Strategies to Reduce the Worlds Population - Research Paper Example

Strategies to Reduce the World’s Population Contents Introduction 2 Background 2 Empowering Women 3 Educational Religion 5 Child Policy 6 Conclusion 7 Reference 8 STRATEGIES TO REDUCE THE WORLD’S POPULATION Introduction Generally, populations grow and decline, they are rarely static. In a closed system or an isolated country for instance, or the world as a whole, population normally increases when the births outnumber the deaths and shrinks when the deaths outnumber the births. With the reversed birth and death rates, the outcome will be about a 2% decline in population. Migration into a country also adds to that nation’s population increase. Every day, human beings destroy more than 46000 hectares of forest, degrade about 60 million tons of top soil, and dump almost 2 million metric tons of carbon into the atmosphere from their cars alone. Human beings have also led to the extinction of about 50 species of plants and animals. Whether driven by arrogance, greed or ignorance, human activity now threatens to overwhelm the planets capability to sustain life. As the planets ability to support life diminishes, basic necessities become more and more scarcer, fanning ethnic, racial and political opinions and differences into infernos of armed conflict. In addition to the hundreds of thousands of life’s being extinguished, wars shatter societies, sending countless millions of people on the run. In the end, most of the people on the run become refugees leading desolate lives while living in deplorable conditions. Throughout the developing world, the allure of hope for a better life draws countless millions of people from the country side into already crowded cities. This migration was seen in Latin America where in 1950, dwellers were around 40% but at the moment they are around 75%. Therefore, the city cannot comfortably provide for its inhabitants. As such, only a few of the residents have running water while the rest have to get it from polluted rivers. In fact, the UN Population division in its 2004 report states that garbage and sewage flows together along dirty streets exposing thousands of people to the risk of serious illness. This brief background information justifies the need for strategies to reduce the world’s population growth rate. Some of the strategies that will be discussed in the paper include; empowering women, educational religion, and child policy strategies. Background Currently, the world’s population is increasing at a rate of about 80 million people a year. Economic and political stability is threatened by this rapid population. Therefore, there is need for stabilization of the population in the world. By 2045, research has proven that the world’s population will be over 9 billion. This means that fertility levels are high especially in developed countries. The level of poverty increases due to increased and uncontrolled births because most of the parents’ level of income cannot sustain a large family. One of the best ways to reduce population and poverty is through provision of education to women and men. It has been revealed that in countries where children are educated, the levels of population growth tend to be lower. As women get empowered via education, they have a tendency to get fewer kids in the future. Whenever these women become mothers, they raise healthy children who can have access to higher education and better their lives. After school these children are likely to contribute a lot to the respective communities (Empowerment of women in India, 2005). Not surprisingly, the question on how to reduce population growth has become tied up with questions concerning social justice and economic development. Many developing countries aspire to achieve the North American standard of living and therefore, actively pursue policies and programs designed to stimulate economic growth. However, while increasing the standard of living often translates into lower population growth rates, it is not without deleterious side effects on the environment. The Roman Catholic Church and fundamentalists Islamic countries recently exerted a very significant influence over discussions concerning women’s rights, abortion, families and acceptable sexual practices. Thus, these discussions would somehow influence the personal and state decisions concerning future populations. Several actions can be taken in order to break the vicious circle of population growth and environmental degradation found in most poor countries worldwide. They include, raising the standard of living, reducing child deaths, narrowing the gender gap by improving the lot of women and making family planning choices readily available (Banque, 2000). These interventions are beneficial. However, for them to work sufficiently; they need to be introduced almost at the same time. According to Sanderson and Tan (1995), family income rises as the number of birth declines. Hence, there is need for change of view regarding children. In many societies, children, more so the sons are very important especially when it comes to taking care of their parents in their old age. Moreover, they provide labor, within and outside the family, consequently making a significant contribution to their families. These and many other factors tend to encourage higher birth rates among traditional rural families. Nevertheless, with modernization, the cost of providing for children such as child care, education and housing tend to outweigh the economic contribution of children. Additionally, it is probable that the children might not care for their parents in their afterlife. As a result, the desire for fewer children increases. This encourages the traditional families to cut on the number of children that they wish to have since it is more costly to have a large number of children, who will be a burden to the future, rather than help the parents. This helps reduce world populations. Empowering Women According to Glanville and Glanville (2007), empowering women is important in reducing the world’s population. Empowerment of women helps as the women will be in charge of their fertility. Women empowerment takes various forms including, reproductive health empowerment (which is the ability to take charge of reproductive health by women), economic empowerment (that increases women’s financial ability and independence), educational empowerment (that increases women literacy levels to reach the same level as men), and political empowerment (which involves enacting legal rights to enable women access national resources, participation in politics and employment). In the process of empowerment, women will gain important knowledge and skills concerning how to give birth to and subsequently raise few kids. Education and wealth are directly connected to women’s fertility. As women advance in their education and careers, they prefer having fewer children because there is no time to take care of many children. In other circumstances, when the girl does not get an education, she assumes the role of an adult, and starts child bearing immediately. Early child bearing among girls contribute to population increase (Halfon, 2007). However, if the girl attends school, she will increase her knowledge and learn to treat her male counterparts as an equal and compete