Indeed, uncontrolled population rules the way to poverty while affecting health and environment, leading to unstable socio-economic profile.
This was according to Bohol Poverty Reduction Management Office (BPRMO) Head Antonieto “Boy†Pernia as he traced the link between population and poverty in the time that the government falls short of livelihood programs.
It is on this juncture that the BPRMO blends its poverty reduction programs with the principle of social development for the beneficiaries to be capable of sustaining progress.
Pernia explained that population significantly affects health and environment, since population literally represents the number of mouths to feed, sources of pollutants, and exploiters of the natural resources.
This was based on the inputs that Pernia gathered from the seminar on population, health and environment he attended late last week in Manila together with other media practitioners.
To echo the lessons from the seminar, Pernia announced that a similar seminar will be conducted on Tuesday for the local media practitioners, considering the necessity for massive information campaign on population control as a big factor in poverty reduction.
In the Philippines, youth aging below 25 comprise 45 percent of the population and 55 percent represent the middle-aged and young professionals, he said.
Out of 100 people in the Philippines, 46 are living in poverty line wherein poverty line means households earning US$2 dollars a month. In Thailand, the poverty level is only 36 percent.
If people in the poverty line will have to follow the standard dietary requirement, they need an additional income of P2,000 a month and having 45 percent of the population in the poverty line means more effort to meet the requirement.
“Those who are in the top level spend an average of P5,000 per children per month for those who have two kids. But 45 percent of the population who are in the poverty line can only afford P600. This disparity has worsened because of uncontrolled population,†Pernia explained.
The BPRMO head, who also heads the Provincial Government Media Affairs (PGMA) Office, also quoted Provincial Planning and Development Officer Juanito Cambangay saying that if the people won’t make any intervention to the growth rate of 2.9 percent, the population in Bohol estimated to be 1.3 million at present will double in 2024.
“If majority are living in poverty line now that we have a population of 1.3 million, how would Bohol look like in 2024? What will happen if our population reaches 2.6 million?†Pernia pointed out.
Experiences also tell that in the past, when population was not as dense as the present, abundance in marine resources was evident.
With population explosion, people from depressed rural areas have migrated to urban areas to find better living, but ending up crowding the city with less affordability to support their personal needs, ending up in “squalorâ€, Pernia explained.
With many mouths to feed, the heads of the family can hardly provide the basic needs of each member, to the extent of sacrificing health, often resulting to malnutrition, ailments and outbreak of diseases. And, with poverty, most of the Filipinos cannot even afford to buy medicine, Pernia explained.
source: Provincial Government Media Affairs OfficeLinkback:
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