Events
24 September 2024
New York
UNFPA, United Nations Population Fund, is the sexual and reproductive health agency of the UN. It works to uphold the rights and choices of women, girls and young people across more than 150 countries. UNFPA aims to ensure that every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe, and every young person can fulfil their potential.
UNFPA began in 1967 as the United Nations Trust Fund for Population Activities, created in response to growing global concern about demographic change and the promise of new family planning technologies. Four years later, UNFPA was recognised as a permanent entity within the UN system, funded through voluntary contributions from Member States. Eventually, the official name was changed to United Nations Population Fund, but the abbreviation UNFPA was retained.
The International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) in Cairo in 1994 – convened by UNFPA and the United Nations Population Division – was a turning point in the global conversation around demography. The outcome document of this conference, the ICPD Programme of Action, affirmed that population was not the problem, but that rights and choices were the solution. Backed by this global consensus, UNFPA has become a passionate defender of sexual and reproductive health and rights, provider of sexual and reproductive health services, and champion of dignity and bodily autonomy.
Today, UNFPA is the UN sexual and reproductive health agency, ensuring rights and choices for all.
![Girls in the village of Koaltinquin going to a distant-well to bring water. [c. 1974], modern day Burkina faso. Photo credit: UN Photo/Ray Witlin](/sites/default/files/2025-08/UN-20resolution-201966-n_0_0.jpg)
December 1966 | UN adopts a resolution on population - The United Nations calls for the creation of a specialized programme to address population concerns. In a landmark resolution1, governments agree that social, cultural, economic, and health realities must be part of the conversation, with “due regard to the principle that the size of the family should be the free choice of each individual family.”
Photo credit: UN Photo/Ray Witlin | 1Source
01 July 1967 | The United Nations establishes a special trust fund for population activities - It would come to be known1 as the United Nations Fund for Population Activities, UNFPA. The founding documents2 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 | 1Source , 2Source
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.”
Photo Credit: UN photo
1978 - present | UNFPA issues the first State of World Population - For over four decades, State of the World Population has held a mirror to humanity's changing demographics. Published every year, this report spotlights global challenges in sexual and reproductive health and rights.
Photo credit: UNFPA
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 renamed1 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.
Photo credit: UN/Kibae Park | 1Source
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
25 September 2015 | Sustainable Development Goals adopted - All 193 UN Member States adopt the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development – a shared promise to transform the world in 15 years. The 17 goals echo the values of the ICPD, placing people, dignity and equality at the centre of progress. UNFPA works with governments and partners to drive this agenda forward, with a focus on health, education and gender equality.
Photo credit: UN/Cia Pak
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: UN Photo/Milton Grant
Past decade | UNFPA ramps up humanitarian support - As crises in Afghanistan, the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Sudan and Ukraine unfold, UNFPA expands its humanitarian response to deliver life-saving reproductive healthcare and protection from gender-based violence. In 2022, Executive Director Natalia Kanem meets families in the Republic of Moldova who fled the war in Ukraine, underscoring our commitment to dignity and rights in times of emergency.
Photo credit: Siegfried Modola
December 1966 | UN adopts a resolution on population - The United Nations calls for the creation of a specialized programme to address population concerns. In a landmark resolution1, governments agree that social, cultural, economic, and health realities must be part of the conversation, with “due regard to the principle that the size of the family should be the free choice of each individual family.”
Photo credit: UN Photo/Ray Witlin | 1Source
01 July 1967 | The United Nations establishes a special trust fund for population activities - It would come to be known1 as the United Nations Fund for Population Activities, UNFPA. The founding documents2 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 | 1Source , 2Source
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.”
Photo Credit: UN photo
1978 - present | UNFPA issues the first State of World Population - For over four decades, State of the World Population has held a mirror to humanity's changing demographics. Published every year, this report spotlights global challenges in sexual and reproductive health and rights.
Photo credit: UNFPA
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 renamed1 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.
Photo credit: UN/Kibae Park | 1Source
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
25 September 2015 | Sustainable Development Goals adopted - All 193 UN Member States adopt the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development – a shared promise to transform the world in 15 years. The 17 goals echo the values of the ICPD, placing people, dignity and equality at the centre of progress. UNFPA works with governments and partners to drive this agenda forward, with a focus on health, education and gender equality.
Photo credit: UN/Cia Pak
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: UN Photo/Milton Grant
Past decade | UNFPA ramps up humanitarian support - As crises in Afghanistan, the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Sudan and Ukraine unfold, UNFPA expands its humanitarian response to deliver life-saving reproductive healthcare and protection from gender-based violence. In 2022, Executive Director Natalia Kanem meets families in the Republic of Moldova who fled the war in Ukraine, underscoring our commitment to dignity and rights in times of emergency.
Photo credit: Siegfried Modola
The 1994 International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD), held in Cairo marked a turning point. Governments agreed that population was not the problem – rights and choices were the solution. The Programme of Action put women’s empowerment, health and dignity at the centre of sustainable development.
That vision was renewed at the Nairobi Summit in 2019, aligning with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Guided by these commitments, UNFPA today works in more than 150 countries and territories to uphold sexual and reproductive health and rights – ensuring every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe, and every young person can fulfil their potential.
As the United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency, we aim to:
We are the world’s single-largest provider of donated contraceptives to developing countries, and our programmes increase the availability of contraceptives and dismantle barriers to services.
We help strengthen health systems, train and educate health workers and midwives, and improve access to a full range of reproductive health services. Our support for women’s maternal health is especially significant in 32 countries with the highest rates of maternal mortality and morbidity.
We work with policymakers, justice systems and health systems and engage men and boys to advance gender equality. We protect survivors of gender-based violence by providing a combination of essential services, including in humanitarian crises.
We work with governments to plan for changing population needs, so people can thrive today and in the future, regardless of fertility trends. This recognizes the need for policies that respond to people’s needs so future generations can live well and plan their lives with confidence.
UNFPA is funded entirely through voluntary contributions from governments, intergovernmental organizations, the private sector, foundations and individuals. We do not receive money from the United Nations regular budget.
As a subsidiary organ of the UN General Assembly, UNFPA reports to the UNDP/UNFPA Executive Board, made up of 36 Member States, and receives policy guidance from the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).
In our work, we collaborate closely with sister UN agencies, including WHO, UNICEF, UNDP and UNAIDS, as well as many development and humanitarian partners around the world. Together, we advance rights and choices for all.
UNFPA around the world.
Our mission to reach those left furthest behind.
Recognising outstanding contributions to population and reproductive health.
Accelerating UNFPA’s mission.
Common questions about us and our mandate.
Executive director, Goodwill ambassadors and executive board.
About us, how we work and how we’re funded.
Our financing, impact and programming.
Speech
05 July 2022
Publication date
Sep 2016
Author
UNFPA
Resources