fairly with them. Moreover, education will help the woman choose a man of her wish and refrain from being forced to early marriages. Additionally, education will enable women plan their families and get children according to their financial ability. There is need for the NGOs in developing countries to invest in women education to empower them to be productive members of the society. On the other hand, women who are currently employed and earn their own income are seen as responsible because they invest in other important activities that are beneficial. As such, these women help support their children in all areas. As more women get educated, they become aware of their environment, and take the initiative to conserve the environment. In addition, these women are informed about birth control measures and women’s rights. About 69 percent of women use different kinds of contraceptives. However, in some areas, especially the rural areas, there is no access to contraceptives. This forces the couples to use the traditions methods which are highly unreliable. Women should be granted the opportunity to have the number of children that they can support without straining their resources. In most cultures, there is gender biasness that favors men over women, in terms of reproductive health. Men are put in charge of the timing of sex and how their women should use contraceptives. In such instances, men in these communities should undergo programs in reproductive health. Thus, women’s status and contributions should be recognized. Therefore, women empowerment will be a necessity in reducing population growth rates since it advocates or enables women to be in charge. The cultural values held by men need to change. When women get empowered, they will be aware of their rights. In addition, they will have more control on their reproductive health decisions such as the number of children to have (Sharrif, 2007). As women gain their rights, they will not be intimidated any more by men because they will be viewed as equals. Finally, empowerment will help curb the number of pregnancies that result from rape cases since hey will be aware of the relevant legal channels to follow. This will discourage or reduce instances of rape. Empowerment will also help women to embrace environmental values more likely than men. This will enable all people live in a sustainable world. Educational empowerment is another vital element for women as it will help them make social progress. When women are educated, they are most likely to have a high status in the family and in the society. Empowerment will enable these women make their own decisions. Additionally, we are likely to experience some dramatic changes in reproductive aspects when women have increased access to adequate economic resources and health care. Thus, women will have fewer births as they will be confident enough that fewer births increase the rate of survival hence reducing the population. As women get educated and they get to serve in the government, gender equality will be enhanced since women will pioneer for it. They will also propose for birth control programs which will be of help to other women. However, it is going to take a long time for equality to coexist, but it will finally be possible in the long run. As women in government pass motions on reproductive health programs, the government will be in a position to contribute to these reproductive health programs. Girl child education is another way of reducing world populations. A 2004 UN Population Division report revealed that education helps women extend the time for child bearing. Secondary education will help a girl make better decisions concerning her fertility and the number of children that she would like to get in future. Additionally, when women advance in education, some may avoid child bearing and focus on their careers. Others may postpone child bearing for the unforeseen future because they have other financial priorities to achieve. Obviously, women who have little or no education tend to have children when they are still young. Consequently, they get more children compared to their learned counterparts. Educated women also take better care of children; they understand the importance of raising a child in a proper environment and plan their families through birth control methods. Even though educated women are able to reduce their infant mortality rate, this trend does not imply that the population will grow, because the women also counter the population growth by giving birth to fewer children. When more women are educated, they can change the perspective of the community which views large families as an ideal. Educated women may stand for small families as they see the need for quality life of their kids. Thus there is need for educating women since if they are not educated, the number composed of uneducated women will raise hence giving rise to increased population in most countries (Sharif, 2007). Unfortunately, some countries favor boy child in terms of education, in this case, the government need to intervene and provides financial support for the girls in order to reduce population increase. Educational Religion Religion can contribute positively to a reduction in the world’s population. However, there is need to differentiate between religion’s spiritual original truths and its reification as institutions, rituals or customs since it was the latter which exerted the most influence over attitudes and behavior. Religion contributes a lot to population growth rates by virtue of what it asserts with respect to the status and role of women, the purpose and meaning of marriage, attitude to sexual intercourse and procreation. Others are attitudes to family planning and abortion. Also, the church influences the spiritual, biological, social and economic value placed on children and on the family. The Roman Catholic Church still objects to the use of the birth control approach except the rhythm method. However, the recent Pope of Catholic church has pioneered birth control measures, and he declared that it is not a requirement for Christians to practice uncontrolled births. He further suggested that all Catholics need to practice parenthood in a proper manner. He emphasized on responsible parenthood and asked parents to use some forms of contraceptive measures which are accepted by the Christian doctrines (Banque, 2000). In some instances, the Pope addressed millions of people who attended his forums on population control. In many countries, widely accepted values encourage parents to have large families. Abortions are still controversial issues in the society. Many Americans believe that population growth is not a major issue that needs immediate attention. With such attitudes and values, it is clear that overpopulation is not recognized as a serious problem. Therefore, there is need to control the population growth by use of contraceptives. These contraceptives will help prevent unwanted pregnancies in our societies thus help curb the problem of overpopulation. According to Islamic religion, family planning should be adopted since to allow parents plan for the financial needs of their children and give them a better life. This indicates that some leaders in this religion are in support of family planning so as to reduce overpopulation. Therefore, there