World population at eight billion!

Byline: Dr.Shabnum Sarfraz

Today, ie 15th November 2022 marks the birth of the eighth billionth child. A billion has been added every 11 to 12 years to the global landscape since 1975. For those born today have a life expectancy of 72 years, which is 10 years more than what someone had born 40 years earlier. This of course varies hugely with which part of the globe they are born and also has glaring gender differentials. For Pakistan the population bomb is ticking fast. At 230 million, we are forecasted to reach 272 million by 2030 and an alarmingly high 423 million by 2050, having a growth rate that is double of that for the region. There remains a vast unmet need for Family Planning services as well as a growing gap in provision of basic health, education and social services to meet the needs of the rapidly growing unplanned population. The high population growth rate is by far the common denominator to all the challenges the country continues to face. However, this must not deter us from undertaking meaningful reforms and looking at some positive opportunities that have remained untapped so far. The 65% youth population of the country continues to offer hope for a demographic dividend amidst questionable efforts to actually reap it. It is an unprecedented opportunity to turn around the country and we must recognise that the gains are higher if we invest in women who remain as the largest untapped opportunity for the country. According to UNESCO globally there are 129 million girls who are out of school and amongst them 10.5 million are in Pakistan. Out of the 32 million OOS girls of primary school, 5.5 million are in our country. For Pakistan, UNICEF documents one more year of education paying off on average as a 6.85% increase in wage, with a higher return for girls (11.4%) than for boys (7.2%). According to World Bank estimates, the marginal rate of return to school is 5% for boys and 8.5% for girls. This higher economic incentive for women should gain attention of the policy makers with a committed increase in...