13th July 2009

IPPF Central Office marked World Population Day with an evening reception at the House of Lords, London.

The event, which was co-hosted with the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Population, Development and Reproductive Health, was co-sponsored by sixteen non-governmental organizations, some of whom are just starting to work on issues related to sexual and reproductive health and rights.

This popular reception was attended by numerous Members of Parliament and Peers from all political parties along with Ambassadors, Department for International Development officials and civil society organizations.

The theme of this year’s World Population Day was ‘Responding to the economic crisis: investing in women is a smart choice’.

The keynote speaker was Mike Foster MP, the new Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for International Development.

He paid tribute to the work of IPPF which is championing “the neglected services which are vital to protect sexual and reproductive health and rights”.

He also stated that DFID was “committed to provide £6 billion in support of health systems and services up to 2015, with an emphasis on efforts to improve family planning and support sexual and reproductive health”.

Other speakers at the reception included Dr Gill Greer, Baroness Jenny Tonge and Christine McCafferty, MP, chair of the APPG.