Dennie Quill, Contributor
I RECENTLY came across a bit of statistical information which has to do with the decline in population growth. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that Jamaica's population has been growing by less than a per cent in the last decades compared to about three per cent in the 1950s and 1960s.
Maybe this is why as a country we appear to be less concerned about population growth than we were 30 years ago when the National Family Planning Board mounted its: 'Two is better than two many' campaign which successfully raised public awareness about the dangers of overpopulation. It also provided free access to contraceptives.
But while the national statistics seem encouraging I fear that the picture in the inner city is a different one, where population appears to grow like a tree with branches extending all around. Often parenthood begins when the tree is a mere stripling, so that children are having children and grandparents are being made at age 30.
DEBATE AVOIDED
Every time I see news reports about inner-city difficulties I rarely see any analysis of the causal role of population growth in the problems of the inner city. Somehow we tend to avoid the debate.
Large-scale social intervention is needed in many inner-city communities and this must include family planning education and incentives for keeping the family to a manageable size. It is time that the planners and thinkers among us decide on a renewal of this Family Planning campaign by attempting to educate residents, especially in the inner cities, about the crucial linkages between population growth, environmental degradation and poor quality of life.
ELITES HAVE SMALLER FAMILIES
It is a fact that as education levels increase, fertility rate, (particularly early fertility) goes down. Look around you and you will observe that the elites have smaller families. In fact many have no children.
The elites are able to arrange for extra lessons, dance lessons, karate instructions and all the facilities that will enable their children to develop into worthwhile citizens. It is smaller family sizes that will eventually lead to a decline in population growth.
The 70's campaign proved that population issues must be solved at the national level, and there is urgent need for innovation in finding ways to slash the robust population growth in the inner cities.
I would not suggest that we go the route of China which has been severely criticised for its "one-child" policy, primarily because of the thousands of pregnant women who are forced to seek abortions each year. However, there are creative ways to get citizens to sign on to any such programme.
There are many taboos dealing with the population issue. There are some people who find it offensive to their religious beliefs to even contemplate family planning.
Some of you reading this article may feel uncomfortable about my turning the spotlight on inner-city overpopulation.
REALITY
The reality is that an unemployed mother with three or four children cannot provide for them, and is in fact contributing to the depravity and urban decay which we are witnessing. When a family is faced by hunger and there are no options, criminality is bound to creep in. A man will justify robbery because "Me have me youth dem fe feed."
Population is a public policy issue because it affects poverty, crime and violence, education, health and the environment. The ultimate goal should be the reduction of poverty, an increase in skills levels so that people have an opportunity to earn a livable wage.
We cannot think about the improvement of society without addressing the population issue. The population growth has a direct bearing on issues like human resource development and the way society is shaped, we cannot therefore ignore it.
Dennie Quill is a veteran journalist who may be reached at denniequill@hotmail.com.
