Population challenge
WITH meager financial resources, government authorities in Third World countries certainly find it hard to meet the food, medical and other needs of their beleaguered citizens.
This is compounded by the ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic which continues to displace millions of workers across the globe, including the Philippines.
That’s why the reported declining number of births in the country is a welcome development in government efforts to address the worsening problems of hunger and poverty.
Reports said births in this Southeast Asian nation of English-speaking people continued to decline during the last few years, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
Preliminary data showed that the number of registered births from January to November 2021 dropped to 1.08 million from 1.41 million during the same period in 2020.
Births declined from 1.79 million in 2012 to 1.76 million in 2013, 1.75 million in 2014, 1.74 million in 2015, 1.73 million in 2016, 1.7 million in 2017, and 1.66 million in 2018.
Births improved in 2019, but dropped again the following year.
In the view of many, including the ordinary citizens, the burgeoning population must be addressed because of the worsening problems of hunger, poverty and unemployment.
According to the latest census, the country’s population was placed at close to 110 million.
Meeting the mushrooming needs of the population is, without doubt, a major challenge for the incoming administration considering the sorry state of the Philippine economy.
Talaga!
