Despite impressive progress made in the last decade in reducing birthrate and fertility rate and in increasing contraceptive prevalence rate, the population unfortunately will continue to grow especially in developing countries.

This year World Population will reach 7 billion, and will reach 8 billion in 2024 and 9 billion in 2045. Every second five people are born and two die. Every minute the world population increases by 180 people. The less developed world will account for 97percent of the future population growth. High Fertility rate and low access to family planning services in developing countries will heavily impact on world survival. A static contrast can be drawn between Uganda and Canada which have above 34 million and 31 million populations respectively. By 2050 Canada’s population is projected to be 42 million, while Uganda’s is expected to soar to 96 million, more than tripling.

By 2050, India is projected to be the World’s most populous nation at 1.7 billion, overtaking China, which is forecast to hit 1.4 billion. The United States is expected to reach 439 million.

The question is not of space. The total 7 billion of the world, shoulder to shoulder, will fill only an area of the size of Los Angeles. The question is: Can the world sustain the population? We do not want to create a population alarmism, as did Thomas Malthus. Right now on earth, water tables are falling, soil is eroding, glaciers are melting, fish stocks are vanishing. About 1 billion people go hungry each day. Please read "The Bottom Billion” of Paul Collier to understand why the poorest countries are becoming more and more destitute and cannot afford the basic necessities. In 2025, there will be two billion more mouths to feed and this will be mostly from poor countries.

It is time for all of us to reconsider our position and act. A single act by single person in a single country will make a difference, and if we all put together our hands, we would be able to meet the challenge of lifting billion of people out of poverty and bridge the gap between the haves and the haves-not. We need imperatively to control and manage population growth if we are to promote better quality of life to our citizens. It is wrong to assume that developed countries have attained their demographic objectives and so it is not their concern.  The quality of life of all on Planet Earth depends on partnership and coalition building, knowledge, experience and resource sharing. After all, we are all the members of the same family with common genes.

While brothers and sisters from the developing world should promote greater South-South Cooperation, brothers and sisters from the developed world should also promote greater North-South Cooperation.

The author is Executive Director, PPD Partners in Population and Development (PPD)

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