Population development cooperation center co-launched by UN, NHFPC

A population and development center was jointly launched by the United Nations Population Fund (UNPFA), and the National Health and Family Planning Commission (NHFPC) Monday.

The Population and Development South-South Cooperation Center of Excellence (PDSSC) will serve as a knowledge hub, fostering exchanges in research, training, good practices and knowledge in population and development among research institutions and think tanks from developing countries.

The center will also be an important platform to promote the exchange of expertise between developing countries, or South-South Cooperation (SSC), in accordance with the global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Programme of Action of the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development

Wang Peian, vice minister of the NHFPC, said enhanced SSC in population and development has a significant role to play in achieving the SDGs for many countries.

As an active advocator, key player and beneficiary of SSC, China will continue to support extensive exchanges of experience and capacity-building with other countries in population and development, Wang said.

The Global South has experienced increasing economic growth in the last decade, resulting in remarkable gains in economic growth, poverty reduction and educational attainments, said Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin, UNFPA executive director.

However, not all countries from the Global South have experienced equal gains in terms of achieving the goals set by the International Conference of Population and Development agenda, said Osotimehin.

Great disparities still exist among developing countries, particularly on maternal death, access to contraceptives and child marriage. Other challenges include rapid urbanization, harnessing of the demographic dividend and gaps in population data, he said.

He Dan, director-general of the China Population and Development Research Center, said the establishment of the PDSSC is a significant milestone in rolling out the "Beijing Call for Action", a roadmap adopted at the March 2016 Strategic Ministerial Dialogue on South-South Cooperation in Population and Development.

In line with national contexts and needs of developing countries, the PDSSC will strive to boost the capacity in the collection and use of population data, and to support countries in integrating population dynamics into social and economic policy-making, said He. Endi