Challenges of a fast-increasing world population
Introduction
The global population is increasing in leaps and bounds. As of 2015, the global world population was estimated at 7.3 billion but has now reached 7.5 billion. Projections show that it will have hit the 8.5 billion mark by 2030. By 2050, the world population shall have reached 9.7 billion (United Nations 2015). This exponential growth in world population is largely attributed to the difference between the rate of death and the rate of birth. In turn, this is due to increased food production, improved health care, and conquest of diseases, significant increases in the global population have in turn raised poverty levels, while cases of childhood mortality rates are on the increase.
Causes
Prior to the Industrial Revolution, the death rates and birth rates were nearly identical, and this helped to maintain a stable population. Although people had many children, there were high mortality rates for those under five. However, the Industrial Revolution brought with it advances in science and technology and this has an impact on population growth. There were increases in the production and distribution of food globally, as well as improvements in medical technology and public health (Simmons 2011). This, coupled with gains in standards of living and educational attainment helped to improve the quality of life globally, thereby reducing death rates and by extension, increasing survival rates. Advances in science and technology also helped to improve food production and distribution. Technology has also facilitated the development of higher-yielding crops, pesticides, and agricultural inputs that have in turn increased food production significantly.
Improvements in public health such as access to safe drinking water and adequate housing have also contributed to the exponential growth in the global population. The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that in 1990, 76% of the world's population had access to safe drinking water. However, by 2015, this number had increased to 91% (WHO 2015).
The United Nations, through its Universal Declaration of Human Rights, recognises access to adequate housing as a vital requirement for the well-being and health of the global population (Independent Evaluation Group 2016). While governments across the world have failed to keep pace with the growing population in terms of guaranteeing them access to adequate housing, a higher percentage of the current population has access to such, compared to previous generations.
The 20th century will go down in history as the century of the conquest of disease through advances in science and technology. Scientists are today more knowledgeable about how to prevent, cure, and manage numerous diseases. Consequently, millions of individuals who might have died of diseases such as diabetes and cardiovascular diseases now have a chance to live longer, perhaps even to old age (Novick, Morrow & Mays 2008). This is because there are vaccines and medications available to treat and manage their conditions. More importantly, improved knowledge about vaccinations, nutrition research, and developments in new medicines, and improved public health practices have collectively played a crucial role in reducing diseases, death rates, and improving the quality of life of the global population.
Effects
The significant rise in the world population will have various and far-reaching effects. To begin with, statistics show that the fastest rate of population growth are recorded in the poorest countries. Historically, high fertility rates are linked to increased poverty levels, as well as high childhood mortality rates. Conversely, reducing fertility rates as recorded in the developed countries are largely linked to increased life expectancy, improved standards of living, and reduced rates of infant mortality. Therefore, the expectation is that the level of poverty in third-world countries characterised by overpopulation will lead to increased diseases and death is, given the positive correlation between these two issues. In addition, a high level of poverty means poor access to safe drinking water, increased deterioration of sanitary conditions, and limited access to adequate housing. Such populations are also highly vulnerable to health problems and natural disasters.
Solutions
One of the strategies that the government can use to help arrest the rise in the global population is education. Education helps to keep the population in check in various ways. First, educated women are more likely to have better general health, fewer children, as well as higher infant survival rates. Secondly, education keeps women and men in school for much longer, and many of them end up getting children later in life. This also means that they are more likely to get fewer children than would have been the case if they had married much earlier. Another strategy to lower the global population is family planning. Government can organise educational programmes to sensitize the public to the benefits of family planning.
Conclusion
The global population, currently estimated at 7.5 billion, is estimated to rise to 9.7 billion by 2050. Various factors are responsible for the rapid increase in the global population, including increases in food production, improvements in public health, and medical advances. However, an increase in population is also associated with such effects as rising poverty levels and high childhood mortality rates. These undesirable effects can be reduced through education and family planning.
References
Independent Evaluation Group. (2016). Housing Finance: World Bank Group Support for
International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (2012) Education, population growth, and human well-being. [Online].
Housing Finance. World Bank, Washington, DC: World Bank. [Online].
Novick, LF, Morrow, CB & Mays, GB (2008), Public Health Administration: Principles for Population-Based Management, Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Publishers.
Simmons, J (2011). Technology's role in the 21st century: Making safe, affordable and abundant food a global reality. [Online].
United Nations (2015). World population projected to reach 9.7 billion by 2050. [Online].
World Health Organization (2015). Drinking-water. [Online].
