One year on since the world's population surpassed eight billion people, a major report has been launched in Ireland calling for a radical rethink of how population numbers are framed.
The report by UNFPA, the United Nations Sexual and Reproductive Health Agency, warns against overly simplistic analysis of population trends and urges politicians and media to abandon narratives about population booms and busts.
It also highlights the need for worldwide reproductive services for women and girls that are affordable, accessible and meet international standards of quality.
The Irish launch of the report - '8 Billion Lives, Infinite Possibilities: the case for rights and choices' - was held at the School of Nursing, Psychotherapy and Community Health at Dublin City University, at an event hosted by the Irish Family Planning Association (IFPA).
"It's about ensuring that we're responding to the rights and choices of individuals," UNFPA Global Health and Health Systems Senior Policy Adviser Jacqueline Mahon told RTÉ News.
"In the context of young people, are they able to make informed decisions about their bodies? Have they got the necessary information? Do they have sexual and reproductive health services to respond to them?
"The report is really that we need to move beyond looking at the numbers and putting the person at the centre, the individual, especially women and girls."
Ms Mahon added: "Population data is really valuable and we need to be using that data in a way that we're asking the right questions. We need to be ensuring that our policies are responding to that. We need to help and ensure that each individual is able to exercise their reproductive rights and choices."
The UNFPA report points out that a staggering 44% of partnered women and girls in 68 reporting countries do not have the right or power to make informed, independent decisions about their bodies when it comes to having sex, using contraception and seeking healthcare.
It says an estimated 257 million women worldwide have an unmet need for safe, reliable contraception, resulting in over 120 million unintended pregnancies every year.
"I think the burden of unintended pregnancy on young women is shocking and the way it affects their lives, their communities lives, but also their societies," IFPA Director of Advocacy and Communications Maeve Taylor said.
"I think that when we think about solidarity with the broader world and with low and middle income countries that are supported by Irish Aid, we have to think about the rights of those women and the fulfillment of rights and how important that is to those societies in the way that's been important here."
Irish Aid Policy Director Sarah Hunt said the report will help them to work "in a more detailed way" with the UNFPA.
"The report is very important to us for informing policy choices around population growth, particularly around the sexual rights and health agenda," she said. "We can use their data and evidence to work with policy-makers across the world."
UNFPA actively promotes gender equality and works to end un-met need for family planning, preventable maternal death and harmful practices including child marriage and female genital mutilation, in line with the Sustainable Development Goals.
