World Population Day has been marked around the globe already for 20 years with a variety of activities and events focusing on the importance of population to overall development strategies.
To mark the Day representatives of several UN agencies in Azerbaijan and the representatives of the governmental institutions and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) gathered in Baku, on 15 July 2009, to reiterate the urgency and importance of population issues, particularly focusing on women and the economic crisis. It was also an opportunity to   recognize the advantage of the United Nations Population Fund’s (UNFPA) 15-year presence in Azerbaijan.
Congratulating the UNFPA’s Anniversary in Azerbaijan, the representative of the Ministry of Health, Ms. Faiza Aliyeva briefed the participants on the maternal health centres established in close cooperation with the UNFPA office in Azerbaijan. “Fifteen years ago when we first started we had no idea what to do and where to begin; but thanks to the UN support and assistance we were able to make remarkable progress in meeting the increasing population’s needs by establishing reproductive centres. Those centres situated in 30 districts of Azerbaijan provide STI diagnostics, cervical cancer testing, early diagnostics of complications during pregnancy, contraceptives, voluntary counselling and testing (VCT) for HIV/AIDS, and counselling services for young people.
The Azerbaijan population is rapidly increasing and has already reached around 9 million people, said Ms. Elmira Suleymanova, the Commissioner for Human Rights of Azerbaijan. “Roughly speaking half of this number are women and we must re-invigorate our efforts to ensure that they can exercise freely their right to health, education, employment and social protection.”  Our women are still constrained in employment, education and public life, and unfairly burdened in caring for the sick and elderly, especially in rural areas, said Sadaqat Kehremanova. While speaking on behalf of the State Committee on Family, Women and Children’s Issues she said that a comprehensive approach to correcting those inequities should be taken.
An investment in education is very important, emphasised the deputy Minister of Education Mr. Elmar Gasimov. “Among 1,480,000 students in all educational institutions, 703,000 are girls. However, there is a tendency not to send girls to school and there are a higher number of girls dropping out in provincial regions. Girls are taken out of school against their wish and despite the law; some of them are forced into marriage below the legal age”. He continued that proper mechanisms should be put in place to discourage families in the regions from depriving their daughters an education, by punitive measures if necessary. The Human Rights Commissioner Ms. Suleymanova supported this idea by paraphrasing the message of the UN Secretary-General for the Day: “Educate Girls, Fight Poverty.”
In his turn, the UN Resident Coordinator Mr. Bruno Pouezat said that there is no doubt that Azerbaijan’s women are poised to take advantage of the country’s policy to turn black gold into human gold. “Yet, as you yourself have reported it, Mme Ombudsperson, there are signs in the country’s provinces of a backlash against the education of girls, with girls being taken out of school against their wish, and against the law, and some being given in marriage below the legal age.“
In conclusion Mr. Pouezat also quoted the UN Secretary-General’s message for the Day: “Together, let us advance the rights of women and girls, and empower them as highly productive members of society capable of contributing to economic recovery and growth. There can be no better investment on this [World Population] day or any other.”

The 20th World Population Day was celebrated on Saturday, 11 July 2009 in Gobabis and Okahandja, Namibia under the banner of ‘Fight Poverty, Educate Girls’ and directed on women and the economic crisis. The 2009 theme was about educating girls to help them overcome poverty and understand human rights and gender equality. World Population Day seeks the limelight on the necessity and importance of population issues and to find resolutions for such problems. Statistics revealed that in 2000, world population stood at 6,06 billion and was growing by 78 million a year. The world population on 11 July 2007 was estimated at 6,727,551,263 people. According to a 2008 press release issued by the US Census Bureau, the world population was anticipated to grow to 7 billion people in 2012. The United Nations estimated that in 2050, there would be between 7,3 and 10,7 billion people living on the Earth. World Population Day is an annual event, observed on July 11, which seeked public attention of global population issues. The event was established by the Governing Council of the United Nations Development Programme in 1989.

To commemorate World Population Day on 11 July the UN Information Centre (UNIC) in Bujumbura, together with the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), the UN Integrated Office in Burundi (BINUB), the Ministry of Public Health, and the Ministry of National Solidarity, Human Rights and Gender, organized a one-day media workshop on the theme, "Family planning is a right, let's make it real". The workshop took place in the Centre and was attended by 70 journalists and media professionals.

The expert panel included the Executive Representative of the Secretary-General, government officials, and a representative of civil society. The UNIC distributed a press kit containing the Secretary-General's message in Kirundi and French, the declaration of the executive director of UNFPA, and local and international fact sheets on the population issue.

In Azerbaijan 19 women have died in childbirth since the beginning of this year and the maternal mortality figures have grown steadily during the last five years.

These shocking facts were highlighted at a roundtable discussion organized by the Office of the Commissioner of Human Rights of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the UN DPI Office in Azerbaijan on the occasion of 11 July 2007 - World Population Day.