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By Mohammed Najah.
Tripoli, 8 July 2013:
Tripoli’s Rixos hotel last night hosted Libya’s first-ever celebration of World Population Day – with a . . .[restrict]conference and reception.
Some 50 people attended the event, which was held four days early because of the onset of Ramadan. It was organised by the National Economic Development Board (NEDB) and featured a range of speakers as well as presentations of population studies and surveys.
One presentation was about a study of the population growth rate in Libya between 1946 and 2006, which identified a decrease in both the country’s population and birthrate. A more up-to-date demographic study is now being planned for Libya.
“The demography study in Libya is one of many initiatives that the NEDB will provide,” the head of PR and media at the NEDB, Entisar Elbahi, told the Libya Herald. She added that there had been a good turn-out of Libyan experts in demography at last night’s conference.
The focus of this year’s World Population Day is on teenage pregnancy. Statistics show that around 16 million girls aged under 18 give birth each year. Although most teenage mothers in the developing world are married, adolescent pregnancy still carries a number of health risks according to the UN population fund UNFPA. Teenage pregnancy is also a human rights issue, UNFPA said, with adolescent pregnancy usually spelling the end of both childhood and education.
Libya’s first official celebration of World Population Day was very well-received by those who attended. Further celebrations around the world will take place on 11 July – the official World Population Day. [/restrict]
