Baby girl symbolizing 8 billionth person in the world born in Manila
The world has reached another population milestone after a baby girl born in Tondo, Manila was chosen to symbolically mark the eight billionth person in the world.
Baby Vinice was welcomed on Nov. 15 by nurses at Dr. Jose Fabella Memorial Hospital as well as representatives from the Commission on Population and Development. Her mother, Margarita Villorente, delivered her past mindnight at 1:29 am.
"So we just witnessed the world’s eight billionth baby in the Philippines. So we waited around two hours starting 11 pm last night and the baby was delivered at around 1:29 am, normal spontaneous delivery," Dr. Romeo Bituin, the hospital’s chief medical professional staff, said in a report from GMA News.
Her birth comes as the United Nations projected just hours before Baby Vinice's birth that the world's population will hit eight billion on Tuesday, and had even set up a countdown on its website to mark the occasion.
"The milestone is an occasion to celebrate diversity and advancements while considering humanity's shared responsibility for the planet," United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said in a statement posted on their website.
The intergovernmental organization attributed the growth to the gradual increase in human lifespan because of "improvements in public health, nutrition, personal hygiene and medicine". It was also caused by high and persistent levels of fertility in some countries.
"While it took the global population 12 years to grow from seven to eight billion, it will take approximately 15 years—until 2037—for it to reach nine billion, a sign that the overall growth rate of the global population is slowing," they projected.