Category Archives: Family Planning

USA: Proposal for Social Security Reform and Medicare Modernization

January 17, 2013 – 3:37 pm

The BUSINESS ROUNDTABLE, an association of CEO’s of leading US companies released proposals to reform Social Security and Medicare.  Among its recommendations  are an increase of the Social Security retirement age from 67 to 70 and means-testing of Social Security and Medicare benefits.  FULL REPORT.

By populyst | Also posted in Economy, Pension Funds, Retirement, United States, US Congress, US Economy, US Federal Budget | Comments (0)

Tanzania Population 45 Million, Annual Growth 2.7%

January 3, 2013 – 11:49 am

The population of Tanzania grew by 10.5 million people in the last decade.  That is a 30.4% increase in ten years, or an annual rate of 2.7%, one of the highest in the world.

ROSE ATHUMANI writes in the TANZANIA DAILY NEWS, via ALLAFRICA.COM:

PRESIDENT Jakaya Kikwete announced the 2012 Population and Housing Census preliminary results showed that the population has reached 44,929,002 in total.

He said that the number of Mainlanders is 43,625,434 while that of Zanzibaris stands at 1,303,560. The last Population and Housing Census conducted in 2002 showed that the population was 34,443,603. President Kikwete noted that in the last ten years the population has increased by 10.5 million people.  READ MORE.

By populyst | Also posted in Africa, Demographics, Sub-Saharan, Tanzania | Comments (0)

U.S. Birth Rate Hits Record Low

November 29, 2012 – 4:38 pm

STEPHANIE CZEKALINSKI writes in NATIONAL JOURNAL:

The U.S. birth rate dropped to its lowest level since the beginning of the Great Depression, led by a drop among immigrants, according to a report data released Thursday by the Pew Research Center.

In 2011, the overall birth rate was 63.2 per 1,000 women of childbearing age, the lowest since at least 1920, Pew reported, citing numbers from the National Center for Health Statistics. The birth rate reached 122.7 in 1957, the peak of the Baby Boom. After the mid-1970s, the birth rate stabilized at about 65 to 70 births per 1,000 women annually, until the beginning of the Great Recession. READ MORE.

By populyst | Also posted in Immigration, United States | Comments (0)

Tanzanians Warned Against High Population Growth

November 26, 2012 – 12:36 pm

ISSA YUSSUF writes in ALLAFRICA.COM:

Zanzibar — PRESIDENT Ali Mohamed Shein, on Wednesday warned Tanzanians against high population growth, saying the government might fail to distribute the benefits of national economic growth unless the population growth of over three per cent was curtailed.

“We have started to feel the pinch of the rapid population growth… we are complaining of insufficient basic needs including land. READ MORE.

By populyst | Also posted in Africa, Demographics, Sub-Saharan, Tanzania | Comments (0)

UNFPA State of World Population 2012

November 14, 2012 – 12:56 pm

The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) released a report today, State of World Population 2012: By Choice, Not by Chance, in which it calls family planning a human right:

“Family planning is a human right. Yet today some 222 million women in developing countries are unable to exercise that right because they lack access to contraceptives, information and quality services or because social and economic forces prevent them from taking advantage of services even where they are available.”

“The State of World Population 2012 explains why family planning is a right, examines the challenges in ensuring that all women, men and young people are able to exercise that right and suggests actions that governments and international organizations can take to give everyone the power and the means to decide freely and responsibly how many children to have and when to have them.”

Executive Summary:

The ability to decide on the number and spacing of one’s children is taken for granted by many in the developed world and among elites in developing countries. Yet, for a majority of people in developing countries, especially the poorest ones, the power and means to determine the size of their families are scarce or inadequate. An estimated 222 million women lack access to reliable, high-quality family planning services, information and supplies, putting them at risk of unintended pregnancy. In developed countries too, high levels of unintended pregnancy exist, especially among adolescents, the poor and ethnic minorities.

The huge unmet need for family planning persists, despite international agreements and human rights treaties that promote individuals’ rights to make their own decisions about when and how often to have children.

Today, family planning is almost universally recognized as an intrinsic right, affirmed and upheld by many other human rights. Because it is a right, voluntary family planning should be available to all, not just the wealthy or otherwise privileged. READ MORE OR READ FULL REPORT.

By populyst | Also posted in Africa, Asia, Emerging Markets, Sub-Saharan, United Nations | Comments (0)

Plans to Tame Kenya’s Exploding Population

October 31, 2012 – 2:24 pm

The government has plans to reduce the total fertility rate from 4.6 to 2.6 children per woman.

EDITH FORTUNATE writes in AFRICA REVIEW:

Ann Wafula, 30, patiently waits to see the gynaecologist at Gilead Medical Centre, situated in the upmarket Upper Hill area of Nairobi.

