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01 July 1967  | The United Nations establishes a special trust fund for population activities - It would come to be known as the United Nations Fund for Population Activities, UNFPA. The founding documents reflect both concern about rapid population change and hope in new family planning technologies. The announcement is made on his behalf by then-Under-Secretary for Economic and Social Affairs, Philippe de Seynes. Pictured above are Mr. de Seynes and then-Secretary General, U Thant, in a photo taken several years earlier.

Photo credit: UN Photo/MB

22 April 1968 | Family planning is recognized as a human right - At the International Conference on Human Rights held in Tehran, Iran, countries adopted the Proclamation of Tehran, which affirmed, for the first time in a global agreement, the basic right of parents “to determine freely and responsibly the number and the spacing of their children.” It also highlighted the “relationship between family planning and the status of women.” UNFPA also began operations during this year, under the leadership of its first Executive Director Rafael Salas.

1987 | First World Population Day is celebrated - On 11 July 1987, the world celebrates reaching a global population of 5 billion. The moment sparks worldwide attention and leads to the creation of World Population Day. Each year, the day highlights both the challenges and the opportunities of a growing global family, and the importance of ensuring rights and choices for all people, everywhere.

UNFPA is renamed - This same year, UNFPA is renamed by the UN General Assembly, changing from the United Nations Fund for Population Activities to the United Nations Population Fund. The abbreviation UNFPA was retained.

September 1994 | The ICPD Programme of Action – The ICPD is born - The ICPD, held in Cairo, Egypt, was the largest intergovernmental conference on population and development ever held. It articulated a bold new vision about the relationships between population, development and individual well-being – and, momentously, marked the first time world leaders agreed to invest in people and not demographic targets.

Photo credit: UN Photo

1995 | The Beijing Platform for Action - At the Fourth World Conference on Women, governments adopt the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action – a landmark commitment to advance women’s rights, strengthen the ICPD, and put gender equality at the heart of global progress.

Photo credit/a>: UN Photo/Milton Grant

2022 | UNFPA ramps up humanitarian support - In the face of increased humanitarian disasters, UNFPA ramps up humanitarian support in 2022.  Executive Director of UNFPA Natalia Kanem , visits a Ukrainian refugee family who has recently fled war in their country, March 10, 2022 at the Manej Stadium that was transformed overnight into a refugee shelter, in the capital Chisinau, Moldova.