Bill Clinton: “Today we mark the day that the world's population reportedly reaches 6 billion. It took just 12 years--from 1987 to…”

“Today we mark the day that the world's population reportedly reaches 6 billion. It took just 12 years--from 1987 to today--for the world's population to expand from 5 to 6 billion people. We should be thankful that people today live longer and healthier lives than ever before. But over the next few years, this rapid growth and its effect on our environment and quality of life will pose difficult challenges for all of us. In 1994 the United States helped forge a consensus at the International Conference on Population and Development in Cairo, Egypt, on a comprehensive approach to stabilizing world population growth. We agreed to work with other nations to help prevent the spread of HIV/ AIDS, to improve the status of women, to enhance educational opportunities for children, and to support voluntary family planning and related health care. My administration has made important strides in meeting these objectives. At home, we have increased funding for family planning and reproductive health services, which have helped reduce teen pregnancies and abortions. Overseas, we have invested more than $5.5 billion in over 100 countries on health and population initiatives and on women's empowerment. We have also worked to protect our environment and ensure that it can sustain the development needs of a growing population. We are learning that technology can help developing countries grow while bypassing some of the environmental costs of the industrial age.…”