Havana, July 5 (RHC)-- The Coordinator of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in Cuba, Rafael Cuestas, has praised the high representation of women in the composition of the island´s parliament, the respect for Cuban women’s reproductive rights, and the high life expectancy in the Caribbean island.

Cuestas made these remarks in a press conference in Havana Thursday on the occasion of the World Population Day, a UN-sponsored annual event observed on July 11 every year to raise awareness on global population issues.

Cuestas acknowledged that there have been setbacks in population issues in some regions, of the world and that UNFPA is working to strengthen the struggle not take a step back.

2019 marks the 50th anniversary of the creation of the United Nations Population Fund, the 45th anniversary of its first cooperation program in Cuba and the 25th anniversary of the International Conference on Population and Development in Cairo.