UN seeks to end pregnancy-related deaths

AS thousands of groups in 140 countries gathered to mark World Population Day yesterday, the United Nations has called for more action to promote women’s rights and reduce the millions of deaths resulting from unwanted pregnancies.

“The importance of World Population Day this year is to advance women’s empowerment and particularly to ensure universal access to reproductive health,” said Purnima Mane, deputy executive director of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).

World Population Day, set by the United Nations Development Programme in 1989, was marked by events from university campuses in Afghanistan and the streets of Nepal to mosques in Yemen and a congressional debate in Washington.