Can we have a better tomorrow?
NANDINI RAM
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July 11 was World Population Day. The theme this year focussed on young people and what they can do.
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Photo: S.R. Raghunathan
TOO MANY PEOPLE: Too little resources.
On July 11, 1987, the world population touched five billion. The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) resolved to observe this day every year as World Population Day, to sensitise nations against this ticking time bomb. This year, the theme for World Population Day focuses on "young people". People under 25 constitute more than half of the world population.
A major fall-out of the population explosion is poverty. While the available resources remain the same, the number of people dependent on it increases enormously. The gulf between the haves and the have-nots widens, and poverty increases.
Consider a piece of land that supported a family of two a few decades back. The family not only had enough for themselves, they also had a surplus to sell and earn cash for other needs. Later, the family grew five-fold, but the land of course did not grow proportionately. So that 10 people now depended on that very piece of land for their survival. The consequence of this is that the family will now naturally be underfed and malnourished. This will lead to health problems.
Education
To avoid such a situation tomorrow, we must act today! As young people, it is for us to shape the world of tomorrow. In every town and city in India, one can find young people working in tea shops, selling newspapers at traffic signals and joining their parents who work as household helps. Extreme poverty means that education is a privilege they cannot afford. But if only they could also learn to read and write! They probably could then look for a better vocation when they grow up.
Education may not ensure a job at a multinational company. But it will certainly improve the standard of living of people by opening up a world of opportunities for them. With education, the importance of issues like sanitation and personal hygiene are also understood and appreciated better. With education, they will also understand the need for family planning and preventive healthcare.
What can students do to make the World Population Day meaningful? In schools and colleges you could organise awareness generating activities. UNFPA has come out with a poster for this year's World Population day. This could be of use to you. To download the poster and to look for more activity ideas, visit www.unfpa.org.
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