The Challenges of Illiteracy and Poverty - Coursework Example

The Director of the UN’s World Food Program Ertharin Cousin RE: WFP should address overpopulation, by investing time and resources to solve the challenges of illiteracy and poverty to reduce the number of people needing food aid. DATE: 14 Feb. 2014 Introduction Given your role as the head of the WFP, I have no doubt that the matters I will presently outline are close to you both professionally and personally. I wish to commence by pointing out the underlying connection between the challenge of feeding the planet and the exponential population growth rate it has been experiencing in the last century. In 2011, the world’s population was estimated to have reached 7 billion; a remarkable rise given that only 60 years ago it was pegged at around 2.5 billion (Weiss). This by itself is however not alarming given that it is the nature of species to reproduce for the sake of posterity. However, the rate of productivity and has not increased proportionately and with the huge population, the depletion of natural resources continues increase. Critics have on many occasions pointed out that with every extra mouth to feed there comes two hands and, therefore, the argument that the world does not have enough to provide for its populace is flawed. However, a discerning mind will realize that no matter how much labor is available, without resources, the problem cannot be solved through such simplistic logic. In your position as the Head of WFP, I believe you are uniquely qualified to address this problem since it is directly connected to your mandate of ensuring global food security. You are more familiar than most policy makers are with the challenges of feeding an increasing population and I am sure you are cognizant of the gains that would be made by WFP if they were providing for a smaller population. Detailed Discussion of the Problem and Possible Solutions In 1989, the UN recommended that there needed to be more focus on the urgent issue of population control and there should be a search for a more lasting solution to it. July 11 was declared WORLD POPULATION DAY in an attempt to create awareness on the issue but given the sharp rise in population since then these solutions do not seem to have worked as intended. Alarming Population Statistics Over 3 billion people in the world are younger than 25, most of these are teens just at the edge of their productive years. Depending on how the choose to reproduce, the rate population growth might increase at a slower and more manageable rate. Current projections by the UN have it that the global population may grow up to 9.3 million by 2050, which is comparable to duplicating the populations of Indian and China, the two most populous countries in the world. This is an optimistic scenario based on the assumption that the fertility rate will go down from 2.5 to 2.1 children per woman. Without a serious decline in the reproduction rates, the projected figure may exceed 11 billion, which is a more than 50% increase. In India, the population stands at 1.2 billion people and the average birthrate is 2.5 per woman (Weiss). While efforts to curb population growth may reduce this to 2.1 by 2030 it may keep accelerating and even peak at around 2030 with at least a 1.7 billion, which will have surpassed China (Weiss). The 1 billion people in Africa are likely to become 2 billion by the middle of the century despite the fact that the continent is ravaged by hunger and the HIV pandemic. One out of every 8 people is said to live in a slum and given the ratio may jump to 9 billion in the next 30 years, this fraction may become 1; 3 (2013 World Population Data). At present, nearly a billion chronically hungry people are at risk of hunger-related health condition. One average, this malnutrition-related problems claim 8 million every year (Weiss). One does not need to be a scientist to know that at this rate, given the current crisis resulting from lack of arable land and food resources, the situation might have turned catastrophic. The number of people starving world over will have skyrocketed, and the cities will have become overcrowded with slums holding more than thrice the population they hold today. Providing food for such a population, let alone employment will be impossible and consequently the rates of crime diseases and moral vices will escalate. This will result in a significant reduction in the value and quality of life while at the same time driving the inequality levels to even greater heights. Kenneth Weiss compares the population growth to a speeding train where the brakes have been applied but it still has to go a distance before it can halt. While measures have been taken to break the train of population, its momentum appears to be set to propel it to past the projected stop since the population keeps growing (Weiss). In addition to momentum, there is the issue of a high fertility rate especially in developing countries mostly in Asia and Africa. Consequently, as these economies stabilize and become wealthier, they may follow the same pattern followed by China and India (2013 World Population Data). Therefore, the WFP should invest more in educating governments and communities about the importance of contraception and population control instead of exclusively providing food and related aid. This is because food and even projects that help people grow their own food might only be a Band-Aid on a serious injury. This poses a serious challenge to food security and health cares since it appears the countries that can least afford the populations will increase the most. Clearly, while overpopulation is the main challenge, before it can be effectively tackled, one must consider some of the causative factors. For one, the connection between food security and overpopulation cannot be understated (Houghton). The growing populations demand more food and these results in more exploration of resources and exhaustion of arable land and ultimately compound the problem even further. Some of the solutions attempted to curb population growth have been termed as draconian. China put up severe measures by limiting the number of children couples can have and take legal action against those who extended the limit (Keneda). Abortion became a common occurrence and although this appears to have had a degree of success, it has been widely condemned on moral grounds (Kahn). In India, the state attempted measures such as forced sterilization but the consequence was negative with the government of the then PM Indira Gandhi being ousted (Srinivasan 8). To some extent, this is because they may be as described or the cultural backdrop in which they are applied does not support them. Religion has been one of the hindrances to population control is given its powerful opposition for family planning and other population control measure. For instance, the Catholic Church, which is the most influential Christian denomination has for years expressed opposition towards, more so in the impoverished pro-catholic Latin American regions. In Muslim regions such as Pakistan, the same case is prevalent with men striving to get at least ten children in some areas. When they fail to reach this limit, they even look for medical assistance. The position of religious organizations is often allowed to stand unchallenged but reality is if people do not have access to contraception, everyone recognizes the world will not manage to feed future generations. To this end, as part of solving the food problem, WFP should engage with the religious organizations and try to come up