A new report, a global fertility study and bringing our message to the UN

March 2024 Update

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MARCH 2024

Dear John,

Here in the UK, April always seems like a hopeful time. The days are stretching out, winter is being left behind and things seem brighter. Population Matters also has an exciting month ahead, with much to share in the coming weeks.

But first, we look back at a busy March. At the beginning of the month, we coordinated the release of a brand-new report, Breaking Silos. On the fourth, we were lucky enough to host two of the report's authors in a webinar, where they discussed their fascinating findings.

Our Content and Campaign Specialist, Florence Blondel, reported back from the UN where she attended the Commission on the Status of Women. We also reacted to a major new study by The Lancet looking at global fertility rates and the latest UN-population estimates from the ONS.

Finally, with our Empower to Plan funding application process currently open, we look back at the achievements of past partnerships. Furthermore, we invite you to share the application details if you know of a suitable programme that might benefit from support.

- The PM team

POPULATION MATTERS

Representing Population Matters at the UN

The Commission on the Status of Women ended last week with a call from UN leaders to accelerate poverty eradication by 26 times and an extra $360 billion annually for a stimulus package to achieve gender equality. Population Matters participated in the event for the first time, attending sessions and distributing plenty of materials to UN officials and other delegates.

Where population and reproductive rights meet

Breaking Silos is a new independent report looking at the impact of population growth on vulnerable communities and the continuing reluctance to talk about reproductive rights and population as interconnected topics. In March, on the day of its release, we were fortunate to host two of the report’s authors in a webinar to discuss their findings, which you can watch in full on our website.

Grassroots projects that change lives and shape futures

Empower to Plan is our small grants programme that has supported many different projects all over the world. With the application cycle for this year now open, we look at some of the fantastic partnerships we’ve forged in recent years.

POPULATION & ENVIRONMENT

New study predicts transformational change

A new study by the Lancet, Dramatic declines in global fertility rates set to transform global population patterns by 2100, received a lot of gloomy press attention in March. In our response, we outlined our three key takeaways, which are don't panic, embrace the good news and read the small print. Click below to read our full statement.

Global resources dwindling as demand rises

In the last 50 years resource use has tripled, while in the same time period the world’s population has more than doubled. Climate change, accelerating animal extinctions, increasing water scarcity and drought, the result of the unsustainable demand our growing numbers and overconsumption place upon the earth’s resources, under pressure like never before.

We react to new ONS population estimates for the UK

“The population of the UK is 67.6 million, now more than four million people higher than in 2011 and we have a population density well over double the EU average."

Please read our full statement below.

WOMEN'S RIGHTS & SEXUAL HEALTH

Breaking the cycle of poverty for women and girls

Access to sexual and reproductive health plays a pivotal role in shaping population dynamics and breaking intergenerational cycles of poverty. Florence Blondel, our Content and Campaigns Specialist, delves into the transformative impact of addressing the reproductive needs of girls and women.

Abortion access: blocked paths and rights of way

Positive news can sometimes feel in short supply, but France enshrining abortion access into their constitution in March was a genuine moment to celebrate. We thought we’d take the opportunity to look at the general abortion access picture across the world.

TAKE ACTION

Empower to Plan - our grassroots funding programme now accepting applications!

Our Empower to Plan programme supports grassroots initiatives that promote family planning, sexual and reproductive health and rights, gender equality and environmental sustainability.

Do you know of any effective grassroots NGOs that may require crowdfunding support through Empower to Plan? If so, we would love to hear from them - just click below to find out more!

Find out more

Quote of the month

"I believe one of the highest expressions of gender justice is the women’s and girls’ ability to control their own bodies and have access to the resources and services that they need for that.”

- Dr Jemimah Njuki, Chief of the Economic Empowerment Section at UN Women.

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