As Liberia joined the global community in observing World Population Day 2025, United Nations officials and national lawmakers issued a unified call to invest in Liberia’s youth and protect their reproductive rights, warning against policy approaches that restrict young people’s choices or stigmatize their aspirations.
Speaking under the global theme, “Empowering Young People to Create the Families They Want in a Fair and Hopeful World,” the commemoration highlighted both the promise and the peril of Liberia’s demographic future.
At the center of this national dialogue was Senator Dabah M. Varpilah, Chair of the Senate Committee on Health and the Legislative Committee on Population and Development (LCPD), who emphasized that Liberia’s young people are its greatest asset — not a population crisis to be managed.
“It is not just about numbers,” Senator Varpilah said in her address. “People are not the problem — they are the solution. What we need is not fear, but fairness; not panic, but policies that empower.”
Liberia’s 2022 National Census reveals that nearly 75% of the population is under the age of 35, and more than 41% are under 18. While this presents an unparalleled opportunity for national renewal, leaders warned that failure to invest meaningfully in this demographic could deepen cycles of poverty, inequality, and disenfranchisement.
Senator Varpilah called on stakeholders to abandon alarmist narratives about overpopulation and instead focus on human rights, education, and economic inclusion.
“Too often, the conversation is framed around population control,” she noted. “But we must ask: are young people equipped to make informed decisions? Are they supported in their choices? That is where our focus should be.”
She warned that restrictive policies, including limits on reproductive healthcare access, lack of comprehensive sexuality education, and inadequate youth employment programs, do more harm than good.
“Policies rooted in fear only erode rights and deepen inequality,” she said. “Let us design laws that reflect the realities of our youth, not outdated assumptions.”
Echoing these concerns, UN Resident Coordinator Christine N. Umutoni reaffirmed the UN’s commitment to ensuring that population policies in Liberia and around the world are centered on empowerment, not restriction.
“Young people across Liberia dream of lives filled with love, stability, and dignity,” Madam Umutoni said. “But those dreams are too often disrupted by inequality, economic hardship, and a lack of access to basic services.”
She stressed that education, healthcare, and inclusive policies are essential to ensuring that every young Liberian — especially girls and young women — can thrive.
“No young person should be denied contraception or maternal care,” she stated. “No young woman should lose her future to an unintended pregnancy or be forced into early marriage. Empowerment begins with education and is grounded in equality.”
Adding to the global voice, Dr. Natalia Kanem, Executive Director of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), warned that the true fertility crisis lies not in declining birth rates, but in the systemic barriers that prevent people from exercising their reproductive rights.
“The real crisis is the lack of reproductive agency,” Dr. Kanem said. “It’s not about selfishness or career focus — it’s about young people navigating a world of financial instability, health risks, and societal pressure without the support they need.”
UNFPA’s 2025 State of World Population Report revealed that 1 in 5 people under 50 expect to have fewer children than they ideally want — not by choice, but due to obstacles like the high cost of living, lack of parental leave, and poor access to care.
“We must stop blaming young people and start listening to them,” Dr. Kanem added. “Denying them access to contraception or education won’t boost fertility — it will only erode their freedom.”
Senator Varpilah outlined a path forward through youth-focused, rights-based policy reforms, citing the work of the Legislative Committee on Population and Development (LCPD), which she chairs. The committee is actively collaborating with the Executive and Judiciary to craft laws that integrate population dynamics into national development strategies.
She emphasized the importance of expanding youth-friendly reproductive health services, introducing comprehensive sexuality education in schools, improving access to vocational and tertiary education, promoting affordable parenthood and housing programs, and enacting employment policies that address youth underemployment.
“These are not luxuries,” she stated. “They are development necessities. Liberia cannot afford to waste its greatest resource — its young people.”
She also commended UNFPA, the UN System, and Liberian civil society for promoting a shift from population control narratives to a vision of population as potential.
Both Senator Varpilah and Madam Umutoni stressed that youth voices must be placed at the center of policymaking.
“As one activist told us,” Dr. Kanem recalled, “‘Young people aren’t just thinking about their future children — they’re thinking about the world those children will inherit.’ That insight must shape our national vision.”
Senator Varpilah closed her remarks with a rallying call for action and unity: “Let us reject fear and embrace possibility. Let us see our youth not as a challenge to be solved, but as the architects of the future we all hope to build. Liberia’s success will not be measured in population size — but in the dignity, choices, and opportunities we provide our people.” and climate-related anxiety.
