Cairo, Egypt, 11 July - The UNFPA Arab States Regional Office and the League of Arab States launched today the Population Development Composite Index (PDCI).

The Population Development Composite Index is a visionary tool that promotes a people-centered sustainable development agenda in the Arab region and allows tracking achievements towards the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD), and related Sustainable Development Goals from a population development lens. 

In coincidence with World Population Day, 11 July, UNFPA Arab States Regional Office (ASRO)   launched its Population and Development Composite Index (PDCI).

The index is a visionary tool that promotes a people-centered sustainable development agenda in the Arab region and allows tracking achievements towards the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD), and related Sustainable Development Goals from a population development lens. 

The COVID-19 pandemic may have lasting consequences on population. For some, it has led some to postpone childbearing. For others, disruptions in health care have led to unintended pregnancies. 

Although we have yet to get a full picture of the impact of COVID-19 on fertility, these trends have provoked alarmist concerns about baby booms or busts.

Erbil, Kurdistan Region of Iraq, 23 June 2021 - The UN Assistant Secretary-General and UNFPA Deputy Executive Director, Mr. Ib Petersen; UNFPA Regional Director for the Arab States, Dr. Luay Shabaneh; and the UNFPA Representative to Iraq, Dr. Rita Columbia, met with the Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government, Mr. Masrour Barzani, in attendance of the Minister of Planning, Dr.

Baghdad, Iraq, 19 June 2021 - The United Nations Assistant Secretary-General (ASG) and United Nations Population Fund Deputy Executive Director (DED), Mr. Ib Petersen, and UNFPA Regional Director for the Arabic States, Dr. Luay Shabaneh, started yesterday a five-day visit to Iraq.