population policy in africa

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Critical Writing Assignment #1: Population Policy in Africa

There is a great deal of international public debate about population. Some people argue that the earth cannot sustain further population growth—that we cannot feed more people, and even if we could, there are other environmental impacts from population growth and resource use. Therefore, we must reduce or even reverse population growth. Others argue that we do produce enough food to feed everyone, and that there are political and economic reasons that some people go hungry while others consume more than their share of the earth’s resources. Indeed, some economists argue that when a country’s population declines, it makes it difficult to maintain a strong workforce, and care for that country’s children and older people. Still, others argue that population control programs nearly always involve violations of human rights. The focus should not be controlling population, but providing people with material and educational resources to plan their families. In these population debates, India and China are discussed often, however both of those countries have made significant progress in reducing population growth rates, although there have been human rights violations along the way.

Despite the attention that the two most populous nations garner, Africa, as a continent, will account for most of the world’s population growth in the next 30 years. Indeed, Africa is projected to triple in population by the year 2100 based on current trends. This population growth will be driven partly by positive trends like declining mortality rates, including infant and child mortality, and partly by stubbornly high fertility rates in many African countries. Though there is considerable variation in fertility rates across the continent, Africa as a whole has an average fertility rate of 4.7 children per woman, far higher than the global average of 2.4. The focus of this writing assignment is to propose a plan for how best to reduce fertility rates while respecting human rights.

See this report on population growth trends by world region: https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/06/17/worlds-population-is-projected-to-nearly-stop-growing-by-the-end-of-the-century/

This article discusses the challenge of reducing fertility in some African countries with stubbornly high fertility rates: https://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-network/2016/jan/11/population-growth-in-africa-grasping-the-scale-of-the-challenge

This article shows some population trends by country in Africa: https://qz.com/africa/1881468/how-fast-is-africas-population-growing/

The Cairo Plan of Action (PoA) (aka the Cairo Consensus) that came out of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) held in Cairo, Egypt in 1994 remains the global consensus on how to reduce population growth rates without violating human rights.
https://www.prb.org/whatwascairothepromiseandrealityoficpd/
After reading the articles above, write a 450-550 word essay in which you choose a country in Africa, describe current population trends in that country, and present a plan for reducing fertility rates.

Your essay should be broken down into multiple paragraphs and include the following:
1) A brief description of current population trends and indicators in your chosen country (e.g. population projection, mortality rate, fertility rate, contraception prevalence, percent urban, etc.) using Population Reference Bureau data: https://www.prb.org/international/ (Bonus: include a population pyramid in your essay)
2) Use at least one more outside source to explain what appears to be the biggest obstacle to reducing fertility rates in your country
3) Finally, propose a national policy for overcoming that obstacle and thereby reducing fertility rates.
a. Your policy should be consistent with the Cairo Consensus.
b. Your policy could be based on efforts that are already underway in your country or they might be borrowed from another country’s success in reducing fertility rates. Either way, use an outside source to back up your argument.
4) Include a thesis statement early in your essay that summarizes your central argument. For example: Niger’s high fertility rate is mostly the product of gender discrimination; thus, funding for education, especially that of young girls, should be prioritized.

Make sure to cite your sources in the text using the following format: (Population Reference Bureau, 2020) or (NYTimes, 2018). Also include a link to your outside source(s) at the end of the paper.

Upload your essay in MSWord to Canvas by 11:59pm Wednesday, September 16.

This Critical Writing Assignment is worth 25 points and will be evaluated based on the following critical thinking rubric. Notice that I will be evaluating your essays, in part, on your understanding of the demographic transition as reflected in your solution.