Lower population growth and better trained manpower

A NATIONAL daily, quoting several national and international reports on Wednesday reported that the country must further strengthen the Family Planning Programmes to further reduce the birth rate before the additional population is becoming a challenge for enough food, housing and employment. At present with fertility rate at 2.3 per reproductive woman 253 babies are adding to our population per hour and such rapid growth will endanger supply of basic amenities to people. It is true China and India are having the largest population but it can’t be ignored that our population density is many times big to suggest that the burden of over population may be too big if the population can’t be well-managed by education and training to turn them creative manpower.

Needless to say, the population control programme of the government remains sluggish over the past years to contribute to its rapid growth. Whether the growing population would be a burden or an asset would essentially depend on the government policy how to prepare them. It is imperative to take comprehensive plan how to train up the growing number of population and develop skilled manpower to meet the demands of an expanding economy at a time when more foreign and local investments are in sight. They will definitely then prove to an asset.

But the way the population is rapidly growing will not be sustainable any way. Our population has jumped to 160 million now from 75 million in 1971. Despite a sharp decline of per woman fertility from 6.0 to 2.3 our population will exceed 21.8 crore by 2050 if we can’t further slash the fertility rate. Experts have opined fertility at 2.0 may be best suitable for Bangladesh at the movement and our family planning activities must refocus the target ending the sluggish performance of the past years. We must not forget that overpopulation will be a big burden soon when more people will migrate to cities and create more slum dwellings. Global warming and sea level rise will create more climate refugees. About one-thirds of the country may be submerged by rising water to rehabilitate about 50 million people in remaining land. This is how over population will hurt seriously the nation.

An unbridled population is not supportive to development because reaching health, education and other civil amenities to every home will be difficult. With hundreds of thousands of young people joining the job markets employment generation may reach a critical point with other socio-cultural setback.