22 January 2013: The Permanent Missions of Bangladesh and Switzerland, which are supporting the Global Consultation on Population Dynamics in the post-2015 development agenda, organized a briefing and informal discussion at UN Headquarters in New York, US, on 22 January 2013.

Noting that population dynamics relate to and influence the three pillars of sustainable development, Paul Seger, Permanent Representative of Switzerland to the UN, highlighted key components of the process, including consultations with academics, the private sector and civil society and a Global Leadership Meeting in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on 11-12 March 2013.

Abdukalam Abdul Momen, Permanent Representative of Bangladesh, noted the bottom-up approach to defining goals in the post-2015 development agenda, including through consultation with actors who are generally excluded.

John Wilmoth, UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), presented demographic trends, including on: population size, relative size of particular cohorts (youth, ageing), and spatial distribution of population (migration). Jose Miguel Guzman, UN Population Fund (UNFPA), highlighted the need to incorporate such trends in the post-2015 agenda, noting that population dynamics have direct and indirect effects on economic development, and not only present challenges but also offer opportunities. Nicole Igloi, UN Development Programme (UNDP), briefed participants on the post-2015 consultation process overall.

In a question-and-answer session, participants raised the importance of considering population dynamics in poverty reduction and development efforts. They also cited the need to promote education and access to family planning services, as well as the need to: adopt an integrated approach that incorporates all the dimensions of population dynamics including linkages with health and education, promote sustainable urbanization, empower women, and use population data and projections to formulate goals and targets.

In addition to this briefing, several events and consultations on population dynamics and the post-2015 agenda already have taken place, including an expert group meeting in New York, US, in November 2012. Population dynamics is one of 11 themes being addressed on a global level by the UN Development Group’s (UNDG) consultations on the post-2015 development agenda. [IISD RS Story on the Expert Group Meeting] [Population Consultation Website] [IISD RS Sources]