Examine the causes and consequences of high fertility rates in Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and appropriate policies and programmes aimed at reduction of population growth rate.
Good-bye to population implosion and Hello, to population explosion. A theme that is evident in less developed countries because of their high fertility rates that have become a major issue. As it is putting burden onto that country in a number of ways relating from social, political and economical view point. This topic will look at why there are high fertility rates. The regions preliminary of focus are Asia, Africa and Latin American as they are the regions with the highest concentration of population. The focus is to see what is transpiring in these regions and the social implication they are going to have on the countries population, infrastructure and economic its development in the near future.
The main causes of why there are high numbers of fertility rates in least developed countries are due to a number of factors. First there is lack of education and extreme poverty. There is also lack of family planning methods available, that if present would provide information and access to contraception to permit women and men to take control of their reproductive lives and avoids unwanted childbearing. The lack of Educational resources and facilities also plays an important part in increasing high fertility rates in less developed countries. It is the main the reason why there is an inequality between the sexes as there are fewer opportunities for females and early marriage as it eliminates their education opportunities. This is proven since the literacy rates for woman are less compared to the male population. For example in African and Asian continents majority of females are not exposed to education that leads to early marriage and consequently leads to higher fertility rate. In a recent review of four Latin nations, researchers conclude that if there was improvement in education that could alone reduce fertility rates by 40 to 70%. There is another reason why families tend to have larger birth rates are because of the High ratio of mortality rate in developing countries. For example in Africa it's considered to have more children in order to ensure that some would survive because of the high mortality rate and provide for their family with security in their old age.
A greater investment in the education of girls, particularly at the secondary level, is the most obvious example. The longer girls stay in school, the later they marry and the greater the delay in childbearing. In general, supportive measures that enhance adolescents reproductive health, educational levels, and income-generating potential will lead to more rapid human capital development, to increased productivity, and it offsets population momentum
A greater investment in education works directly to lower a girl's fertility by delaying their exposure to intercourse, and indirectly by showing them alternatives in life to early marriage and numerous children. Fundamentally these supportive measures will enhance young peoples reproductive lives and will help generate potent ional as education will expose them to other elements of lives and it will benefit the economy as it will lead to capital development of human. The table below what affect education will have on fertility level.
LEVEL
0-4 CHILDREN
%
5-9 CHILDREN
%
10 ABOVE
%
No school
19.1
39
34.5
Post primary
2.2
4.7
0
Post Secondary
6.9
8.1
0
According to,” Hania Zlotnik, Director of the Population Division, told the press at UN Headquarters in New York at a briefing focusing on the work of the Commission. “When individuals and couples are given the possibility of deciding how many children they want to have, they usually opt for much lower numbers than they used to,”[1].
“Countries with the high population growth will be faced by many problems from supply of basic goods and services such as drinking water, electricity, food grains, housing, transport and Communications. For example Per capita availability of these goods and services in India are much below the levels in developed countries. Although India ranks fourth after USA, Japan and China in terms of purchasing power adjusted GDP, India with a per capita income of only $400 is regarded as one of the poorest countries of the world. Almost 40 per cent of world poor population lives in India”[2]. All these have adverse effect on ecology and health. Poverty persists in urban and per-urban areas and the awareness inequalities might lead to social unrest. The table shows that India has highest population as the table below shows: -
(www.watrisq.uwaterloo.ca/IIPR/2003Reports/03-02.pdf)
“In theory when the economy is doing well families can afford to have more children in practice the higher the economic prosperity the lower the birth rate”[3]
Most governments already pursue investments in human and other development initiatives, independent of their potential role in lowering the rate of childbearing. The demographic benefits of these social policies simply strengthen the rationale for implementing them. The choice of voluntary family planning programs as the principal policy instrument to reduce fertility is based largely on the documentation of a substantial level of unwanted childbearing and unsatisfied demand for contraception.
“The National Population Policy 2000 (known as NPP2000) formulated in 2000 affirms the commitment of government towards voluntary and informed choice and consent of citizens while availing of reproductive health care services, and continuation of the target free approach in administering family planning services”[4].
For example China has instituted the most famous program of fertility control ever devised of one-child policy does not actually explain low fertility in that country.
“Another example is Singapore where government in 1969 adopted a "Two is Enough" slogan, while legalizing abortion and introducing some direct disincentives for large families, including steeply rising maternity costs for each additional child and withdrawal of paid 2-month maternity leave. There was also low housing priority for large families, and no income tax allowance for more than three children. The impact on fertility was dramatic, with the average number of children being born to women dropping from 4.5 in 1966 to 1.4 in 1988”[5]
Population growth over the years has had a negative effect on economic development in less developed regions. As population growth is predicted to rise even more over the coming decades for less developed regions like Africa and Asia. The key strategies should focus on in trying to reduces fertility rates is though the introduction family planning programs that aims to regulate fertility by empowering woman and providing education and promoting the use on contraceptives as discussed in the topic. The effectiveness of these should strategies should go beyond the provision of services. There should be voluntary fertility reduction as a societal development goal is best achieved through mutually reinforcing investments in family planning, reproductive health, and a range of socioeconomic measures. These population policies will bring multiple benefits including less environmental deterioration, slower growth in demand for health services, more rapid economic growth, declines in health risks associated with unwanted and mistimed births and abortions, and declines in high risk
References:-
http://www.popline.org/docs/0557/014183.html
http://devdata.worldbank.org/wdi2006/contents/Section2_1.htm
http://www.scalloway.org.uk/popu6.htm
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=30365&Cr=population&Cr1=mdg
http://filipspagnoli.wordpress.com/2009/02/20/human-rights-facts-101-gender-equality-declining-birth-rates-and-overpopulation/
http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/EXTABOUTUS/0,,contentMDK:20104132~menuPK:250991~pagePK:43912~piPK:44037~theSitePK:29708,00.html
http://filipspagnoli.wordpress.com/2009/02/20/human-rights-facts-101-gender-equality-declining-birth-rates-and-overpopulation/
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Factors_that_contribute_to_high_birth-rates
http://geographyfieldwork.com/DemographicTransition.htm
http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=main+causes+of+high+birth+rates+in+least+developed+countries&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a
http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&q=reasons+for+the+high+birth+rates+in+LDCs&start=10&sa=N
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=30365&Cr=population&Cr1=mdg
[1] http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=30365&Cr=population&Cr1=mdg
[2] www.scribd.com/doc/17454348/Population-Policy-in-India
[3] http://filipspagnoli.wordpress.com/2009/02/20/human-rights-facts-101-gender-equality-declining-birth-rates-and-overpopulation/
[4] www.unescap.org/esid/psis/population/database/.../india1.htm
[5] www.npg.org/forum_series/influence_fertility.htm
