More than 140 countries worldwide will observe world population day today ,11 July 2008.

The theme of this year's world population day is ' Family planning: It's a right; let's make it real'. The theme provides a chance to raise awareness of the many benefits of family planning, including its vital role in enhancing maternal health, gender equality and poverty reduction.

According to reports from the UNFPA, forty years after world leaders proclaimed that individuals have basic human right to determine freely and responsibly the number and spacing of their children Modern contraception remains out of reach for hundreds of millions of women and men. The report added that, this year's World Population Day activities will vary in scope and nature, ranging from performances and exhibitions, to sports competitions, seminars and cultural events and all activities will have one common goal, which is to reaffirm the right of people to plan their family size, thereby helping to make this right real.

In his World Population Day message, Ban Ki-Moon, the United Nations secretary-general  said that studies show that family planning has immediate benefits for the lives and health of mothers and their infants. He urged people to focus on the critical importance of family planning if the Millennium Development Goals are to be successfully achieved .

He said "let us take action to reduce maternal mortality and achieve universal access to reproductive health by 2015. Let us devote greater attention and resources to the work, to improve the health and quality of life for all people," the UN boos emphasised.

In a separate message, Thoraya Ahmed Obald, executive director of the United Nations Population Funds said that, family planning is essential to women's empowerment and gender equality. "When a woman can plan her family,, she can plan the rest of her life" said Ms Obaid.

According to her, family planning is also an effective means in the fight against poverty, adding that parents can plan ahead and devote more of their resources to the education and health of each child.