NEWS

PARLIAMENTARY GROUP CALLS FOR LONG-TERM SOLUTIONS TO HIGH POPULATION GROWTH

The UK All Party Parliamentary Group on Population, Development and Reproductive Health has called in the House of Lords and Commons for contraceptives to reach the 215 million women and girls in the developed world who cannot get the contraceptives they need.

At the World Population Day Parliamentary reception on 11 July, Stephen O'Brian, parliamentary under secretary of state for international development said: 'The coalition government does not support programmes that coerce individuals and couples to have fewer children but we will not shy away from talking about global population growth and its impacts. We are proud to be giving more women the choices they crave.'

In 1804 there were one billion people in the world, in 1960 three billion people and this year,  the world population will reach seven billion, putting a huge strain on natural resources and hampering poverty reduction.

Baroness Tonge in the House of Lords debate highlighted the link between population growth, poverty and food shortages in Ethiopia, Uganda, Somalia and Kenya.  She said: 'Disaster relief is an essential response to humanitarian crises in Ethiopia, Uganda, Somalia and Kenya. However, prevention of future disasters is also crucially important. Unless we address population growth and reproductive health, the children we save now will be bringing their families to the same feeding centre in 20 years time.'

She continued: 'The current total fertility rate for the women of Ethiopia, Uganda, Somalia and Kenya is between 4.6 to 6.5 children per woman and the population of the four countries currently threatened with famine has grown from 41 million in 1960 to 167 million now and it is still rising. We must act now by fulfilling contraceptive needs.'

In its new Policy Position Statement, Population and consumption, CIWEM says there needs to be an end to the presumption that economic and population growth are essential for a successful society, and wellbeing and a healthy natural environment must be afforded greater status.

CIWEM's Policy Position Statement on population and consumption can be found at http://www.ciwem.org/policy-and-international/policy-position-statements/population-and-consumption.aspx