This documentation includes a reflective representation of mine on the above-mentioned video. It represents the importance of the demography subject and the evolution of the demographic features of the world along with the time. It also highlights the correlated problems and potential solution that can be implemented by humankind. This reflection emphasizes the fact that difference between rich and poor worlds when it comes to demographical matters and how the world should face them.
I would like to begin with a quote mentioned in the video several times by prof. Cohen. “Demography makes it possible to imagine and reimagine the future”. For me it paints quite the whole picture on what demography means. It gives the required toolkit for human to understand how the evolution of this matter has progressed and therefore how the future life would possibly be.
As discussed in the early part of the video the current trend in population growth over the world makes lacking of the adequate amount of household infrastructure, food/feed, water/sanitation, fertility. Simultaneously with that, the increment of health issues, hunger, illiteracy, slums, low access to contraception are occurring. These issues will define how the standard of living of the majority of people in the current world and the upcoming future. These concerns are not same all over the planet as well. They vary based on the richness of the country and many other demographic characteristics such as ethnicity, age, sex etc. Low literacy rate of women on controlling their own fertility is one such major concern which requires the attention of NGOs and authorities of the world which will be a deciding factor on the future generation.
In the past even though population has been growing, it has been in a slowing rate. Theory of bathtubs explains how the fertility rates are affecting the replacement population rate of the world. But most of these issues of bad fertility rate, over population are being typical for poor (African, Asian) countries but not for rich countries. Such scenario is being maintained over the past history with the capitalistic system.
When it comes to present, differences between rich and poor countries in several key factors such as age-sex pyramid, average income, birth-death rates, public health, economy growth have being differing those two worlds apart. Those facts play a major role on defining the current context of the world. Rich countries are benefiting from the conditions of poorer countries. But that fact is not correctly revealed on the video as I see. Professor shows the fact that rich people of poor countries buying stuff from rich countries and rich people help poor world on their health issues. What he doesn’t interpret is that how the health (medicine) mafia and economic crisis of poor countries is being benefitted by richer economies.
Future of world population will grow bigger, slower, older and more urban. Migration patterns, housing facilities and family structure will define how population will grow in different areas in near future. To resolve and uplift those conditions, women have a vital part. There can be few solutions such as educating women, providing credit to them, providing reproductive health care and the policy change of raising marriage age. Growing population being old will affect energy and health demand of the globe. Developing urban population density may demand infrastructure requirement and so on. Good results of these developments of population will be like lower fertility rates, high use of modern contraception, lower unmet needs for contraception, concentrated economic productivity, cultural assets and energy efficiency etc. Bad results are also there which would be such as cities being vulnerable to; natural disasters, terrorism, diseases, shortage of utility facilities.
These facts are affecting food supply and it tends world towards trends such as green production, genetically modified organisms. Even though we require other species to provide many things to us such as food, fuel, transportation etc.; yet it is not seeming like human understanding the importance of the existence of such species. Providing facilities and subsidies for the food production is a must-need by governments in the future in order to sustain the existence of the human race.
In a nutshell, in the video, it shows the demography as a tool of understanding and as an equipment to solve problems. So, it is each and every one of our responsibility to learn about it, raise concerns and find solutions.
