Population Dynamics – a Task for RFPD  

Population Dynamics is one of the most important factors for our common future. RFPD has been active in this field for about 15 years. The German Chapter of RFPD (Rotarian Action Group for Population and Development) is the largest within the international organization. RFPD's main emphasis is on reproductive health and family planning with a special focus on mother and child care. We are connected with many international partners and have major projects in Nigeria, Ethiopia and India, as well as in other countries. We try to understand better how states at different levels of development and of different cultures are more or less ready to address issues concerning reproductive health and family planning. This corresponds to Rotary's focus group on “mother and child” help within the future vision plan.

All these issues are closely connected with sustainability. The social side of this target requires a certain level of income and a certain balance of income distribution which allows to finance education, which in turn makes it much easier to come to a compromise and joint activities and finally arrive at supranational agreements. Such agreements are urgently needed if the aim is to boost technological innovation for increased production while using less resources to avoid a climate catastrophe and – among other priorities - caring for more social inclusion to overcome poverty. So, in particular, the aim of innovation is to allow for more goods and services for always more people by essentially using less resources.

There are a lot of possibilities in this area. However, they require a good political coordination, e. g. a better global governance in order to bring about something like a green and inclusive capitalism, compatible with sustainable development.

RFPD is active in all these sectors, it plays a major role on a global neutral communication platform with quite low transaction cost and an enormous potential to bring about a positive change.

Change is what we need, but it has to go into the right direction.

- Franz Josef Radermacher