Control population growth
Nov 11, 2003
THE LATEST Uganda Household Survey has shown that the number of Ugandans living below the absolute poverty line has increased from 34 per cent in 1999 to 38 per cent today.
THE LATEST Uganda Household Survey has shown that the number of Ugandans living below the absolute poverty line has increased from 34 per cent in 1999 to 38 per cent today.
This increase should be kept in context. There has been a consistent decline in rates of poverty over the last 15 years. This upward blip may have been occasioned by temporary factors such as drought and the declining exchange rate.
Nevertheless the data should not just be shrugged off. That 4 per cent increase actually represents an additional ONE MILLION people who have slipped below the absolute poverty line. Consider the human suffering involved!
There are many contributory factors to this increase. Economic growth has slowed over the last five years. War in the north is continuing to undermine the economy. Uganda is still an agricultural society and commodity prices have generally declined during the global recession.
But a key driving force is the incredibly high rate of population growth in Uganda. The average Uganda woman gives birth to 6.9 children, the third highest birth rate in the world after Haiti and Angola.
If Uganda’s population continues to grow at 3.5 per cent annually, economic growth will not result in substantially increased per capita incomes.
It is a misconception that a large population will bring prosperity. Look at Ethiopia or Bangladesh, countries with populations over 100 million yet stuck in abject poverty.
Government needs to do more to bring Uganda’s population growth rate down to a manageable level. If it does not, Uganda’s infrastructure for education, health, power and communication will get progressively overloaded and more Ugandans will drift into poverty.
This increase should be kept in context. There has been a consistent decline in rates of poverty over the last 15 years. This upward blip may have been occasioned by temporary factors such as drought and the declining exchange rate.
Nevertheless the data should not just be shrugged off. That 4 per cent increase actually represents an additional ONE MILLION people who have slipped below the absolute poverty line. Consider the human suffering involved!
There are many contributory factors to this increase. Economic growth has slowed over the last five years. War in the north is continuing to undermine the economy. Uganda is still an agricultural society and commodity prices have generally declined during the global recession.
But a key driving force is the incredibly high rate of population growth in Uganda. The average Uganda woman gives birth to 6.9 children, the third highest birth rate in the world after Haiti and Angola.
If Uganda’s population continues to grow at 3.5 per cent annually, economic growth will not result in substantially increased per capita incomes.
It is a misconception that a large population will bring prosperity. Look at Ethiopia or Bangladesh, countries with populations over 100 million yet stuck in abject poverty.
Government needs to do more to bring Uganda’s population growth rate down to a manageable level. If it does not, Uganda’s infrastructure for education, health, power and communication will get progressively overloaded and more Ugandans will drift into poverty.