is need to introduce family planning programs in religious center to educate people on importance of family planning (Simmons, 1988). The Quran allows the use of contraceptives so with the consent of both partners, as long as contraceptives don’t pose health risks. Contraceptives enable parents to have a sizeable family that they can cater for and thus keep the population in check. Doctors disseminate information about contraceptives to married couples. In addition, men and women who are not married should also seek information about use of contraceptives so as to avoid unwanted pregnancies. Challenges in accessing contraceptives include a limited availability of a variety of birth control. Others simply cannot access the services especially the poor population since some contraceptives are very expensive, while some cannot withstand the side effects that come with use of these contraceptives. In addition, some contraceptives don’t guarantee a hundred percent effectiveness. Many women worldwide would like to control their birth rates using contraceptives. As such, emergency contraceptives should be readily available so that women avoid the instances of purchasing fake contraceptives on online platforms. Some of the contraceptives are too costly making them out of reach to may poor women. There is a need to standardize contraceptives prices so that they are affordable to poor families. Other birth control techniques can be deemed free such that no fee is involved .There should be laws enacted to make it a priority for couple counseling on birth control and family planning. This will give them knowledge about contraceptives and family planning to avoid getting children that they can’t financially support. The counseling program will be important since it will help reduce the level of population in the world. In other countries, some women who are unmarried are denied access to contraceptives and advice on their availability. This practice is unfair since, unmarried women face the risk of getting pregnant just like married women (Haffon, 2007). Therefore, accessibility should be ensured such that despite the marital status all women can access contraceptives. Finally, to reduce population growth, there is need to offer access to these services. The world Health organization should take a place in provision of free contraceptives especially to the poor. Women should undergo some form of education regarding the advantages and the disadvantages of use of these contraceptives so as to eliminate the cultural dilemma facing use of contraceptives. Abortions should also be permitted in some cases especially where the mother support the baby. This will be important since it will also help in reducing population growth. The Supreme Court should also pass laws that permit abortions so that it becomes legalized. This will enhance personal decisions on whether to carry on with the pregnancy or abort it. Catholic based hospitals should also permit abortions since a lot of them do not allow abortions. Child Policy One Child Policy is another way of reducing world population. This policy should be enacted especially in the underdeveloped countries and other countries where population is alarmingly high. One Child Policy was passed in China and became successful since it reduced the population growth. As a result, China has been experiencing a decline in population growth and an increase in growth in household income since fewer children means greater incomes and increased GDP level. Under this policy, families who get more than one child are penalized accordingly for the rest of their lives (Mosher, 2008). For instance, couples who violate this policy are forced to abort their unborn child and the women forcibly sterilized. However, couples who adhere to this policy are rewarded. For instance, those who are unemployed get employment, they are offered free contraceptives and services and other financial incentives. There are exceptions to this policy, for instance, couples who give birth to handicapped children as their first child are given a chance to have a second child. This policy is suitable since it has helped China to curb its population and as a result it will be of help to other countries in the world who are in dire need of reducing their population. The policy has some negative side effect because it denies women a right to have as many children as they can support. Moreover, it increases the number of deaths and abortions. You find that most women kill their first born child if it is a girl. Thus this policy goes beyond the human rights. Nonetheless, it is sufficient as it helps curb population growth (May, 2012). Finally, population can be reduced by putting prices on environmental cost and effects. This could be done by adding taxes to those families who have extra children. This will lead to increase in costs of food stuffs. As a result, most families will opt to have fewer children, so that the government supports them as it does to families with fewer kids. This policy will therefore encourage couples to bear less children as they know they will definitely get financial support from the government .Therefore, this policy will reduce population in any country. Conclusion Policies and initiatives should be put in place so that population growth is minimized and individuals in the world can move towards sustainable prosperity. Generation of employment opportunities for the poor, especially women through rural development and creation of self-employment opportunities through provision of complementary resources as credit are important policy actions. The above steps help people have knowledge of how the size of the population can be decreased. The most important way of cutting on the population is through women empowerment either, through education, politics, economics among others. It is important to have women make their own decisions on reproductive health such as timing of pregnancy and number of children. Religion can also be another way to control population, however, for population to decline, the religious leaders should advice their congregation to take charge of their reproductive health, they should give birth to the number of children that they will not neglect. Thus religious leaders should take a stand on matters regarding use of contraceptives and abortion. The Doctors and nurses should also take a step and volunteer so that they educate the community on matters of contraceptives. They should not discriminate against married couples and unmarried couples, because both parties face the risk of unplanned and unwanted pregnancies. Thus they should provide services equally to everybody who is in need especially to unmarried women. This will help in avoiding instances of unwanted pregnancies. Reference Banque mondiale. (2000). Poverty reduction and the World Bank: Progress in fiscal 1999. Washington, D.C: World Bank. Empowerment of women in India. (2005). New Delhi: Discovery Publishing House. Glanville, A., & Glanville, J. (2011). Economics from a global perspective: A text book for use with the IB diploma economics programme. Dolton: Glanville Books. Halfon, S. E. (2007). The Cairo consensus: Demographic surveys, womens empowerment, and regime change in population policy. 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