WORLD POPULATION DAY 2013

By Diane Forrest

I have read that in China, they limit the number of children in each household to one child.  The families prefer a male child to preserve the family name and heritage. The females are put up for adoption, or worse.  With this type of control on the population, soon there won't be any children.   The population of the world requires responsibility among the inhabitants. Points of concern include space, food, and health care.

Every night late at night there are commercials about children in under developed countries who are starving.  Asking to send money to buy them food and clothes and shelter.  There is a saying, "Give a man a fish, and he will eat for a day, Teach a man to fish, and he will never be hungry again."  Or either, teach a man to fish and he will sit in a boat and drink beer all day.  I believe that in impoverished areas, not only is it important to lend a helping hand, but also educate them to become self-sufficient.  This should extend not only to food, but also in other areas.  Education about reproduction should be top on the list when talking about the world population.  Birth controls methods should be taught and encouraged.   Living in an educated society, we assume that everyone has the same access to information that we are fortunate to have.  This is not the case in many areas.

World Population Day seeks to raise awareness of global population issues. The Governing Council of the United Nations Development Program established this event in 1989. This is an opportunity to celebrate our common humanity and our diversity. It is also a reminder of our shared responsibility to care for each other and our planet.

Reproductive health is at the very heart of development and crucial to delivering the UNFPA vision — a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe, and every young person’s potential is fulfilled.  On 11 July – World Population Day – many activities and campaigns will call attention to the essential part that reproductive health plays in creating a just and equitable world. Help us generate greater commitment to the idea that everyone has a right to reproductive health.

For more information about World Population Day and for ways you can help in this area visit this site http://www.unfpa.org/public/

According to an article from BBC Future – “Are we facing population overload?”

The problem is that growth is now almost entirely occurring in regions of the world like sub-Saharan Africa, where people are the poorest, infrastructure is worst and environmental degradation is already problematic. And the current demographic shift, in which developed nations have an older average population, whereas those of developed nations are younger, will continue. It means that the native workforce will be insufficient to support rich-nation societies, which will increasingly rely on migrants from the developing world.

Ultimately, if everyone on Earth were to eat as the average American does, or to live their lifestyle, there is not enough to go around. The only way we can make this work as a species is by being realistic about resource availability – from cropland to water – and tailor our expectations of what constitutes a good life to the limitations imposed by our population. (http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20120725-population-overload/2)

(Photos from Google)