The Challenge of the 21st Century: Slow Population Growth

In the moment, you need to skim this sentence, eight children are born. If you have read this article until the end, the world population will have grown by around 700 people. She does indeed even if you set the post now out of his hands. So read quietly - and do not be surprised if you creeps a certain restlessness in the end. Because the world's population is growing almost unchecked - to an estimated 9.7 billion people in 2050. By 2100, demographers expect a rise to 11.2 billion people, it might even be 13.3 billion. For Africa alone is expected to go a quadrupling of the population to 4.4 billion people. In addition, due to climate change, especially in the most populous areas shrink the habitable areas and people from these areas to flee.

Some demographers maintain the present average estimates of world population growth is overly optimistic. I even hear for years in Nigeria, that the actual population is higher than that published by the authorities; recently spoke dortiger scientists from currently 300 million people - the official figure is 180 million. In many African countries there were in the past ten years a census. The published by UNFPA and the Berlin Institute for Population and Development Study "reaching consequences omissions" describes as "the challenge of the century" that rapid population growth limits the possibilities of States to achieve higher per capita income, and makes it more difficult, to obtain access to health, education, infrastructure and expand. All efforts to raise the standard of living in developing transhipment sites, come to nothing if the population increase in forecasted level.

Back in 1994, decided on the Population Conference in Cairo a "Program of Action", the international community, according to which all people have access to voluntary family planning should be granted so that the population dynamics is not running out of control. Why it has nevertheless remained a stepchild of development policy, the demographer Prof. Thomas Buettner has explored, formerly deputy director of the Population Division of the United Nations. He cites as reasons ideological prejudices and taboos regarding sexuality, abortion, women's rights, and insufficient institutional support in the UN system, also ignorance. Is not it finally time to break taboos and to provide people in Africa and Asia access to family planning by providing information and contraceptives? Is it not one of fairness to provide these opportunities also people in developing areas available? Nowhere else the gap between rich and poor is so great an injustice which cries to heaven.

In Rotary family planning is considered a relevant activity in the heavy punk "Health for Mother and Child". The Rotarian Action Group for Population & Development (RFPD) initiated a global grant a pilot project on family planning in Pakistan, which is successful and will be replicated in Ethiopia. Only in 1998, the Council of Legislation (CoL) overwhelmingly for such projects voted by rejections in two previous Cols. After the World Population Conference in Cairo in 1994 with information that could come RFPD the CoL delegates, they were receptive to the concerns. Shortly after the Cairo Conference RFPD began at the request of Nigerian Rotary Clubs with the initiation of family planning projects which have been gradually expanded, also training of providers for family planning services. In 20 years, the project manager had not hit difficulties when the family planning community leaders and religious leaders, whether Muslims, Christians or people who belong to African religions, imagined. On the contrary, they were appreciative of this assistance. The effect: With family planning 30 percent of maternal deaths can be prevented with declining child mortality want mothers fewer offspring.

Family planning is also economically sensible. Each dollar invested will face in savings, according to experts 120 US dollars. If the demand for contraceptives in countries would be covered with low and middle income, 5.7 billion US dollars could be saved in health care for mothers and newborns per year. Would the investment in reproductive health and maternal and infant health increased by five dollars per capita per year, an up to nine-fold economic and social benefits could be achieved by the year 2035 is approached.

Weekly publishing media in developing countries calls for help to family planning. You still do not perceive, also endangers the future of the developed countries. Rotary can break the taboo, perform family planning projects and other organizations participate invite. Thus, countries in Africa with a "demographic dividend" help themselves: this investment, the previously flowing in the supply of a growing population, infrastructure, education and health benefit. It is necessary to launch a global alliance that can solve the problem of population growth.