Hanoi - The global population reached 8 billion today. This milestone is both a cause for celebration and a clarion call for humanity to find solutions to the challenges the world is facing.

Naomi Kitahara, UNFPA Representative in Vietnam, speaks at the event. (Photo: vtv.vn)

In her speech, Naomi Kitahara, UNFPA Representative in Vietnam, said the fund will continue to advocate for the fundamental right for individuals and couples to freely and responsibly make their own decision on the number, timing and spacing of having children.

“UNFPA will support governments and societies in achieving a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe, and every young person’s potential is fulfilled,” she affirmed.

On the occasion, UNFPA and the national Vietnam Television awarded winners of the drawing contest ‘I am in the 8 billion’ that the sides co-organised from October 28 to November 14. Themed “People are the solution, not the problem”, the competition received nearly 100 entries from Vietnamese citizens, with its special prize presented to Le Bao Linh from Hanoi for a work titled “City of Lights”.

In addition, the organiser has planned two intercity buses to carry the message “8 Billion Hopes, 8 Billion Dreams, 8 Billion Solutions” from the north to the south between November 16 and 30.

Pham Hoai Nam, Director of the General Statistics Office (GSO)’s Population and Labour Statistics Department, said the milestone is not a challenge but an opportunity for the world to develop further.

According to the GSO, Vietnam’s population will reach 100 million between April and May 2023. The Southeast Asian nation is among the 15 countries with the largest labour potential in the world.