7 billion people. In October, the world population hits this milestone. As a result, the UN is trying to raise awareness for issues on gender equality.
The UN Population Fund (UNFPA) is launching a movement called “7 Million Actions,” designed to break the cycle of poverty and health crises in nations where huge gender inequalities exist.
“The challenge is not a lack of living space but how to empower disenfranchised women and children,” the UN said on September 13th.
In the developing world, 90 percent are young people of whom there are 900 million girls and young women—“who have little to no access to education and reproductive health,” said Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin, executive director of the UNFPA.
"It's not about space, it's about equity, it's about social justice and about proper distribution," Dr. Osotimehin said. He estimates that the seven billion figure will be reached on October 31.
For the population to go from one billion to two billion it took 123 years (1804 to 1927). On July 11, 1987, the number hit five billion; 11 years later, the population grew by another billion.
July 11th marks World Population Day, created to raise awareness about issues in family planning, gender equality, poverty, maternal health and elderly care when the world population hit 5 billion.
However, this acute increase in growth seems to be slowing down; there is an expected 14 years before we hit the next billion and then another 18 years after for the next billion, estimated by UN forecasts.
Where this growing population will live is not the problem, said the UN, as it estimates that the entire world population can fit in Los Angeles, standing shoulder to shoulder.
“Whatever the U.N. ultimately decides, the issue of overpopulation needs to be dealt with, I don’t know how much longer Mother Nature can take overstressing of the environment,” said Mrs. Evans, World History teacher at MLEC. “She's already starting to show effects of over exhaustion.”
For social equity, the UN plans on creating policies on maternal health care, access to family planning and girl’s education and, even more crucially, eradicating female genital mutilation or betrothing young girls.
"Social equity is essential to the global population issue,” Mrs. Evans said. “However it will take education and perseverance to get the word out. Many of these women who experience multiple births exist in patriarchal societies where they have fewer options as it pertains to women’s health issues. More women need to be made aware, in the form of education, of their opportunities and choices as it pertains to their health.”
According to Osotimehin, unprecedented cooperation will be needed in order to fulfill the goals of young girls who want to go to “high school and university, delay marriage, improve their health care and have smaller families.”
"They are married away too often, too early and they bear children too early. So they never meet their potential," he said. "The seven billion is a call to action... a platform for individuals, businesses, governments, NGOs, media and academia to contribute.”
The head of the US State Department's Global Health Initiative, Lois Quam, explains that the world’s top challenges can be solved by investing in greater opportunities for girls.
“When women and girls' rights are protected and promoted, when women and girls are healthy and educated... [they] can participate fully in society- then progress is triggered in their families, their communities and their nations."
http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2011/07/10/f-world-population-day-7billion.html
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jQ2kQm3xtI_iCX9O0ATyVgdeBc5A?docId=CNG.896de1096470bc0c4dc74f022ee2ddcd.01
http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/World/Story/STIStory_712769.html