Vientiane: The Government of Lao PDR, in collaboration with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), commemorated World Population Day with a high-level event under the theme ‘Empowering young people to create the family they want.’ The gathering spotlighted the central role of youth empowerment in national development by ensuring rights, choices, and opportunities for every young person.
According to Lao News Agency, the event also marked the national launch of UNFPA’s State of World Population (SWOP) 2025 report, The Real Fertility Crisis, which calls for a shift from focusing on fertility targets to advancing reproductive agency and people’s ability to make free, informed decisions about if and when to have children.
Co-chaired by Soulivath Souvannachoumkham, Deputy Minister of Finance, and Dr. Bakhtiyor Kadyrov, UNFPA Representative to Lao PDR, the event convened representatives from line ministries, the National Assembly, embassies, UN agencies, development partners, civil society, youth organizations, and the private sector.
The SWOP 2025 report underscores that the challenge of our time is not over- or under-population, but a crisis of choice: economic pressures, gaps in services, and social constraints prevent millions from forming the families they desire. The report urges investment in quality sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services, gender equality, comprehensive sexuality education, and policies that reduce financial precarity so that women and men can exercise their reproductive intentions without pressure or coercion.
This call resonates in the Lao PDR, where adolescent birth rates remain among the highest in ASEAN-89 births per 1,000 girls aged 15-19, and one in five girls become mothers before adulthood. LSIS III data also show persistent gaps in women’s ability to make their own SRH decisions, with low autonomy in reproductive decision-making (17.6%) remaining a barrier to rights and health.
Addressing the gathering, Mr. Soulivath reaffirmed the Government’s commitment to youth as the engine of inclusive growth, emphasizing the importance of investing in sexual and reproductive health, education, decent work, and social protection as high-return investments in productivity and resilience for the Lao PDR.
Dr. Bakhtiyor Kadyrov, UNFPA Representative, called for an all-of-society approach that marries services with opportunity, highlighting the need to remove barriers, expand youth-friendly services, close equity gaps, and ensure that jobs and housing keep pace with the cost of living.
Participants highlighted priority actions to translate commitments into measurable gains for adolescents and youth, including scaling up comprehensive sexuality education, expanding adolescent and youth-friendly services, investing in girls’ education and life skills, and using evidence to target resources where needs are greatest.