Mr. Speaker, today the Canadian Association of Parliamentarians on Population and Development celebrated its first anniversary with a forum focused on adolescent reproductive health and children's nutrition.
The purpose of the forum was to raise the awareness of parliamentarians on this important issue. Panellists from CIDA, UNFPA, UNICEF and others shared their expertise on the subject.
Young people will account for one billion of the world's population by mid-1999. These teenagers will be of reproductive age, yet many will not learn about sexual health. Without information they are at risk of unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases such as HIV-AIDS. Every year over 7.5 million children around the world die due to poor maternal health and inadequate nutrition.
I call upon all of my colleagues to support the principles of the ICPD, an advocate for education on adolescent reproductive health.