Out of six billion people on our planet today, almost half are under 25 years of age, and one billion are between the ages of 15 and 24. The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has called the latter the "parents of the next generation". How the world meets the enormous needs of these adolescents and young adults, and how the future parents exercise their reproductive choices, will have a profound impact on the well-being of this planet and all its inhabitants.

In 1994, the International Conference of Population and Development (ICPD) steered the world's thinking on population issues away from the demographic - population control - approach to the broader concept of reproductive health, in which respect for the human rights of women and men is paramount. This new concept takes into consideration issues such as safety of pregnancy and delivery for women, survival of the newborn, healthy growth of children, healthy sexual development of adolescents, the rights of women and men to regulate their own fertility, and the physical, social and psychological well being of people throughout their lives.

"Reproductive health deals with intimate and highly valued aspects of our lives," says Dr Gro Harlem Brundtland, Director-General of WHO. "Our Organization is committed to the concept of reproductive health, which is and will continue to be our key priority for the new century."

Why reproductive health is so important is illustrated by the following examples of available statistics:

• Even though some 60% of the world's couples are using a contraceptive method, at least 100 million couples have an unmet need for family planning. As the world population continues to rise, meeting this need will be a major challenge for next few decades.
• Each year some 40-50 million women world-wide have an induced abortion. About half of these abortions are carried out under unsafe conditions. Unsafe abortion is a major cause of maternal death and disability.
• Each year at least 160 million women become pregnant. As many as 15% of these pregnancies develop complications which need specialized care.
• Each year close to 600 000 women die as a result of pregnancy and childbirth. More than 90% of these deaths occur in developing countries.
• Each day, 16,000 people contract HIV and, by the end of 1998, there were a total of 33.4 million people infected with HIV/AIDS.
• More than 300 million curable cases of sexually transmitted disease occur each year. Many of the people infected are adolescents.

The adoption of the concept of reproductive health is already demonstrating its positive benefits in countries. This was confirmed in the Hague in February 1999 at ICPD+5 - the international conference called to review the progress since ICPD. One of the most important contributions of the approach has been that countries have begun to focus on meeting people's needs rather than just reducing fertility.

In June this year, the 21^st Special Session of the United Nations General Assembly discussed key actions for further implementation of the Programme of Action of the ICPD. In its report, the Assembly called on WHO, "in cooperation with other relevant UN bodies, to fulfil its leadership role within the UN System in assisting countries to put in place standards for the care and treatment of women and girls that incorporate gender-sensitive approaches and promote gender equality and equity in health care delivery and to advise on functions that health facilities should perform to help to guide the development of health systems to reduce the risks associated with pregnancy, taking into consideration the level of development and the economic and social conditions of countries." WHO was also called upon to coordinate the development of common key indicators on reproductive health programmes with other relevant UN partners.

For further information, journalists can contact Mr Jitendra Khanna, Department of Reproductive Health and Research, WHO, Geneva. Telephone (+41 22) 791 3345. Fax (+41 22) 791 4171. Email: khannaj@who.ch .