Partners in Population and Development Joins the World in Commemorating World Population Day 2026
11 July 2026
Every year on 11 July, the world comes together to observe World Population Day, a global occasion established by the United Nations Development Programme in 1989 to draw attention to the importance of population issues and their profound connections to human rights, health, sustainable development, and the well-being of present and future generations. On this significant day, Partners in Population and Development (PPD) joins governments, United Nations agencies, civil society organisations, and communities across the globe in reaffirming our collective commitment to the goals of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) Programme of Action and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
This Year’s Theme: Realizing the Hopes and Aspirations of Young People — Today and for the Future
The United Nations has designated the theme of World Population Day 2026 as “Realizing the Hopes and Aspirations of Young People — Today and for the Future.” This theme speaks to one of the most defining opportunities and responsibilities of our time. Today, the world is home to the largest generation of young people in human history. Approximately 1.8 billion people between the ages of 10 and 24 are shaping the present and will determine the future of our planet. The majority of these young people live in developing countries across the Global South, many of them in PPD Member States.
The aspirations of young people are universal: access to quality education and healthcare, the freedom to make informed decisions about their bodies and reproductive health, opportunities for meaningful economic participation, a safe and stable environment, and the chance to live a life of dignity and purpose. Yet for millions of young people across the developing world, these aspirations remain unrealised, impeded by barriers of poverty, inequality, limited access to reproductive health services, gender discrimination, and inadequate investment in youth-centred policies and programmes.
World Population Day 2026 is a call to action for governments, intergovernmental organisations, civil society, and the private sector to redouble their commitment to investing in young people, removing the barriers that constrain their potential, and building the systems, policies, and partnerships that will enable this generation to thrive, contribute, and lead.
PPD and the Aspirations of Young People
As an intergovernmental alliance of 28 developing countries mandated to promote South-South and Triangular Cooperation in reproductive health, population, and sustainable development, PPD regards the realisation of young people’s hopes and aspirations as central to its mission and mandate. The ICPD Programme of Action, which provides the foundational framework for PPD’s work, explicitly recognises the rights of young people to information, education, and services in the area of sexual and reproductive health, and calls on governments and the international community to create enabling environments in which young people can make free, informed, and responsible choices about their lives.
PPD’s Member Countries are home to large and growing youth populations whose energy, creativity, and potential represent one of the greatest assets of the Global South. Through its programmes in adolescent sexual and reproductive health, capacity building, knowledge exchange, policy advocacy, and the South-South Youth Platform (SSYP), PPD works to ensure that young people are not merely the beneficiaries of development but active participants and architects of the future we collectively aspire to build. PPD believes firmly that no sustainable development goal can be fully achieved without investing meaningfully and urgently in the health, education, rights, and opportunities of young people today.
A Message from the PPD Executive Director
Voices from the Global South:
Messages from PPD Member Countries
In commemoration of World Population Day 2026, PPD invited its Member Countries, Partner Country Coordinators, and distinguished partners to share their reflections, commitments, and calls to action.
We are deeply honoured to present the following messages from across the PPD family, representing the rich diversity of experience, vision, and commitment that defines our intergovernmental community. These voices from the Global South remind us that while our countries differ in geography, culture, and circumstance, we are united by a shared belief.
MESSAGE FROM
Prof. Budi Setiyono, S.Sos, M.Pol.Admin, Ph.D
Member, PPD Board and Secretary of the Ministry of Population and Family Development/ BKKBN
Ministry of Population and Family Development/National Population and Family Planning Board (NPFPB-BKKBN)
Government of the Republic of Indonesia
MESSAGE FROM
Ms. Lucy Kimondo
Treasurer, PPD Board and Acting Director General
National Council for Population and Development (NCPD), Kenya
MESSAGE FROM
Ms. Rhoda Gadama Misomali
Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
National Youth Council of Malawi (NYCOM), Malawi
MESSAGE FROM
Mr. Farai Machinga
PPD Partner Country Coordinator of Zimbabwe
Chief Executive Officer
Zimbabwe National Family Planning Council, Zimbabwe