World Population Awareness
Population Dynamics - Countries
March 11, 2013
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Population PyramidsPopulation Decline/GrayingBioregionalismCountries, Demographics NewsToxin Threat to Inuit FoodApril 02, 2003, BBC News
The traditional diet of Inuits of Greenland includes polar bears, seals, and whales. It is a healthy diet and no toxins are produced by their lifestyle. Unfortunately persistent organic pollutants, lead, cadmium, mercury, and other hazardous chemicals are being carried from industrialised nations by wind and ocean currents to Inuit Greenland region and accumulating in the same animals the Inuit eat - which could result in birth defects, reduced fertility, and genetic damage for the humans. In fact, in some areas toxic levels were high enough to cause concern for in 100% of the population, and above the "level of action" for 30%. The report from the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP) concludes Greenlanders should consider changing their eating habits. The Greenlander diet that has kept Greenland's population protected from ailments typically associated with industrialised societies, like heart disease, diabetes and obesity; so until now people were told to avoid abandoning their traditional diet for a Western one. Diabetes, for example, has increased from almost no cases twenty-five years ago to three times the level in Denmark. "To discover that the food which for generations has nourished them and kept them whole physically and spiritually is now poisoning them is profoundly disturbing and threatens Indigenous Peoples' cultural survival," the report says.
U.N. Official Says Bangladesh Must Control Rising Population to Reduce PovertyDecember 04, 2002, Associated PressBangladesh, one of the world's most densely populated and poorest countries, needs to control its population to reduce poverty. Most of its 130 million people live on less than a dollar day yet the population is increasing by 2.1 percent each year. Despite an increase in the use of contraceptives to an estimated 54%, the average number of children per woman has remained at 3.3 since 1994. The rate has not decreased partly because contraceptives are not consistently used. Social traditions in the Muslim-majority country make it difficult to talk about contraception among young people. Many believe that reproductive services and information will encourage promiscuity, but the reverse is true and information can bring down unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases.
Germany Funds Safe Motherhood Project in AfghanistanDecember 2002
Germany has contributed 500,000 euros to the U.N. Children's Fund in Afghanistan. It will procure obstetric supplies, equipment, medicine and the rehabilitation of the Malalai maternity hospital which is a teaching institute for doctors and midwives and the main facility for Kabul and nearby provinces. The funding will also support the translation of a reference manual for training doctors and midwives in Kabul, Kandahar, Herat and Nangarhar provinces. The maternal mortality ratio (MMR) in the province of Badakhshan, was 6,500 per 100,000 - the highest in the world. By comparison, the MMR in Germany is 12 per 100,000 live births.
The Desperate Bachelors; India's Growing Population Imbalance Means Would-be Brides Are Far Fewer Byline: John Lancaster, Washington Post Foreign Service Dateline: Bhali Anandpur, IndiaDecember 2002
In India, the state of Haryana is running out of girls. It produces a smaller share of girls, than anywhere else in India. Just 820 girls for every 1,000 boys. This reflects the spread of ultrasound exams, which allow couples to abort unwanted girls. The situation in Haryana has become so desperate that parents are dropping their demands for wedding dowries, and offering a "bride price" to families of prospective mates for their sons, up to 25,000 rupees $520. Haryana is an extreme case, but the trend is visible at the national level. The number of girls in the state under 6 declined from 945 for every 1,000 boys in 1991 to 927 in 2001. Some of the sharpest declines in India have occurred in the the wealthy neighborhoods in New Delhi where couples have the money for sex-selective abortion. Previously a bride had to be from the right caste, the right family, the right state but now no one cares as long as there's a girl to marry. Medical tests to determine the sex of a fetus is illegal in India, but the law is easily circumvented. But the bride shortage is not going to change things in the society. The literate will always find ways to get rid of the girl fetus.
Philippines: $2 Million in USAID Grants to Fund Health Programs in the ARMMDecember 2002, Push newsfeedFour organizations implementing health programs in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) were awarded $2 million to help local governments, the private sector and communities improve the family planning and health services. The grantees have experience in conflict-affected communities, working with the local government in delivering health services. Mindanao has the poorest health and family planning in the country, intervention is needed to improve the situation. ARMM has the highest population growth of 3.86% against the national rate of 2.36%, lowest contraceptive use of 8.1%, and infant mortality rate of 55 out of 1,000, it has the poorest provinces in the country. USAID supports Vitamin A supplementation in 14 cities in Mindanao. For almost ten years now, USAID has been working with the Philippine Government to bring peace and development in Mindanao. USAID also provides economic, energy and environmental assistance.
World Bank Gives Tanzania US$136 Million GrantDecember 2002, Associated Press
For the first time the World Bank has given Tanzania a grant of US$136 million. Half of the money will be used against AIDS and the balance on reducing poverty. An estimated 2 million of Tanzania's 32 million people are infected with the HIV virus. 35% live below the poverty line. Tanzania owes the World Bank $2.6 billion in loans and the country's total debt is $6.56 billion. Last year the International Monetary Fund approved debt relief of $3.3 billion spread over 20 years.
Farmers ‘Eat Away’ Kenyan Mountain ForestsDecember 2002, Panos Institute
Farming in the Mount Kenya region is causing deforestation and water sources to dry up. There are no clear environmental policies and local officers turn a blind eye for a small bribe. Forest land is cleared for cultivation under a system known as shamba. After three years of farming farmers must plant trees and move to a fresh plot of land. But over 75% of the plantations have not been replanted. Mt Kenya is home to 30,000 families who farm in the forest. If the shamba system is done away with the landless farmers may cause more problems since the forestry department cannot patrol the entire Mt. Kenya region. Kenya’s population is growing at 2.4% a year, and the forest is one of the few places they can farm. The government announced a plan to clear over 67,000 hectares of forest including 2,600 hectares in Mt Kenya. Campaigners say this will encourage squatters to farm on forest land in the hope they will later be settled. The destruction of the Mt Kenya ecosystem will ruin the water supply of the rivers that flow from the Mt Kenya and Nyandarua ranges and increasing use by farmers means there is less water for people living downstream. Horticulture earned $110 million in foreign exchange last year. There is a proposal to expel squatters from Mt Kenya and families in the vicinity will have to pay to graze livestock and draw water. The landless say that if they have land to till they will not need to enter the forest. But population continues to increase, there without a clear policy and this could mean the end of Mt Kenya’s forests.
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Eastern Europe and Former Soviet Union
March 11, 2013
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Oceana
March 11, 2013
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Middle East and North Africa
March 11, 2013
South and Central America, Carribean
March 11, 2013
European Union
March 11, 2013
North America
March 11, 2013
Population Dynamics of Asia
March 11, 2013
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Population Dynamics of Africa
March 11, 2013
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