Dakar, Senegal – 11 July 2025 – “This is not just a fertility crisis. It is a crisis of freedom. A crisis of choice, access, and opportunity.”

With these words, Dr. Sennen Hounton, UNFPA Regional Director for West and Central Africa, opened the regional launch of UNFPA’s 2025 State of World Population report in Dakar. Held on World Population Day, the event brought together government officials, ambassadors, development partners, UN leaders, youth activists, and women’s rights defenders to reflect on the persistent barriers that limit people’s reproductive choices—especially those of women and girls.

Titled The Real Fertility Crisis: The Pursuit of Reproductive Agency in a Changing World, this year’s report sheds light on a global paradox: in many countries, people are having fewer children than they want—not because of shifting preferences, but because economic, social, and systemic constraints make it difficult or impossible to realize their reproductive intentions.

“One in five people globally are unable to have the number of children they desire,” said Dr. Hounton. “Not because they don’t want children, but because of unemployment, economic instability, gender inequality, and lack of access to sexual and reproductive health services.”

Fertility, freedom and frustrated choices

The report draws on data from 14 countries—representing more than one-third of the world’s population—and reveals how financial precarity, job insecurity, lack of affordable housing, and gaps in reproductive health access are undermining reproductive agency. These findings are particularly resonant in West and Central Africa, where over 60% of the population is under 25 and youth potential remains largely untapped.

“In our region, the issue is not whether people are having ‘too many’ or ‘too few’ children,” Dr. Hounton noted. “The real question is whether they are truly free to choose. And right now, for millions, the answer is no.”

Among the key findings of the report:

• Over 50% of respondents cited economic hardship as a barrier to having their desired number of children.
• One in five said they had been pressured to have children against their will.
• One in three adults reported experiencing an unintended pregnancy.
• 40% of people over 50 said they had fewer children than they had hoped for.

Dr. Hounton stressed that this data is a call to action, quoting W. Edwards Deming: “Without data, you are just another person with an opinion.”

Investing in autonomy, leadership and opportunity

The launch was marked by high-level participation. Mme Aminata Maïga, United Nations Resident Coordinator in Senegal, delivered a keynote address, emphasizing the need for multi-sectoral approaches to support reproductive rights. She was joined by Mme Barrie Freeman, Deputy Special Representative for West Africa and the Sahel, UNOWAS.

A powerful panel discussion brought together youth leaders and women’s rights advocates, including UNFPPA WCARO’s Nafissatou J. Diop, Director of the SWEDD project. The discussion focused on the lived realities of girls in the region—highlighting the societal and structural obstacles that limit their autonomy and choices.

Dr. Diop emphasized the critical role of education in delaying child marriage and early pregnancy, two key drivers of maternal mortality. “The girls present here today are fortunate to still be in school,” she said. “But for those who are not, we must create safe environments where they have real alternatives—where marriage is not the only option. And these alternatives must be institutionalized.”

Youth leader Khadidiatou Ba, from a Girls’ Club in Kolda, Senegal, underscored the disconnect between education and employment in the region. Many girls are pursuing studies in hopes of future careers but face a strained job market with limited prospects. “Girls should also have the right to choose their future,” she said. Her testimony echoed Dr. Hounton’s call to invest in integrated, youth-centered policies focused on employment and employability—not only to unlock economic growth, but to expand the realm of possibility for young women across the region.

A call for leadership, not control

In closing, Dr. Hounton urged governments to put reproductive autonomy at the centre of public policy, and to expand access and opportunity so that every person can realize their full potential. He also called on development partners to maintain their flexible and strategic support in a world that is increasingly volatile and complex.

“This report is a call for leadership—not to control populations, but to empower people,” he said. “Every guaranteed right, every respected choice, fuels prosperity, stability, and social cohesion.”

UNFPA remains committed to working with countries across West and Central Africa to build resilient health systems, invest in data, and ensure that every woman and girl can exercise her rights and shape her future.

“Together,” Dr. Hounton concluded, “let’s build a region where every person counts, every choice is respected, and no one is left behind.”