A multisectoral body called for the integration of population issues in the ongoing global discussions on the development scenario after the 2015 Millennium Development Goals deadline.

During a national consultation held in Manila recently, development stakeholders agreed that rapid population growth, aging, urbanization, migration, and other population issues constitute important challenges and opportunities for development.

Attended by representatives from government, civil society, private sector and development agencies, the whole day meeting adopted a national declaration that outlines overarching and thematic recommendations on four key emerging population issues in the Philippines. The thematic issues include high fertility and population growth, low fertility and population aging, migration and human mobility, and urbanization.

Overarching recommendations include adopting human rights-based and gender-responsive approaches to population dynamics, focusing on expanding individual choices and opportunities, and taking into account specific needs of ageing population, women and men, people living in rural and urban areas, and internal and international migrants.

The use of disaggregated population data, projections and scenarios are encouraged to formulate forward-looking sustainable development goals, targets and policies, and monitor their implementation. The participants also agreed that promotion of quality, accountable, responsive and inclusive governance at the national and local levels should be advanced to meet the needs of the population and communities.

It was also acknowledged that pursuing global and regional partnerships are vital in addressing challenges and seizing opportunities brought by changes in population size, the demographic bonus, and internal and international migration and urbanization.

The following are the specific thematic recommendations:

On high fertility and population growth:

• Ensure sexual and reproductive health and rights and provide universal access to voluntary family planning, as well as HIV prevention, treatment, care and support especially among young people.
• Strengthen coverage and quality of primary, secondary and tertiary education; technical and vocational training; as well as apprenticeship programmes.
• Make major efforts to seize the demographic bonus that is provided by a fall in fertility through investment in, and productive employment of, young people and older persons.

On low fertility and population aging:

• Invest in human capital throughout a person’s life course, and eliminate discrimination based on age in order to ensure that people of all ages are able to productively contribute to society.
• Provide higher coverage and adequate levels of pensions, health care and social protection, and ensure a balanced distribution of the human and financial cost of care.
• Develop appropriate technologies, care services and infrastructure to accommodate the needs of older persons.
• Promote family-friendly policies that make it easier for parents to combine and share work and domestic responsibilities.
• Advocate to countries that are on the way to demographic transition to begin the process of strengthening policies, structures and mechanisms to address the needs of older persons.

On migration and human mobility:

• Ensure that migration, which affects many areas of development (including human rights, health, education, rural and urban development, financing for development and disaster risk reduction), is included in national and sectoral development policies, as well as poverty reduction strategies and National Adaptation Plans of Action.
• Strengthen policy coherence at all levels through local, national, regional and global cooperation and establish a global partnership in the Post-2015 framework to ensure that migration contributes to equitable and sustainable development.
• Ensure the non-discrimination of migrants and promote the social cohesion of communities through equal wages and working conditions, social benefits and protections, as well as the recognition of educational qualifications.
• Promote the matching of skills and jobs, as well as labour supply and demand within and between countries.
• Implement an integrated programme of reintegration that will provide opportunities for returning migrants to significantly contribute to the economic life of the community and the country.

On urbanization:

• Anticipate and plan for urban population growth to ensure that the growing number of urban residents, including the poor, have secure access to land, housing, water, sanitation, energy, and transport as well as health, education and other essential services. In this context, it is also important to address the health and safety concerns of women and girls.
• Reduce the number of slum dwellers and expand slum upgrading efforts through cooperative and inclusive approaches that do not resort to forced evictions.
• Minimize the environmental impact of cities by slowing urban sprawl and seize the opportunities offered by higher population density, notably higher energy efficiency in transport and housing, and cheaper provision of services and infrastructure.

The national consultation was organized to gather insights from Philippine experience on the importance of population dynamics in development. The discussion was part of the series of global thematic discussions on the post-2015 development agenda. The recommendations will feed into the discussions at the Global Leadership Meeting with UN member states in Bangladesh this month.

The national consultation for population dynamics was led by UNFPA in partnership with other UN agencies -- UNDP, WHO, WFP, ILO, FAO, UNICEF, IOM, UN HABITAT, UNAIDS, OHCHCR, UN WOMEN -- and supported by the embassies of Switzerland and Bangladesh.

At the September 2010 MDG Summit, UN Member States initiated steps towards advancing the development agenda beyond 2015 and have led the process of open, inclusive consultations on the post-2015 agenda with civil society organizations and other stakeholders. There are more than 60 countries that conducted the national consultations.