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Baroness Amos: Population growth could lead to non-stop food crisis Returning from Niger, the UN humanitarian chief says education on family planning must be part of the development agendaPopulation growth may outstrip countries' abilities to feed themselves and could lead to a semi-permanent humanitarian crisis if not addressed, the UN's leading emergencies' officer said today after visiting drought and flood-ravaged Niger.The sub-Sahelian country, just emerging from a food crisis that has affected more than half the population of 15m people, has received more than $270m of food aid this year, but could face similar problems as human numbers swell to unsustainable levels and climate change compromises farming, said Baroness Valerie Amos, the Guyana-born former British secretary of state for international development and now UN under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief co-ordinator."Population is a key problem [in Niger]. It is one of the poorest countries in the world with high levels of malnutrition and illiteracy. Nearly 50% of people there are under 15 and population is doubling every 21 years. It is 15.2 million now and is expected to be more than 50m by 2050. That is unsustainable. Population growth puts increased pressure on everything else."A serious government ... has got to put resources into education and farming but it must also educate women to have fewer children. Girls and women must be educated. Even a few years' basic education leads to smaller families," she told the Guardian.Her comments are significant because population growth was barely mentioned by world leaders at the UN development summit in New York last month. Although demographic growth is interlinked with poverty and environment, it has been consistently sidelined by governments, and global spending on family planning has halved since it was left out of the millennium development goals in 2000.Baroness Amos said many countries throughout the region faced similar problems to Niger. "There are drought and food security issues across the region. You have a part of the world that knows that on an annual basis they will have either droughts or floods or both. There is a growing recognition of a permanent reality [emerging]. Every five years the intensity increases. It used to be every 20 years, then every 10."Niger's crisis is now easing after good rains, but the effects could extend well into 2011, she said. "There has been an increase in malaria, cholera and malnutrition. We can expect the problems for many more months."She added: "Our ability to tackle these issues depends on governments prepared to work with the international commuity to ensure stability. It needs huge investments, not just in resources but in people."Amos, who has been in the job six weeks and will shortly visit Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Sudan, urged donor countries to think differently about aid: "We respond in crisis situations, but we are only plugging gaps for a short time. Our actions are saving millions of people, but we need to be doing more to help people help themselves. The needs are so great, and I am not sure we are at the point where we are prepared to put resources into development. It's a huge problem," she said.She said she hoped emerging economies like China, Brazil, Mexico, South Africa and India, would begin to contribute humanitarian aid on a regular basis. "Humanitarian aid has been focused on traditional donors, like the US or Britain. We need to broaden the base of countries who provide assistance. Middle Eastern countries responded significantly in the recent Pakistan earthquake crisis. We need to broaden the base of countries who see humanitarian aid as important. Other countries should be more involved in helping. I will be meeting countries and suggesting they dip their toe in the water, make a contribution and, over time, increase it."AidJohn Vidalguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
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