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Which UN body deals directly with the reproductive health of the population?
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Answer: Option D — United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)
Detailed Solution
The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) is the UN agency that deals with sexual and reproductive health and population issues.
About the UNFPA:
- It was created in 1969 as the "United Nations Fund for Population Activities", which is why it is called UNFPA.
- In 1987, its name was changed to the "United Nations Population Fund", but it kept the acronym UNFPA.
- Its headquarters is in New York, USA.
- It is funded by voluntary contributions from governments and other donors.
- Its mission is "to deliver a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe and every young person's potential is fulfilled".
Its work:
- It supports family planning and access to contraceptives.
- It works to reduce maternal deaths and to provide safe childbirth.
- It works to end gender-based violence and harmful practices such as child marriage and female genital mutilation.
- It helps countries conduct population censuses and collect data.
- It promotes the rights of young people and gender equality.
It publishes the annual "State of World Population" report. Its 2023 report noted that India had become the world's most populous country, overtaking China.
Its "three transformative results" by 2030: zero unmet need for family planning, zero preventable maternal deaths, and zero gender-based violence and harmful practices.
Its work follows the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD), held in Cairo in 1994.
UNFPA in India:
- It has worked in India since 1974, supporting programmes on family planning, maternal health, adolescent health and the prevention of gender-biased sex selection.
- India's National Population Policy was adopted in 2000.
Related days:
World Population Day: 11 July. It was started by the UNDP's Governing Council in 1989, inspired by the "Day of Five Billion" (11 July 1987).
Why not the other options?
- ✗The WHO deals with health in general, including some aspects of reproductive health, but the UNFPA is the lead agency for population and reproductive health.
- ✗UNICEF deals with the welfare and rights of children.
- ✗UN Women (2010) works for gender equality and women's empowerment.
Quick tip
Remember: UNFPA = UN Population Fund (1969 as the UN Fund for Population Activities; renamed 1987; HQ New York; "State of World Population" report); ICPD = Cairo 1994; World Population Day = 11 July.
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International Economic Organisations — Preparation
This question tests your understanding of International Economic Organisations, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.
This topic covers international economic and financial organisations: the IMF, the World Bank group, the WTO, the Asian Development Bank, the New Development Bank, the AIIB, OPEC, the OECD and groupings such as the G20, along with their headquarters, founding and functions. Questions usually ask where an organisation is headquartered, when it was set up, and what it does. For example, the IMF and World Bank were created at the Bretton Woods Conference in 1944, the WTO replaced GATT in 1995, and the New Development Bank, set up by the BRICS countries, is headquartered in Shanghai. Practise the international economic organisations questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.