Philippines 12th most populous nation, RH Bill needed

With the Philippines now the 12th most populous country in the world, a United Nations Population Fund (UNPF) official said that there is a need for the Aquino administration to promote reproductive health and rights, adding that the world’s population will hit seven billion before the end of 2011.

“Together we can meet the needs of Filipino women who want to plan and space their births but do not have access to modern contraception . . . And prevent the deaths of 11 mothers every day from complications of pregnancy and childbirth,” said Ungochi Daniels, UNFP country representative, during the Forum for Family Planning and Development (FFPD) held recently in Quezon City.

Representatives from various sectors of society, including members of the Cabinet and the United Nations, expressed belief during the forum that the world should focus on solving the population problem to reduce inequities and improve the living standards of people around the globe.

Daniels said that the world’s population by the end of October 2011 will be seven billion and this milestone represents a challenge, an opportunity and a call to action for the governments of the world, especially the Philippines.

The Philippines, for one, needs to focus its attention on population issues, particularly in the context of overall development plans and programs, and the need to find solutions.

Daniels said that protecting reproductive health and rights is fundamental to the world’s collective future and sustainable development.

Benjamin de Leon, the president of FFPD, challenged the government to step up programs to address problems brought about by a rapidly growing population in the country, which is now 94 million, making the Philippines the 12th most populous country in the world.

He said that in order to deal with alarming problems brought by rapid population growth in the country, the government needs to immediately pass the Reproductive Health bill, which, de Leon added, will directly address the country’s high infant and maternal deaths, growing HIV/AIDS cases, teen pregnancies and poor access to maternal and child health services, among others.

According to FFPD, rapid population growth would likely hinder development because a huge population would prevent the government from investing more in health, education and infrastructure.

The United Nations Population Fund is planning a seven-day countdown, starting October 24, and leading up to the birth of the seven billionth baby a week after.

Missing targets

In Geneva, a UN report revealed on Thursday that the world is on course to miss the hunger reduction targets that the United Nations set in 2000 despite successes in curbing extreme poverty.

In 2000, the world body’s 192 member-states launched eight Millennium Development Goals to be achieved by 2015 and the 2011 progress report showed mixed results on the first target of eradicating extreme poverty and hunger.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon underlined significant strides toward achieving the goals, but warned that there still is “a long way to go.”

The first key goal includes halving the proportion of people who are undernourished but the figure only dropped from 20 percent in 1990 to 16 percent and has been stagnating for years.

“The proportion of people in the developing world who went hungry in 2005-2007 remained stable at 16 percent, despite significant reductions in extreme poverty,” the report said.

“Based on this trend, and in light of the economic crisis and rising food prices, it will be difficult to meet the hunger-reduction targets in many regions of the developing world,” it added.

The alarming trend on hunger reduction comes as the Horn of Africa is experiencing what the UN has described as its “worst drought in 60 years,” affecting some 10 million people.

The UN progress report expressed concern over the fact that the proportion of people going hungry worldwide was not dropping dramatically despite a significant reduction of extreme poverty being achieved.

“The disconnect between poverty reduction and the persistence of hunger has brought renewed attention to the mechanisms governing access to food in the developing world,” the UN report said.

It added that the UN’s food agency would undertake a sweeping policy review this year.

The UN took heart in the fact that sustained growth in some developing countries, particularly in Asia, looked set to help the world meet the target of halving the proportion of people living on less than a dollar a day.

Despite the economic and financial crises, “current trends suggest that the momentum of growth in the developing world remains strong enough to sustain the progress needed to reach the global poverty-reduction targets.”

The global poverty rate is projected to fall below 15 percent by 2015, significantly below the target of 23 percent, said the UN, citing data from the World Bank.

“The fastest growth and sharpest reductions in poverty continue to be found in eastern Asia, particularly in China, where the poverty rate is expected to fall to under 5 percent by 2015,” the UN said.

In India, the poverty rate is to plunge from 51 percent in 1990 to around 22 percent by 2015.

By Jefferson Antiporda