Lusaka, Zambia - As Zambia joins in the population explosion issues, First Lady Christine Kaseba has stressed the need to focus on development, reproductive health and rights, services and the issues of women and young people. This was contained in a message she delivered here as the world celebrated the seven billion population on Monday.

Dr. Kaseba who spoke when she visited the University Teaching Hospital (UTH) maternity wing, said that the issue of population was a critical one for humanity.

She said the population was not just about the number of people and the rate of growth of the numbers but was a question of equity, human rights, opportunities and social justice, the state-run Times of Zambia quoted Kaseba saying.

The First Lady urged government, the cooperating partners and the community to design, invest and implement interventions that would enable current and future generations to reduce poverty, hunger and improve health and childhood survival.

She also urged the stakeholders to improve access to education and decent work by increasing wage opportunities for women, including maternity protection, and further implored all concerned stakeholders to rededicate themselves as Zambia celebrated the ‘world at seven billion’ with seven billion possibilities by supporting the life of every individual, including babies that were born on this occasion to live on a healthy planet.

United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) country representative, Duahowusu Surfo, said the seven billion presents unprecedented challenges and opportunities which must be addressed to chart a sustainable, equitable, healthy and a clear path for the future.

Surfo said the challenges ahead were more formidable, with new pressure on land, energy, food and infrastructure and on Government that must provide services such as education and health in the midst of the global economic crisis that is shaking the foundation of individual families and communities.

Surfo said there was the need to rectify inequalities on women, men, girls and boys and change attitudes so that violence and discrimination against women and girls could become unacceptable.

“The seven billion population reminds us of the need to invest in every individual in Zambia now by empowering them to make choices that are good for themselves and the country,” he said.

Pana 03/11/2011