Growth overburdens critical infrastructure in developing nations
Recent United Nations predictions claim that the world population will stabilize at 10 billion people by the year 2100. However, there is a strong concern that the growth rate will not slow down. Although formerly high birth rates in developing countries in Latin America, Asia and North Africa have decreased recently, sub-Saharan Africa is experiencing extreme levels of population growth. The area currently makes up 12 percent of the world’s population and is on track to reach over 30 percent by the next century. These population growth levels in Africa are unparalleled in history. One of the main countries of concern, Nigeria, is the sixth most populous country in the entire world, with 167 million people.
The population is growing very quickly and it will begin to present immense problems if nothing is done to prevent it. The world population is an issue that should garner attention from every end of the globe because everyone will feel the repercussions. As the population continues to increase, fewer natural resources will be available. The U.N. has already said that it will tax natural resources if countries cannot better manage growth, adding an economic concern. Environmental concerns will only worsen as the human population expands and the planet is pushed to its limits. More people require more food and more housing, both of which are already in short supply, especially in most African nations.
In addition, Nigeria is an oil rich nation so it is in the best economic and political interests of many foreign powers that the nation is able to manage its population. It appears that these countries are going to need external help if they are going to find success.
The difficulty that exists in Africa is a fear that population control strategies that have worked in other parts of the world will not be adequate. Those that have already been introduced have not shown effective results. Simply providing free contraception and increasing education for females may not be enough in African societies which place heavy importance on family. Many African cultures insist that citizens have large families, and the number of children a couple is able to produce and raise often determines prosperity and status within the community.
Religion is also at the centerpiece of several of these nations, with Catholicism and Islam denouncing forms of contraception. It will thus require a strong, consistent and probably controversial international effort to help slow down population growth in sub-Saharan Africa.
The population growth issue highlights the need for a greater academic and political interest in the African continent. Important decisions relating to development, sustainability and population control in Africa will need to be made in the coming future and they will be international in scope. The issues that will be addressed cross over multiple professional fields and will be of concern to people worldwide. The problem will not be solved in a week, a month or even a year, but people must commit themselves to making population control a priority before the balance is tipped.
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