio goes through Cairo: why population issues matter for sustainable development" in New York.</span> </p>

This opinion piece arguing for universal access to family planning, by UNFPA Executive Director Babatunde Osotimehin,  was printed in the Global Motherhood Blog of the Huffington Post.

<p>“As members of Parliament, you are in a key position in ensuring adequate budget lines for health, holding governments accountable for their commitments, building partnerships and tearing down legal and economic barriers to put women and men, and boys and girls, on an equal footing in the spheres of life,” said Dr. Osotimehin in his address to the IPU Assembly in Kampala.</p>

<p> <span>"Improving access to sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights is essential for rural women’s empowerment and ability to earn an income and feed themselves and their family," says Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin, UNFPA Executive Director, in his message on the International Women’s Day.</span> </p>

<p>"<span>We at UNFPA continue to emphasize that people and the principle of equity must be kept at the centre of sustainable development. It means recognizing the need to invest in women and young people and promoting human rights. It means increasing equity to build a world of opportunity for all," UNFPA Executive Director, Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin, at CDU/CSU Conference on sustainable development in Berlin.<br/> </span> </p>

<p>"On the International Day of Zero Tolerance to Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting, I call on the global community to join us in this critical effort. Together, we can end FGM/C in one generation and help millions of girls and women to live healthier, fuller lives, and reach their potential," states UNFPA Executive Director, Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin, in his message on 6 February 2012.</p>

<p> </p> <p> <span>"UNFPA’s main focus in 2012 is on implementing the revised Strategic Plan and ensuring that we consistently deliver high-impact country programmes with sharp focus, renewed energy and increased efficiency and relevance," stated UNFPA Executive Director Babatunde Osotimehin at the UNDP/UNFPA/UNOPS Executive Board First Regular Session 2012.<br/> </span> </p>

Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin, Executive Director of UNFPA, recently discussed with Forbes magazine such important population trends as low fertility in some developed countries, managing migration and increasing aging populations, rising urbanization and inequities, violence against women and the exclusion of indigenous people.

<p>"The opportunity to improve health for everyone lies in strengthening integrated services. A key strategy to accelerate progress is forging and cultivating partnerships between the sexual and reproductive health and HIV communities, including networks of people living with HIV," stated UNFPA Executive, Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin, on 2011 World AIDS Day.</p>

<p>"Voluntary family planning allows women and couples to determine the number, timing, and spacing of their children. It is – and has to be - an essential part of integrated reproductive and maternal health programs, because wanted pregnancies are healthier pregnancies," stated UNFPA Executive Director, Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin at the 2011 International Conference on Family Planning in Dakar, Senegal.</p>

<p> </p> <p>"We continue to believe that when women are healthy and educated, and can live free from violence and discrimination, they can participate fully in society and accelerate progress on all fronts," says UNFPA Executive Director, Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin, on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.</p>