The World Population Foundation (WPF) was founded in 1987 in the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

by Diana and Roy W. Brown. Their purpose was to create an organisation to draw attention to the effects of high

birth rate Birth rate, also known as natality, is the total number of live childbirth, human births per 1,000 population for a given period divided by the length of the period in years. The number of live births is normally taken from a universal registr ...

s and rapid

population growth Population growth is the increase in the number of people in a population or dispersed group. The World population, global population has grown from 1 billion in 1800 to 8.2 billion in 2025. Actual global human population growth amounts to aroun ...

maternal A mother is the female parent of a child. A woman may be considered a mother by virtue of having given birth, by raising a child who may or may not be her biological offspring, or by supplying her ovum for fertilisation in the case of gestatio ...

and

infant mortality Infant mortality is the death of an infant before the infant's first birthday. The occurrence of infant mortality in a population can be described by the infant mortality rate (IMR), which is the number of deaths of infants under one year of age ...

, communities and the environment, and to raise funds for population projects and programmes, with the ultimate aim of reducing world poverty and improving the quality of life of the world's poorest people. From 1987 until 1994, WPF was a small organisation mainly supported by donations from the founders and by consultancy assignments. In 1994, the WPF played an important role in the Dutch delegation of the

International Conference on Population and Development The United Nations coordinated an International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) in Cairo, Egypt, on 5–13 September 1994. Its resulting Programme of Action is the steering document for the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA ...

Cairo, Egypt Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

. At this conference, the Cairo Programme of Action was adopted which still serves as a foundation for WPF's work. WPF works to reduce maternal and infant mortality, and improve

sexual health Sexual and reproductive health (SRH) is a field of research, health care, and social activism that explores the health of an individual's reproductive system and sexual well-being during all stages of their life. Sexual and reproductive healt ...

and

reproductive rights Reproductive rights are legal rights and freedoms relating to human reproduction, reproduction and reproductive health that vary amongst countries around the world. The World Health Organization defines reproductive rights: Reproductive rights ...

. It acknowledges that attention for these themes and to the improvement of services will contribute to the struggle against

poverty Poverty is a state or condition in which an individual lacks the financial resources and essentials for a basic standard of living. Poverty can have diverse Biophysical environmen ...

worldwide. Therefore, WPF advocates the implementation of these themes in the UN's

Millennium Development Goals In the United Nations, the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were eight international development goals for the year 2015 created following the Millennium Summit, following the adoption of the United Nations Millennium Declaration. These w ...

. 2006-2009, the World Population Foundation's board members include

Nafis Sadik Nafis Sadik (18 August 1929 – 14 August 2022) was a Pakistani physician, Special Adviser to the UN Secretary General with additional responsibilities as Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Asia, and former executive director of the United Nations Po ...

, former Executive Director of

UNFPA The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) is a UN agency aimed at improving reproductive and maternal health worldwide. Its work includes developing national healthcare strategies and protocols, increasing access to birth control, and leadin ...

. As of 1 January 2011, Rutgers Nisso Groep and World Population Foundation (WPF) have merged under the new name Rutgers WPF. Chair of Rutgers WPF is Bert Koenders, former minister for Development Cooperation of the Netherlands.

In developing countries

WPF mainly supports local organisations that provide young and underprivileged people with access to information and services concerning sexuality and reproduction. WPF works to strengthen the capacity of local organisations, assists in developing and implementing activities, and provides management training. WPF's approach is based on Dutch policies on sexual and reproductive health, especially with regard to young people. As of 2006, WPF supported NGOs in nine countries. Currently WPF maintains field offices in

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

and

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

( Rutgers WPF Indonesia).

Advocacy activities

WPF engages in advocacy with policy makers in the

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

, and, at the international level, with the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

. Indirect advocacy includes public awareness creation through the Dutch media and with partner organizations in developing countries. WPF is an active member of Share-Net and EuroNGOs. In 2004 WPF was granted 'Special Consultative Status' by the

United Nations Economic and Social Council The United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) is one of six principal organs of the United Nations, responsible for coordinating the economic and social fields of the organization, specifically in regards to the fifteen specialized ...

. WPF established a youth organization: CHOICE for youth and sexuality. CHOICE went on to initiate the Youth Coalition and YouAct, a European youth network on sexual and reproductive health and rights. In the Netherlands WPF is campaigning under the MYBODY label, with the slogan My Life, My Choice, MYBODY.

References

External links

CHOICE for youth and sexualityYouth Coalition
{{Population Population concern organizations Non-profit organisations based in the Netherlands 1987 establishments in the Netherlands Environmental organisations based in the Netherlands International organisations based in the Netherlands

In developing countries

Advocacy activities

See also

References

External links