Message on World Population Day

世界人口日致辞

Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin, UNFPA Executive Director

联合国人口基金会执行主任奥索蒂梅因博士

11 July 2013

2013年7月11日

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

少女怀孕不仅是健康问题，更是发展问题

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.

目前全球共有超过六亿少女，其中五亿多人生活在发展中国家。她们决定着人类的现在与未来。女童在青春期获得的机遇与选择让她们以一个有权能的活跃市民身份开始成年生活。

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.

有了合适的技能和机遇，她们就能为自己、家庭和社区的发展做出贡献。然而，怀孕损害了太多少女的权利、健康、教育和自身的潜力，断送了大好前程。

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.

每年约有1600万15至19岁少女分娩，而怀孕与分娩过程中的并发症是该年龄段少女的主要死因，在发展中国家尤为如此。

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.

少女怀孕不仅仅是一个健康问题，更是一个发展问题。其根本原因包括贫穷、性别不平等、暴力、童婚和强迫婚姻、少女与其男性伴侣间的权力不平衡、教育缺失，以及制度失败与社会机构无法保护其权利。为了引起全世界对这些问题的注意，今年世界人口日将关注少女怀孕。

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.

打破少女怀孕这个循环需要所有发达及发展中国家、社区以及个人承诺对少女进行投入。政府应制定并执行国家法律，将最低结婚年龄提高至18岁；应推广基于社区的措施，支持少女权利，防止童婚及其各种后果的发生。

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.

应当为青春期年轻人提供与其年龄相符的性知识综合教育，发展其一生所需的保健知识与技能。然而，仅提供教育与信息是远远不够的，还应提供高质量的生殖健康服务，以便年轻人做出明智的选择，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.

在地方层面，社区应提供基础设施，以及对年轻人友善且敏感的生殖健康服务。

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.

所有这些努力的基础是认识到少女的尊严和人权必须得到尊重、保护与满足。今天，我们呼吁各国政府、国际社会和所有利益攸关方采取措施，让青春期少女能够负责地做出人生的选择，并在其权利受到威胁的时候提供必要的帮助。每个少女，无论其居住地或经济情况，都有实现其潜力的权利。现在，有太多少女被剥夺了这项权利。我们可以，也必须改变这一切。

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