SO 206 week 3 Discussion – Population Growth Consequences and Solutions

Population Growth Consequences and Solutions

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Population Growth Consequences and Solutions

A population in this aspect is a statistical term that denotes all subjects in a particular class, in this case, a country. The country of interest for this research was Kenya. Kenya is recently a middle income country, located on the eastern side of Africa. Its bordered by Ethiopia, Uganda, South Sudan, Tanzania and Somalia. It’s a country that’s characterized by one of the most rapid population growth patterns. In the year 1948, it had a population of approximately 5.4 million. This increased to about 41 million in the year 2012.The country is thus projected to have a population of 94 million by the year 2050.By 2100; the projection is at 160 million (KNBS, 2010).

The rapid population group is attributed to the pas high fertility that existed mainly before education. Having huge families was seen as a sign of prestige and conferred some power to the family. It also meant that that family was a well to do one and thus was respected by the community. In the year 1978, the average fertility rate for women was estimated at a figure of 8.1 children per woman. In these days, there were no ways of family planning and contraceptive use. This was mainly because of the low literacy levels and lack of well-established healthcare systems to assist in this. In these same days, the climate was friendlier. The population was mainly located in the rural areas whose climate was extremely favorable. They had good rainfall and good soils and therefore the farm produce was more than enough to sustain the families (KDHS, 2008-09).

Currently due to increased urbanization and industrialization that has encroached most parts of the country; there has been massive climate change that has led to a great depletion of resources. Also, the land that was previously used for farming has been occupied by building and some converted to shopping centers and towns. The country has also seen a great improvement in the literacy levels in the individuals. Education has reached most if not all parts of the country and this has greatly reduced the incidences of early marriages that previously contributed to a high family size due to the lower age at the time of the first pregnancy. The healthcare system has also developed greatly. This has led to more women seeking family planning services which have lowered the fertility rate tremendously. These reasons and several others more are the main contributors to the decline of the fertility rate. And In 2008, the fertility was at 4.6 children per woman, this is estimated to come lower in the near future (UNPD 2011).

In conclusion, this rapid growth poses a huge challenge to the resources in the country and thus this has to be sorted to prevent resource depletion in the country. Strategies that could be put in place to help solve this include incorporation of population dynamics in all climate change policies and strategies; enhancing investments in the health and financial sectors and implementation of programs that enable the Kenyans to be able to adapt to climate change (UNPD 2012).

References

Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS), 2010.

Kenya Demographic Health Survey (KDHS), 2008-09.

United Nations (UN) Population Division.2011. “World population Prospects, the 2010 Revision”. New York: United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population division.

United Nations (UN) Population Division.2012. “World population Prospects, the 2011 Revision”. New York: United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population division.