SOCIO -ECONOMIC ISSUE RELATED TO HEALTH

OVERPOPULATIONOVERPOPULATION

Socio-economic Issue Related to Health

What is Overpopulation?

Overpopulation is an undesirable condition where the number of existing human population exceeds the carrying capacity of the Earth.

It is a function of the number of individuals compared to the relevant resources, such as water and essential nutrients they need to survive.

Two Types of Overpopulation

People Overpopulationo Due to overpopulation,

people consume too few resources resulting in malnutrition.

o Occurs in developing countries.

Consumption Overpopulationo Occurs when people

consume too large of a share of resources resulting in pollution.

o Occurs in developed countries.

Causes of Overpopulation

Decline in Death RateBetter Medical FacilitiesMore hands to Overcome PovertyTechnological Advancement in Fertility

TreatmentImmigrationLack of Family Planning

Decline in Death Rate

At the root of overpopulation is the difference between the overall birth rate and death rate in populations.

Low death rateHigh birth rate

Better Medical Facilities

Better means of producing food.

Discoveries which defeat a whole range of diseases.

Some illnesses were cured because of the invention of vaccines.

Combining the increase in food supply with fewer means of mortality tipped the balance and became the starting point of overpopulation.

More Hands to Overcome Poverty

Families that have been through poverty, natural disasters, or are simply in need of more hands to work are a major factor for overpopulation. • As compared to earlier

times, most of these extra children survive and consume resources that are not sufficient in nature.

Technological Advancement in Fertility Treatment

It has become possible for couple who are unable to conceive to undergo fertility treatment methods and have their own babies.

Today there are effective medicines which can increase the chance of conception and lead to rise in birth rate.

Immigration

Many people prefer to move to developed countries where best facilities are available in terms of medical, education, security, and employment. The end result is that those people settle over there and those places become overcrowded.

Lack of Family Planning

Most developing nations have large number of people who are illiterate, live below poverty line, and have little or no knowledge about family planning.

Those people are unable to understandthe harmful effects of overpopulation, and lack of ignorance prompts them to avoid family planning measures.

Effects of Overpopulation

Positive Effects More progress Larger Workforce Economic Growth

Negative Effects Resource Scarcity Degradation of

Environment Rise in

Unemployment High Cost of

Living

Positive Effects

More Progress

The more the people that there are, the more ideas that they can produce which help the world progress within technology, science, and beliefs.

Larger WorkforceMore people

means more work could be done. The larger the population also open ups the opportunities for new work and work roles to make an appearance.

Positive Effects

Economic GrowthIncrease in the

number or people increases the demand and purchase of products such as food, clothing, education-related expenses, etc. which help in the flow of the economy.

Negative Effects

Resource ScarcityAlthough population

growth rates are declining in several parts of the world, the population continues to grow and tax natural resources. In areas of tremendous population growth, fossil fuels, timber, water, and arable land can become scarce because of overconsumption and degradation.

Environmental Damage

Increase in population also increases the consumption of energy for transportation, heat, food production, and other activities that generates air, land, and water pollution.

Negative Effects

Rise in UnemploymentWhen a country

becomes overpopulated, it gives rise to unemployment as there fewer jobs to support large number of people.

High Cost of LivingAs difference between

demand and supply continues to expand due to overpopulation, it raises the prices of various commodities including food, shelter, and healthcare. This means that people have to pay more to survive and feed their families.

Negative Effects

More people, more food consumption.

Limited food supply.

Due to lack of residential lots, people, especially in the urban areas live near bodies of water like rivers.

Factories and industrial buildings releases chemicals to bodies of water.

Negative Effects

Communicable diseases can easily spread when people are closer to each other.

Because of limited resources, people compete with each other resulting in conflicts.

WORLDASIA

PHILIPPINES

Statistical Updates

Population of the World

Figure 1. Global Human Population as of August 2014

Figure 2. 10 Most Populous Countries as of August 2014

ContinentProjected 2050

PopulationAsia 5.3 Billion

Africa 1.8 Billion

Latin America and Caribbean

809 Million

Europe 628 Million

North America 392 million

Figure 3. Projected 2050 Population of the World by Continent by wikipedia.org

According to the United Nation’s World Population Prospect report:

The world population is currently growing by approximately 74 million people per year.

Current United Nations predictions estimate that the world population will reach 9.0 billion around 2050, assuming a decrease in average fertility rate from 2.5 down to 2.0.

Global life expectancy at birth is expected to continue rising from 65 years in 2000-2005 to 75 years in 2045-2050.

Population of Asia

Figure 4. Population of Asia in 2014

Country Population

China 1.357 billion

India 1.257 billion

Indonesia 248.4 million

Pakistan 183.9 million

Bangladesh 154.5 million

Japan 127.3 million

Philippines 98 million

Vietnam 89.7 million

Iran 76.7 million

Turkey 76 million

Figure 4. 10 Most Populous Countries in Asia as of 2014by worldpopulationreview.com

Current Population 4.3 billion

2050 Population 5.2 billion

Figure 5. Population Projection of Asia in 2050 by Ined Forecast.

Population of the Philippines

Current population

102, 665, 687

Current male population

51, 485, 107 (50.1%)

Current female population

51, 180, 583 (49.9%)

Figure 6. Population of the Philippines as of March 7, 2015by countrymeters.info

Rank Region Name Population

1 Region 4A (CALABARZON) 12, 609, 803

2 NCR 11,855,975

3 Region 3 (Central Luzon) 10,137,737

4 Region 6 (Western Visayas) 7,102,438

5 Region 7 (Central Visayas) 6,800,180

6 Region 5 (Bicol Region) 5,420,411

7 Region 1 (Ilocos Region) 4,748,372

8 Region 11 (Davao Region) 4,468,503

9 Region 10 (Northern Mindanao Region) 4,297,323

10 Region 12 (SOCCSKSARGEN) 4,109,571Figure 7. 10 Most Populous Regions in the Philippines as of 2014

Figure 8. Projected Population of the Philippines from 2000-2020

Solutions to Overpopulation

Making people aware of Family Planning. Raising awareness among people regarding family planning and letting them know about serious after effects of overpopulation can help curb population growth.

Education and job opportunities, especially for women. Studies have found out that when women have more education and job opportunities, they choose to have smaller families, and are able to invest more in each child which helps break the cycle of poverty.

Tax Benefits or Concessions. Making provisions in taxation that favor families with none or limited number or children.

Knowledge of Sex Education. Imparting sex education to young kids so that they can be aware of the effects of having children at a young age.

Policy Recommendations

Family Planning Program that include a “persuasion” element to encourage couples to adopt a small family size norm.

Incentives and disincentives. These involves eliminating all implicit subsidies for large families; offering financial or other incentives for small families; imposing disincentives for large families.

Birth quotas imposed on families.Government commitment to decreasing

population growth.

Philippines Population Control and Management Policies

Establishment of POPCOM (Commission on Population) 1967 by Pres. Ferdinand Marcos Executive Order 171 Executive Order 233 (1970) – empowered POPCOM to directa

national population programme. The Population Act

RA 6365 (1971) Made family planning part of a strategy for national development.

The Population Management Program Pres. Ramos (1993) Policymakers and politicians began to focus on “reproductive

health”.Responsible Parenthood and Family Planning Program

Promote natural family planning, birth spacing, and breastfeeding.

END

Prepared by:

Denn Andrew FortunoJoshua Kris SungaKarlo Tendencia

Junamay Delos SantosJerlyn Anne Masculino

BMLS 2D