DEVEX

In 1987, the United Nations Development Program governing council designated July 11 as World Population Day to focus attention on the urgency and importance of population issues. When the day was established, the global population had just surpassed 5 billion. Today, the number has grown to 7.3 billion and counting.

This year’s World Population Day theme is “Investing in teenage girls,” so Devex spoke with actors across the global development space about what they’re doing to improve the futures of this particular population.

Watch the video above to learn how governments are listening to youth, how NGO partners are offering holistic services, and why the private sector is innovating wisely to empower young women to make better decisions about their bodies and lives.

The video features Lambert Grijns, director of the social development department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands; Tewodros Melesse, director-general of International Planned Parenthood Federation; Ana Morales, founding member of the Maverick Collective; and Amie Batson, chief strategy officer at PATH.