Message on World Population Day

世界人口日致辭

Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin, UNFPA Executive Director

聯合國人口基金會執行主任奧索蒂梅因博士

11 July 2013

2013年7月11日

Adolescent pregnancy is not just a health issue, it’s a development issue

少女懷孕不僅是健康問題，更是發展問題

There are over 600 million girls in the world today, more than 500 million of them in developing countries. They are shaping humanity’s present and future. The opportunities and choices girls have during adolescence will enable them to begin adulthood as empowered, active citizens.

目前全球共有超過六億少女，其中五億多人生活在發展中國家。她們決定著人類的現在與未來。女童在青春期獲得的機遇與選擇讓她們以一個有權能的活躍市民身份開始成年生活。

With the right skills and opportunities, they can invest in themselves, in their families and their communities. However, pregnancy jeopardizes the rights, health, education and potential of far too many adolescent girls, robbing them of a better future.

有了合適的技能和機遇，她們就能為自己、家庭和社區的發展做出貢獻。然而，懷孕損害了太多少女的權利、健康、教育和自身的潛力，斷送了大好前程。

About 16 million girls aged 15-19 give birth each year, and complications from pregnancy and child birth are the leading cause of death among girls in this age group, especially in developing countries.

每年約有1600萬15至19歲少女分娩，而懷孕與分娩過程中的并發癥是該年齡段少女的主要死因，在發展中國家尤為如此。

Adolescent pregnancy is not just a health issue, it is a development issue. It is deeply rooted in poverty, gender inequality, violence, child and forced marriage, power imbalances between adolescent girls and their male partners, lack of education, and the failure of systems and institutions to protect their rights. To bring these issues to global attention, this year’s World Population Day is focusing on adolescent pregnancy.

少女懷孕不僅僅是一個健康問題，更是一個發展問題。其根本原因包括貧窮、性別不平等、暴力、童婚和強迫婚姻、少女與其男性伴侶間的權力不平衡、教育缺失，以及制度失敗與社會機構無法保護其權利。為了引起全世界對這些問題的注意，今年世界人口日將關注少女懷孕。

Breaking the cycle of adolescent pregnancy requires commitment from nations, communities and individuals in both developed and developing countries to invest in adolescent girls. Governments should enact and enforce national laws that raise the age of marriage to 18 and should promote community-based efforts that support girls’ rights and prevent child marriage and its consequences.

打破少女懷孕這個循環需要所有發達及發展中國家、社區以及個人承諾對少女進行投入。政府應制定并執行國家法律，將最低結婚年齡提高至18歲；應推廣基于社區的措施，支持少女權利，防止童婚及其各種后果的發生。

Adolescents and youth must be provided with age-appropriate comprehensive sexuality education to develop the knowledge and skills they need to protect their health throughout their lives. However, education and information are not enough. Good quality reproductive health services must also be readily available in order for adolescents to make informed choices and be healthy.

應當為青春期年輕人提供與其年齡相符的性知識綜合教育，發展其一生所需的保健知識與技能。然而，僅提供教育與信息是遠遠不夠的，還應提供高質量的生殖健康服務，以便年輕人做出明智的選擇，保持健康。

At the local level, communities should provide the infrastructure to deliver reproductive health care in a youth-friendly and sensitive way.

在地方層面，社區應提供基礎設施，以及對年輕人友善且敏感的生殖健康服務。

Underlying all these efforts is the understanding that the dignity and human rights of adolescent girls must be respected, protected and fulfilled. Today, we call on governments, the international community and all stakeholders involved to take measures that enable adolescent girls to make responsible life choices and to provide the necessary support for them in cases when their rights are threatened. Every young girl, regardless of where she lives, or her economic circumstances, has the right to fulfill her human potential. Today, too many girls are denied that right. We can change that, and we must.

所有這些努力的基礎是認識到少女的尊嚴和人權必須得到尊重、保護與滿足。今天，我們呼吁各國政府、國際社會和所有利益攸關方采取措施，讓青春期少女能夠負責地做出人生的選擇，并在其權利受到威脅的時候提供必要的幫助。每個少女，無論其居住地或經濟情況，都有實現其潛力的權利。現在，有太多少女被剝奪了這項權利。我們可以，也必須改變這一切。

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