BEIJING, China - The 51st session of the UN Commission on Population and Development (CPD) was held during 9-13 April 2018 at UN Headquarters in New York, with the theme of “Sustainable cities, human mobility and international migration”. The theme of the CPD session is highly relevant to the development context of China given the significant trends and levels of rapid urbanization and migration, which are on the top policy agenda of the Government of China.
In order to share China's experiences and achievements in addressing migration and urbanization with other countries, a side-event titled “Experience-Sharing on Migration, Urbanization and the Quest for the SDGs” was jointly organized by the National Health Commission (NHC) of China and UNFPA during the CPD session.
The event was moderated by Ms. He Dan, Director of the China Population Development and Research Centre (CPDRC). Mr. Elliott Harris, Assistant Secretary General for Economic Development and Chief Economist in the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA), Dr. Natalia Kanem, Executive Director of UNFPA, and Ms. Cui Li, Vice Minister of NHC of China gave the opening remarks. Dr. Ion Jinga, President of the 51st session of CPD, and the Permanent Representative of Romania to the UN was present and extended his warm welcome at the opening of the side event.
During the event, Mr. Wang Qian, Director of Department of Services and Management for Migrant Population under the National Health Commission presented China’s experiences on the surveillance system of migrant population to track trends in migration and changes in the well-being of migrant population. Dr. Chen Zhuo, Department of Population Data of CPDRC shared a case study of Hainan province, on how to plan services for migrants building on projected migration trends using PADIS-INIT, a population projecting software developed by CPDRC. Mr. Shi Wenzhao, Technical Director of PADIS Project, CPDRC and CEO of Digital China Health Technology Company shared a case study on how to integrate the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into the comprehensive decision-making system of PADIS+.
During the panel discussion, Mr. John Wilmoth, Director of the United Nations Population Division (UNPD) highlighted the significance of population migration data and projection. Mr. Hu Hongtao, Acting Executive Director of the Partners in Population and Development (PPD) discussed the role of population migration in supporting the socioeconomic development. Ms. Rachel Snow, Chief of Population and Development Branch, UNFPA Headquarters summarized the lessons learned in addressing population migration.
Participants exchanged more information and views with the Chinese delegates.
“The side event provides a good platform for the UN and other countries to learn China’s practice in addressing migration and urbanization in its pursuit of national sustainable development plans over the past four decades. We hope more countries can join China in using data to support policy-making on migration and urbanization,” said Dr. Babatunde Ahonsi, UNFPA Representative in China at the closing remarks.
More than 80 delegates and experts participated in the event.
