The Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, in collaboration with United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), will today host the World Population Day (WPD) at Umubano Hotel in Kigali.

The day will be celebrated under the theme; "Raising Awareness on Population and Development Issues” while the Global WPD 2015 theme is "Vulnerable Populations in Emergencies”.

Both themes are intended to raise awareness on population and development issues and highlight the needs of women and adolescent girls during conflicts and humanitarian disasters.

A statement from UNFPA indicated that this year’s population commemoration will, among others, focus on fostering the rights and needs of women and girls in accessing sexual and reproductive health.

"We have to make sure that the rights and needs of women and girls are at the forefront of humanitarian responses to maintain their dignity and restore safety and access to sexual and reproductive health as quickly as possible,” the statement reads. 

The event will begin at 12:30 and will be preceded by a two-hour live talk show, dubbed, "Kubaza Bitera Kumenya” on the national broadcaster.

World Population Day was established by the Governing Council of the UNDP in 1989 and was endorsed by the United Nations General Assembly as an opportunity to build better awareness of population issues and their relationship to development.