Crowded world awaits 7 billionth person to be born on Monday
By EDITH FORTUNATE efortunate@ke.nationmedia.com AND GATONYE GATHURA gathura@ke.nationmedia.com Posted Tuesday, October 25 2011 at 20:34
On Monday night, a woman will give birth to a most significant child to the country and maybe even to the whole world. Where the child is born — whether Kibera, Dadaab or Runda — will greatly determine its future and whether it survives, thrives or dies in misery. This significant child could also be born in a rich town in Denmark but most likely it will be in a poor village in populous India. All these children are remarkable, because any of them could be the seventh billion human being on earth. If the baby will be Kenyan, it will also double up as the 41.6th million citizen.
By the time the national census was conducted in 2009, there were about 39 million people in Kenya.
The 41.6 million, according to Mr George Kichamu, the communication manager at the National Coordinating Agency for Population and Development (NCAPD), is the number of people Kenya will be adding to the world population as it hits the 7 billion mark on Monday, October 31.
As it prepares for this day, the UN Population Fund will on Wednesday release the State of World Population Report 2011: People and Possibilities in a World of 7 billion. The fund notes that this milestone “will be marked by achievements, setbacks and paradoxes”. Setbacks because the children in Kibera or Dadaab will most likely be born in the absence of qualified medical practitioner, are not assured of shelter, security, food or a future education. To the ‘Rundan’ and the Dane all these can be taken for granted but they are also at a greater danger of early obesity, diabetes and strokes. “Welcome,” the fund tells the seven billionth global citizen, “to a dangerously warming world facing huge food deficits, unfolding economic crises and increasing chronic diseases.”
Ageing community
Every year, Kenya is bringing about one million more mouths to the dining table but at the same time the food deficit is increasing annually. For example, for the last five years, this country has not been producing enough maize, the main staple food, to feed itself. Unfortunately, this will continue into the future with serious consequences.
The Danish child will be born in an ageing community that will highly welcome some young hands to help in the job market, while the Kenyan will come into a much more complex population mix.
The Danish child will be born in an ageing community that will highly welcome some young hands to help in the job market, while the Kenyan will come into a much more complex population mix.
As the new baby bids goodbye to its mother’s womb, if most unlucky, it may have to contend with a birth canal mined with the Aids causing virus and land into a backyard where medical services and care are extremely scarce. A dark world may welcome the baby, according to the African Economic Outlook 2011, which estimates that 50 per cent of health facilities in Kenya lack electrical power, water and sanitation. There is a high chance that the infant and even the mother could die in childbirth, says the current Global Health Initiative Kenya Strategy. “One in every 19 babies born in Kenya this year will die before their first birthday,” it says. “These appalling mortality statistics implicate dysfunctional health systems as being the principal obstacle for addressing these challenges and preventing pre-mature mortality,” says the government report. A solution is not easy, say medical experts but propose an aggressive family planning programme, better health infrastructure and above all a robust economy. “We are working on a massive campaign that will encourage a lot of women to seek family planning measures. “This is one of the ways to save the situation we are in until the economy stabilises,” said the NCAPD director-general, Dr Boniface K’Oyugi.
Such campaigns seem to be reaching some families. One such family is that of Ms Hilda Ndung’u, 31. Ms Ndung’u and her husband meticulously planned for their second child expected within a few months, but she now feels this no longer looks like a good idea.
Their monthly income
Such campaigns seem to be reaching some families. One such family is that of Ms Hilda Ndung’u, 31. Ms Ndung’u and her husband meticulously planned for their second child expected within a few months, but she now feels this no longer looks like a good idea.
Their monthly income
Around May, her husband and herself calculated their monthly income, which amounted to Sh35,000.
They were optimistic that this would comfortably accommodate the expected child and leave about Sh8,000 for a rainy day. But now the mother says after reviewing their plans they feel that a smaller family is the better option. “Today, we can rarely manage to stick to a planned budget with food prices rising by the day,” she said.
The State of World Population Report makes the case for sound planning and investment in people.
The State of World Population Report makes the case for sound planning and investment in people.