with a middle ground. From the evidence available, two factors appear constant in all the areas where there is an overpopulation problem. The rate of illiteracy and poverty are both exceedingly high and, therefore, the connection between these and overpopulation must be addressed for it to be solved (Hesketh & Xing 1172). In the western world, more so North American and Western Europe where people are educated, the fertility rate is low and over population is not a serious challenge. Conversely, in middle and low-income countries with a high illiteracy rate, people are less concerned with contraceptive and they tend to have more children than they can afford. Therefore, WTF should also take action in this front by promoting education in target areas as opposed to the provision of relief Aid. Illiteracy in the 21st century is inherently connected to poverty and the link between the latter and overpopulation is axiomatic. While the role of WFO is to ensure that people access food, in the end, tackling this problem will require them to address overpopulation since in the future; their job might become impossible given the population explosion. Policy Recommendation To reduce the number of people in need of food Aid in posterity, WFP must emphasize in the provision of secondary school education to children more so girls in developing countries. One way through which this can be achieved is putting up quotas that have to be met before a country can get a certain amount of food aid or other assistance from the WFP. This way, the NGO can motivate governments to pay more attention to the education of their female population. Although there should be no relenting on the provision of family planning information and contraceptives, common sense dictates that and educated population is more likely to respond to such campaigns (Van Dyk 81). Therefore, by providing women with a chance to get an education and perhaps even make a career for themselves, they will be nurturing a population of people who are receptive to progressive ideas and family planning. Advantages Promoting girl education has several advantages especially when it is carried out in impoverished countries by a body that people have come to associate with food aid and security. The first impact is that people will see this in a positive light especially if the organizations recruit people to create awareness at grassroots levels. In countries like Asia and parts of Africa, it is not common for girls to be married off before they are 18 (Akmam 142), a result of which they end up further compounding the challenge. The fertility rate of women is directly connected to population increase and, therefore, any efforts to reduce the fertility rate will result in negative population adjustment. In addition, educating the girl child will have several other positive outcomes aside from reduced fertility. It will result in an increased in literacy levels not just for women but also men, in addition, it will affect future generations since educated women are more likely to ensure their children get education than uneducated ones (Owusu-Banahene 17). According to an African adage, when one educates a girl, they educate a community. Another positive outcome is that women will be more empowered in a beyond matters of reproduction (Ombelet 170). Empowering women through education allows them to play a bigger role in managing their finances and break through the glass ceiling in many patriarchal developing and even developed countries. They will have control over their bodies and can demand safe sex since education makes them active and decision making in the process. Therefore, issues of poverty, gender bias and the spread of HIV will marginally reduce when women are empowered through education. Drawbacks However, there are downsides to the proposed solution; it has been argued that the problem in developing countries in not overpopulation but rather poverty. Some policy makers argue the focus should be on increasing productivity rather than reducing production. While this argument cannot be ignored, its workability is too long term to provide a solution to the present problem. Increasing production requires an educated, healthy and fed population, something that can only be achieved when there is a balance between the existing resources and population. Secondly, in countries where educating the female child has been implemented, there have emerged cultural and social imbalances with the male child being marginalized. It is worth noting that the social system in many developing countries is founded on a traditional family where the man is the head. However, educating the women has been upsetting this framework and creating social challenges with men in some cases finding themselves in the unfamiliar territory of depending on their educated wives. While this may be applicable in the West where the society is more open to women headed homes, it is important to note the different in the social psychology of the radically different culture and forcing western standards in non-western nations has been found to be a very risky gamble since they may backfire. Consequently, it is vital to the education program to ensure that although the girl child benefits from affirmative action, the male child is not neglected. In the end, while engaging in creating opportunities for girl children education and other population control measures may not seem like the prerogatives of WFP, from a critical viewpoint these are actually urgent as opposed to secondary concerns. Continued provision of Aid and even development projects may work in the short run but until something is done to curb population growth; the problem of food insecurity will remain. Therefore, it is my overall recommendation that WFP pays more emphasis on the main causes of food shortages that is overpopulation and by so doing address it from the ground up. Works Cited “2013 World Population Data Sheet”. Population Reference Bureau. n.d. Web. 14 Feb. 2014. Akmam, Wardatul. "Women’s education and fertility rates in developing countries, with special reference to Bangladesh." Eubios Journal of Asian and International Bioethics 12.4 (2002): 138-143. Hesketh, Therese., Lu, Li., & Xing, Zhu W. The effect of Chinas one-child family policy after 25 years. New England Journal of Medicine, 353.11 (2005): 1171-1176. Houghton, Valerie. “Demographic Changes from Fertility and Birthrates. Education Portal. education-portal. n.d. Web. 14 Feb. 2014 Kahn, Joseph. The most populous nation faces a population crisis. New York Times, 2004. Web. n.d. 14 Feb. 2014 Kaneda, Toshiko. "Chinas concern over population aging and health." Population Reference Bureau. n.d. Web. 14 Feb. 2014. Ombelet, Willem. "Reproductive healthcare systems should include accessible infertility diagnosis and treatment: an important challenge for resource-poor countries." International Journal of Gynecology & Obstetrics 106.2 (2009): 168-171. Owusu-Banahene, Nana Opoku. The Impact of Custom and Tradition in Educating the Female-Child in Sub-Saharan Africa: The Case of Ghana. Ghana: University of Cate Coast. 2000. Print. Srinivasan, Kasturi. "Population policies and family planning programmes in India: A review and recommendations." IIPS Newsletter 47.1-2 (2006): 6-44. Van Dyk, Alta C. "Perspectives of South African school children on HIV/AIDS, and the implications for education programmes." African Journal of AIDS Research 7.1 (2008): 79-93. Weiss, Kenneth. "Fertility Rates Fall, but Global Population Explosion Goes on." Los Angeles Times. 22 July 2012. Web. 14 Feb. 2015.  Read More