St. John’s, Antigua and Barbuda
I am happy to join you for this Dialogue to discuss the demographic prospects for SIDS.
This is one of two Global Policy Dialogues held by my Department, UN DESA, on the sidelines of this critical Conference for SIDS and their future. The first, on SIDS economic prospects concluded earlier this week.
Since 2020, these Global Policy Dialogues have been a crucial avenue for us to stimulate important global conversations and share innovations and best practices for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.
UN DESA is committed to providing detailed analysis and insight on population and development, with the work led by our Population Division. The Director, Mr. John Wilmoth joins me here.
The theme for our four days in Antigua and Barbuda is: “Charting the course toward resilient prosperity”, but as we all know, SIDS face unique geographic, economic, and environmental challenges.
Many SIDS are still recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic and global financial crises, while also dealing with rapidly accelerating impacts of climate change, and the ripple effects of mounting geopolitical tensions.
These factors all combine to greatly influence demographic trends including population growth, urbanization, migration, and population ageing.
The story of population across SIDS is not always the same.
Some island nations are experiencing rapid population expansions, with high birth rates resulting in large youth populations.
Other SIDS are grappling with ageing populations.
Either way, these shifting dynamics can strain public services, infrastructure, and social cohesion if not proactively addressed.
Sustainable development for SIDS will hinge on making the most of the demographic changes ahead. And I want to take this opportunity to again stress the UN’s solidarity with SIDS as they manage these trends.
With the help of this knowledgeable group, I hope we can explore some of the implications of these demographic changes for achieving the SDGs, as well as identify avenues for progress.
I want to encourage you here and online to actively participate by sharing your perspectives and asking questions.
The more we collaborate and learn from one another's experiences, the better positioned we'll be to take meaningful action for SIDS.
And now we can do so guided by the new Antigua and Barbuda Agenda for SIDS (ABAS), presented to the world as the outcome of this Conference.
I will now hand back over to our moderator.
Thank you again for your participation.