world population

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Introduction
The world population has been a major concern today since most problems that confront the world today such as severe poverty, climate change, political instability and global economy relate critically in some way to the world population. The world population is still experiencing a rapid population growth, and this has also been a major world concern which has been a subject of discussion is various international forums. For instance, on 7th April 2014, the member states of the UN kicked off an assessment of the actions undertaken over the last 20 years at United Nations Headquarters. The assessment aimed at addressing population issues such as migration, urbanization, mortality-fertility and changes in aging. The forum acknowledged that the world population since 1994 has grown from approximately 5.7 to 7.2 billion people in 2014 (“UN News – Challenges Facing World Population Take Centre Stage at Annual UN Forum” N.p). The UN projections indicate that the global population might reach 9.6 billion people in 2050, recording the most of the increase concentrated in underdeveloped countries.
The world population is, therefore, a challenge that needs to be addressed. Due to unsustainable growth in population, the world resources become scarcer. The food is running in short supply, and the scarcity of water is a growing concern since in certain parts of the globe today, major rivers no longer reach the ocean. It is likely that climate change could lead the situation of water even critical.

In certain parts of the globe, the underground water aquifers are getting depleted rapidly and lakes going dry. It implies that drier areas are likely to become more prone to drought while wetter areas become prone to flooding. As water, food, as well as other resources, get strained by increasing demands of the growing world’s population, it is likely that the number of environmental refugees in the globe would rise. Such scenarios present the recipe for conflicts or even civil war.
There are great challenges of addressing the world population. For instance, food is a resource that is not evenly distributed in the world. In developed countries, food trend to be relatively more accessible and affordable contrary to less developed countries where there are still many people going hungry. USDA defines food insecurity as the lack of adequate food for healthy and active life by all household’s members. Despite unsustainable is linked to poverty; the rapidly advancing countries like India and China also have serious concerns. As such countries become more prosperous; food no longer becomes a problem since the country can produce enough food for the population. However, this gives rise to an increase in demand for land that brings chaos in the settlement. Unequal distribution of technology is another challenge to meeting the global demand for food since there is a big technological gap between developed countries and the developing countries. For instance, in some less developed countries, the population is growing the fastest, while most farmers still undertake to farm with no access to best technologies and agronomic practices. Such countries face such challenges due to certain barriers such as lack of training, infrastructure, and government regulation.
Importance of Addressing World Population
Addressing world population is one of the ways of addressing world problems such as global climate change, severe poverty, political instability and global economy. The addressing population is necessary for promoting sustainable development since higher population growth brings about lower resource availability. A population that grows rapidly affects capital formation, consumer prices, political and social unrest, labor problems and food shortage. Addressing world population is one effective way of reducing these problems. In India for instance, there is a need to minimize birth rate to achieve optimum population size, to promote economic development and to better the quality of life. Addressing world’s population helps in Ecosystem Management. There have been concerns about the climate change which can be traced back to rapid population growth. Energy demands are growing at an unexpected rate and the quality of air as a result of industrialization has become a great problem causing public health effects. Controlling population growth helps in achieving a sustainable population growth to reduce the effects of climate change.
Addressing world’s population ways is one way of initiating economic prosperity. There is a need to have a matching size of the population with the available resources. Most countries that record the highest population growth especially in sub-Saharan Africa record the highest poverty levels (Gurusamy 1). It implies that rapid population growth is a critical impediment to economic prosperity. Addressing population growth also helps to reduce dependency levels either at the household’s level or the national levels. Several less developed countries that record high population growth still depends on international aids and other international programs to support the population. Population control, therefore, helps in reducing the dependency levels making a country to be independent and economically prosperous. Economic prosperity here also implies a high quality of life which is not easy to achieve with an alarming global population growth (Gurusamy 1). It is necessary to acknowledge that addressing population growth has different challenges in different parts of the globe.
Plans on How to Address World Population
As much a several strategies have been initiated to address the rapid increase in the number of people, the world still has much to do to further address the issue. The subject of unsustainable population growth should not be ignored for since nature will take its course. The following are some of the strategies that may put the global population on a path that is environmentally sustainable.
Guarantee education especially for the girl child
Women with higher education normally have fewer children as compared to women with little or no education. Such women focus more on their careers having very little time to have many children. Education also liberates women enabling them to be independent and protect themselves from being deprived of their rights. They are also able to abandon certain cultural practices that promote population growth and poverty.
Provide access to effective and safe contraceptives
It is estimated that two out of five pregnancies are normally unwanted or mistimed pregnancies. It is as a result of poor access to effective family planning which is one of the greatest gaps as far as population control is concerned. In the event every pregnancy will be planned for then the birth rate is likely to reduce significantly. Family planning services also involve proper education on the suitable contraceptives that one should use. Cases of side effects as a result of inappropriate use of contraceptives may lead to negative attitudes towards family planning hence the need for public awareness.
Eradicate gender bias with regard to economic opportunities, law and culture.
There are various societies and cultures where women have no say. Various initiatives should be put in place to ensure gender equality and also to empower women. Women who can inherit, own and manage the property, obtain credit, participate in civic affairs, get a divorce and participate in political affairs equally like men are likely to have fewer children, unlike women who have been deprived of such rights.
Do away with policies that financially reward parents based on the number of kids they have.
One way the governments should discourage people from having many kids is to scrap off certain financial benefits that link parents to the number of children. Governments should only consider the status of parenthood regardless of the number of children. Governments should also work closely with elders of different communities to initiate a change of attitude of certain cultures that promote poverty. Most of the reproduction strategies are normally inexpensive to implement, but in many societies, they are opposed based on cultural resistance as well as political infeasibility. There is a need to implement certain policies that not only minimize childbearing but also honor the reproductive desires of parents. The policies should support economically active and educated society that promotes women’s health.
Provide sexuality education for students that is age-appropriate
Exposure to various comprehensive programs entailing puberty, options of abstinence, intercourse, birth control, and respecting sexual rights can help thwart unwanted pregnancies and ultimately decrease birth rates. Such initiatives will help the teenagers from developing curiosity and ending up getting unwanted pregnancies.
Conclusion
In the event these strategies are effectively implemented, the world population is likely to commence a gradual decrease before 2050 hence ensuring global stability and sustainable development. Through the implementation of policies that promotes education, human rights policies among other policies the world is likely to realize effective and significant population control.
Work Cited
Gurusamy, S. “Population Control: Need and Importance”. Population Education News. (2016): 1. Print.
“UN News – Challenges Facing World Population Take Centre Stage At Annual UN Forum”. UN News Service Section. N.p., 2016. Web. 6 Dec. 2016.

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