Sanya Declaration pinpoints major challenges on family life     

    SANYA, Hainan, Dec. 8 (Xinhuanet) -- The Sanya Declaration, which was approved by the World Family Summit Wednesday, pinpointed major challenges posed by the ongoing global social and economic changes on family life in many regions of the world.

    The families worldwide are facing major challenges of illiteracy, gender inequality, large maternal and infant mortality, poor reproductive health, a graying population, the HIV/AIDS pandemic, undesirable sustainability of the environment, global partnership for development, and cultural diversity, the declaration says.

    Despite a 2.5 percent rise in average global income, the current population with a daily income of less than 1 dollar has dramatically increased in the last decade due particularly to an imbalanced distribution of wealth, which has resulted in an increased gap between the rich and the poor and the emergence of anew poverty group.

    Illiteracy continues to be a major problem in some regions of the world, with nearly one-third of the world's adult illiterates being women and 57 percent of the 115 million children without access to schooling are girls, statistics from the declaration show.

    Each year, over 500,000 women die from pregnancy and pregnancy related complications. Infant mortality reaches 6.1 percent in less developed countries. Every day, over 30,000 children die from preventable causes such as dehydration, hunger and diseases.

    Figures from the declaration indicate that by 2050, the population aged 60 and above will increase to 2 billion, with an increase from 10 percent to 21 percent.

    About 42 million people are infected with HIV. The over 13 million orphans whose parents have died of AIDS impose a severe challenge on families, communities and societies.

    Many families have no access to basic reproductive health services and therefore they have no way to exercise their reproductive rights.

    Since the proclamation by the United Nations General Assembly that 1994 be observed as the International Year of the Family, countries from all over the world have achieved progress in their efforts to promote and implement programs to support families and family members within the framework of the internationally agreed development goals.

    The Program of Action of the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) and the United Nations Millennium Declaration have recognized the need for family friendly policies as a necessary contribution to the goal of achieving sustainable development.

    According to the declaration, families are essential to achieving peace, safety, justice, unity and prosperity in the world and they play a fundamental role toward achieving the United Nations' millennium development goals (MDGs).

    While various forms of the family exist in different social, cultural, legal and political systems, the family is the basic unit of society and as such is entitled to receive comprehensive protection and support, the declaration says.

    The declaration, which was also called the World Declaration for a Comprehensive Family Policy, is composed of five parts, namely, the preamble, the political will, the challenges, the proclaim, and the commitments.