The mother of a three-month-old baby boy, who is also her first born, is here to consult with the doctor on what contraceptives she should use, based on a hormonal test carried at the hospital.

In Hagadera, three hundred kilometres away to the east of Nairobi, 21-year-old Asha Abdalla is a proud mother of twin girls, delivered just a few days ago at a local dispensary. The twins are her second and third born, while her first born is aged barely two years. “I conceived when he was just nine months,” she explains.  READ MORE.

By populyst | Also posted in Africa, Demographics, Emerging Markets, Health Care, Kenya, Sub-Saharan | Comments (0)

China Think Tank Calls for End to One-Child Policy

October 31, 2012 – 2:12 pm

JOSH CHIN writes in THE WALL STREET JOURNAL:

With China preparing to usher in new leaders, the drumbeat of semi-official support for reform of the country’s controversial family planning policies continues to grow.

In the most recent development, a think tank affiliated with China’s State Council issued a report saying the country should start loosening one-child restrictions in areas where controls have been strictest as a prelude to eventually doing away with child limits altogether. READ MORE.

By populyst | Also posted in Asia, China, Demographics, Economy, Emerging Markets | Comments (0)

CNBC: Governments Organize Matchmaking as Asia’s Birth Rates Fall

October 25, 2012 – 1:27 pm

Several Asian countries have come up with special programs and innovative ways of encouraging people to get married and have more kids.

RAJESHNI NAIDU-GHELANI writes at CNBC:

For Singapore citizen Kelly Ang, 25, who married a year ago, having a baby is not a top priority. The public relations professional, who works 11 hours a day, said she has no time to raise a family.

“At the moment I think it is difficult if I were to hold my current job and have a child too,” Ang said. “The work-life balance is something that would be a deterrent.”

Ang is one of many young people across Asia whose decision to put off having children is worrying their governments. From Taiwan to Singapore, authorities are stepping in to organize speed dating and other matchmaking events in a desperate attempt to stem falling birth rates. READ MORE.

By populyst | Also posted in Asia, China, Demographics, Dependency Ratio, Emerging Markets, India, Japan, Philippines, Singapore | Comments (0)

India: Three Million Girls are ‘Missing’

October 9, 2012 – 11:28 am

From BUSINESS STANDARD (INDIA):

In an alarming trend, the decline in girl child numbers in India has been sharper than the male children in the decade 2001-11, leading to a skewed child sex ratio.

While the decade saw an overall drop in share of children to total population, nearly three million girls, one million more than boys, are “missing” in 2011 compared to 2001 and there are now 48 fewer girls per 1,000 boys than there were in 1981, according to a a government study.

“During 2001-2011, the share of children to total population has declined and the decline was sharper for female children than male children in the age group 0-6 years,” said the study “Children in India 2012-A Statistical Appraisal” conducted by the Central Statistical Organisation.

According to the report, female child population in the age group of 0-6 year was 78.83 million in 2001 which declined to 75.84 million in 2011.

The population of girl child was 15.88 per cent of the total female population of 496.5 million in 2001, which declined to 12.9 per cent of total number of 586.47 million women in 2011.  READ MORE.

By populyst | Also posted in Asia, Emerging Markets, India | Comments (0)

Africa: Why Investing in Africa’s Youthful Population Can No Longer Wait

October 3, 2012 – 10:16 am

BUNMI MAKINWA, Director of the United Nations Population Fund – Africa, argues that “we need to recognise that the demographic dividend is no guarantee, and neither will it occur by itself. This is an opportunity that must be harnessed now for great gains in the future.”

From ALLAFRICA.COM: http://allafrica.com/stories/201210020326.html

The African Union’s ministers in charge of youth have underscored the need to harness the potential of the youthful population on the continent for its transformation. At the end of their two-day Conference in Addis Abba (12-14 Sept 2012), they tasked the AU Commission and the Economic Commission for Africa to identify policy recommendations for African governments in order to adequately address the challenges of young people.

This is a welcome development, and it’s heart-warming news.

Africa’s youth bulge

The notion of a demographic transition resulting in a youth bulge in Africa has been evident in the last 10 years. But it is gratifying that this is beginning to receive some attention among various policy makers on the continent. Ultimately, it should be the central focus of development strategy at the regional and national levels.

Currently, Africa is the most youthful continent in the world. At least 35 per cent of its more than one billion population is between the ages of 15 and 35. Experts estimate this could double by 2045.

In 2010 young people aged 15-24 years accounted for slightly more than 20 per cent of the total African population. In East and Southern Africa specifically, those aged between 10 and 24 years make up 32 per cent of the population of 125 million.

READ MORE: http://allafrica.com/stories/201210020326.html

By populyst | Also posted in Africa, Demographics, Dependency Ratio, Education, Health Care, Sub-Saharan | Comments (0)