(11 May 2010) Infant mortality in most Latin American and Caribbean countries fell by over 60% since the early seventies, according to an ECLAC study.
Total fertility in the region dropped 63% from the mid-20th century to the beginning of this decade, although among teenagers this decrease was only 37%, states the document "Population and Health in Latin America and the Caribbean: Outstanding Matters and New Challenges", which will be submitted for discussion during the meeting of the ECLAC Ad Hoc Committee on Population and Development to take place in Santiago, Chile on 12-14 May.
The report provides a general overview of the health situation within the framework of long-term trends in mortality, illnesses and disabilities and social protection, as well as a comprehensive outlook at mortality in the region.
It also addresses sexual and reproductive health, the possible effects of recent crises on health vulnerability and explores future challenges in health and population.
The 2010 meeting of the Ad Hoc Committee on Population and Development will be inaugurated on Wednesday, 12 May at 3 p.m. by ECLAC Executive Secretary Alicia Bárcena and the Director of the Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), Marcela Suazo.
The representatives of Commission member and associate States participating in the meeting will also discuss the implications of demographic trends, population and territorial dimensions and human resources development in the fields of demography and of population and development. In addition, they will examine a regional proposal of the Cairo Programme of Action for 2014 and beyond, and a strategy to advance towards an international convention on the rights of older persons.
The Ad Hoc Committee is an intergovernmental body of ECLAC responsible for following up and reviewing population and development issues, including the international commitments made in the world conferences in El Cairo and Madrid.
The media is welcome to cover this event. Celso Furtado Conference Room, ECLAC headquarters, Santiago, Chile. (Av. Dag Hammarskjöld 3477, Vitacura).
More information on the ECLAC Ad Hoc Committee on Population and Development is available on the ECLAC webpage.
For enquiries and coordinating interviews, please contact ECLAC's Public Information and Web Services Section. Email: dpisantiago@cepal.org; telephone: (56-2) 210-2040/2149.
