The Real Fertility Crisis Is When Couples Are Denied Choice

Dr Julitta Onabanjo, UNFPA Country Representative for Malaysia | Tengku Aira Tengku Razif, Assistant Representative, UNFPA Malaysia, Assistant Representative, UNFPA Malaysia

09-Jul-25 16:00

The Real Fertility Crisis Is When Couples Are Denied Choice

Pause
Embed

We keep being told that there is a ‘fertility crisis’ as people continue to have fewer children or none at all. But is there really a crisis brewing? We explore reasons why people are choosing to not have children and why this is a problem with sexual and reproductive health rights, with Dr Julitta Onabanjo, UNFPA Country Representative for Malaysia, and Tengku Aira Tengku Razif, Assistant Representative with UNPFA Malaysia.

Image Credit: Shutterstock

Produced by: Muhammad Naufal Ubaidi, Lim Sue Ann

Presented by: Lim Sue Ann

This and more than 60,000 other podcasts in your hand. Download the all new BFM mobile app.

Categories: health policy, Family/Parenting

Tags: reproductive agency, the bigger picture, world population day, fertility, sexual and reproductive health rights, women’s health, health & living,

Today’s Shows

11:00 AM

Best of Enterprise

(REPEAT) Kiron Kesav, Chief Strategy Officer at PHD APAC, OMG Malaysia On how Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs) influence consumer trust, green marketing, and the rise of authenticity in sustainable fashion branding.

12:00 PM

BBC World Service

(REPEAT) This episode focuses on H5N1 bird flu cases with deaths rising sharply in Cambodia, raising concern among experts.

1:00 PM

A Bit of Culture

(REPEAT) This week, Kam Raslan, Sheryll Paul and Sudais Ferhard talk about fitness classes, actors speaking in foreign accents, and physical media.

2:00 PM

Ringgit & Sense

(REPEAT) Siew Yuen Tuck, CEO of Ringgitplus discusses the financial literacy and consumer behavior in Malaysia.

2:30 PM

The Property Show

(REPEAT) Cha-ly Koh, CEO of Urbanmetry, discusses how to design a walkable city and prioritise public transport under the KL Local Plan 2040.

3:00 PM

Best of The Bigger Picture

(REPEAT) We speak to Dr Peter Selzak about what being the descendant of holocaust survivors taught him about how to view the Zionist project of the State of Israel, how antisemitism is being weaponised by the right-wing and more.

4:00 PM

Best of Evening Edition

(REPEAT) This week on Good Things, we hear from Cikgu Rahayu about the fight to protect stateless children—and how Yayasan Chow Kit is helping them find a place to call home.

5:00 PM

BBC World Service

This episode of People Fixing The World invites us to rethink our ways of dealing with food waste, speaking to people who are trying alternative ways to tackle the problem.

PROGRAMMES