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UN calls attention to Reproductive Rights

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By Okunloye Abiodun

Women should have control over their childbearing circumstances and choices.

Following the widespread concern over the growth of the world’s population, which is projected to reach a peak at about 10.4 billion in the 2080s, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), which is the UN’s agency for sexual and reproductive health, expressed concern and acknowledged that the world’s population is growing larger. The UN stated that the world should be more concerned with women’s reproductive rights in order to build up “demographic resilience” rather than focusing solely on the effects of the world’s rapidly growing population.

Natalia Kanem, the UNFPA chief, raised a key issue at the flagship annual report titled “State of World Population” that most people can’t utilize their fundamental human right to select the number and spacing of their children. Unfortunately, this is not good enough. She reported that nearly half of the women (44%) lack the ability to make decisions about their own bodies. They cannot also make determinations regarding sexual partners, contraception, and medical treatment. Additionally, around 50% of pregnancies worldwide are unplanned.

India overtook China as the most populated nation.

Emphasis should be placed on providing women with increased control over the timing and circumstances of their childbearing choices. According to her, countries with the highest reproduction rates are the most affected by global warming despite making the fewest contributions to the problem. According to the study, the global fertility rate is 2.3%. Men have a life expectancy of 71, and women have a life expectancy of 76. Most of the global population ageing may be attributed to the fact that people are living longer. According to Kanem, the average lifespan has grown roughly ten years since 1990.

Moreso, the rapid re=organization taking place in the global population was noted. The fact that there are more people in the world now than ever before, the global fertility rate is at a historic low. According to Kanem, the order of the countries with the most people in the globe would shift dramatically over the next 25 years as India overtook China as the most populated nation. By 2050, the populations of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines, and Tanzania are expected to contribute to half of the world’s projected expansion in population.

World’s highest fertility rates countries are in Africa.

Africa was home to all of the nations with the world’s highest fertility rates: Niger (6.7), Chad (6.1), the Democratic Republic of the Congo (6.1), Somalia (6.1), Mali and the Central African Republic (5.8). Aruba and China (1.2), Macau and San Marino (1.1), Singapore (1.0), South Korea (0.9) and Hong Kong (0.8) had the lowest birth rates among all of the territories. From this moment until 2050, it is projected that Europe will be the only region to undergo a general population decrease.

In terms of age distribution, 25% of the global population is under the age of 14, 65% is between the ages of 15 and 64, and 10% is 65 and beyond. Concerned governments, the research found, were taking action more frequently to increase, decrease, or sustain fertility rates. Unfortunately, such attempts are usually ineffective. Girls between the ages of 10 and 14 account for half a million births; this includes girls who are too young to provide informed permission to sexual activity, girls who are married off, molested, or both, Kanem explained.

The progression of humans shows a turning point in its development.

Lastly, it was also revealed that two-thirds of the world’s population resides in countries with low fertility rates. This is the first moment in human history where the majority of countries are not growing in size. However, it did note that reaching the eight billion mark was a cause for celebration. It marks a turning point in the development of human health, agriculture, education, and medicine. It urged people to cease worrying and instead focus on building demographic resilience, or the capacity to deal with changes in population growth as well as fertility rate.


Related Link

UNFPA: Website

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