April Update

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APRIL 2025

Dear John,

In April, we attended the United Nations Commission on Population and Development (CPD58) in New York, where we helped bring critical attention to the links between climate change, population dynamics and child health. Encouraging signs suggest these connections are being taken more seriously.

This newsletter shares key outcomes from the conference, including insights from our Fragile Futures launch event, which you can watch below. We also highlight the growing risks climate change poses to women and girls, alongside further calls to reverse UK aid cuts and tackle air pollution.

Looking ahead, please keep an eye out for our next magazine, which will land in June, featuring new stories, expert insights and updates from our global partners. We'd also like to thank everyone who donated used postage stamps over the past year. Unfortunately, we’re no longer able to accept them, but many local charity shops still can.

- The Population Matters team

POPULATION AND ENVIRONMENT

The data gap hiding child deaths

New insights from our Fragile Futures report reveal a stark truth: child mortality may be significantly underestimated this century. We explore why current UN projections fall short, how lives are already impacted and what urgently needs to change to protect children and global health progress.

[Read more]([link removed])

Speaking up for children's futures

In April, we presented Fragile Futures at CPD58 in New York, urging action as projected child deaths this century may exceed projections. Encouragingly, governments recognised that climate change and conflict are straining health systems and more investment is essential.

[Read more]([link removed])

NEWS

Our patron speaks up for the ocean

Sir David Attenborough—one of the strongest voices for nature and a proud Population Matters patron—has warned of the damage caused by industrial fishing. His powerful new film, to be aired on his 99th birthday, calls for urgent action to protect our oceans from destructive practices.

[Read the article]([link removed])

Calls for cleaner air to curb pollution deaths

Over 50 countries, cities and organisations have pledged to halve the health impacts of air pollution by 2040. This timely commitment came just before we arrived in New York last month, where we shared our Fragile Futures research linking climate and environmental harm to rising infant mortality.

[Read the article]([link removed])

UK aid cuts risk lives and stability

In February, we joined dozens of organisations in [urging the UK government]([link removed]) to rethink its foreign aid cuts. New analysis shows 55 million people could lose vital support, with devastating consequences for maternal health, family planning and the rights of women and girls.

[Read the article]([link removed])

Climate crisis driving surge in gender-based violence

A UN study reveals how climate change is fuelling gender-based violence, with displacement, food insecurity and instability all key drivers. “Ending violence against women and girls... is essential to achieving a just, sustainable, and climate-resilient future.”

[Read the article]([link removed])

WATCH AND SHARE

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Fragile Futures – Child Health, Climate & Population Dynamics

Recorded during the UN conference in New York, this global panel features Prof. Peter Le Souëf, Dr. Melinda Judge, Dr. Joan Castro, Wendo Sahar and Josh Hill. Together, they explore how climate change and population dynamics are worsening child health and deepening inequality. Watch and share this urgent call to action.

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Quote of the month

“You know, safe birth is not a technical challenge; rather, it is a political choice.”

- Dr. Natalia Kanem – Executive Director of the United Nations Population Fund .

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