Rapid population growth raises concerns

Malawi is hosting a continental conference on population amid calls for the African continent to work with its partners to leverage population for economic growth.

President Lazarus Chakwera, speaking at Bingu International Convention Centre in Lilongwe yesterday when he presided over the launch of the ninth Union of African Population Studies (UAPS) African Population Conference (APL), called for strong institutions and fair business practices between African countries and their development partners.

The President acknowledged that local population growth is higher than expected, but urged delegates to be open-minded and look at other problems such as corporate greed and exploitation by commercial entities that have undermined development on the continent.

He, thus, called for support from donors and development partners to create “platforms for institutionalisation where strong systems and regulatory frameworks” help prevent corporate interest from exploiting local resources.

Said Chakwera: “And crucially, what Africa needs are platforms of partnership, not the old model of partnership between developed benefactors and developing beneficiaries, but a new model of partnership between equal nations exchanging people, services, and goods in a global market with fair rules of trade, fair prices, and fair modes of exchange.”

He said the uneven distribution of resources on the continent results from corruption within States and exploitative trade practices with other countries, particularly wealthy and industrialised nations.

The four-day forum will take stock of the commitments that were made at the last conference held in 2019 in Entebbe, Uganda.

In her speech, United States of America charge d’affaires Amy Diaz called for greater investment in education and health to improve the profile of the African population, whose contribution to the global population is expected to rise to 25 percent by 2050.

She observed that high population growth without requisite investments in education, health and infrastructure complicates “the study of the population”.

Said Diaz: “With the right investments in education, health care, infrastructure and job creation, Africa’s demographic dividend can unleash an even more profound wave of productivity and entrepreneurship. A healthy, educated, youthful workforce can fuel prosperity for generations to come.”

Iceland Prime Minister Bjarni Benediktsson urged policymakers on the continent to prioritise gender equality by improving access to sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services to ensure that girls can contribute effectively to national development.

He cited the investments that his government has made in improving SRH services in Mangochi as one of the key success stories where a K20.7 billion investment led to a decline in both infant and maternal mortality rates.

Meanwhile, local stakeholders have expressed concern with the rising local population outpacing economic growth.

The World Bank projects that the local economy will grow by 2.0 percent in 2024, which is 60 basis points higher than the projected population growth rate for 2024. 

In an interview with The Nation, National Planning Commission (NPC) research manager Andrew Jamali, whose organisation is the key implementing partner of the Malawi 2063 vision, cautioned that the rising population growth would worsen poverty levels if it is left unchecked.

In a separate interview, economic statistician Alick Nyasulu cautioned that the high population growth would lead to the destruction of forests and water resources. In the long term, environmental degradation could potentially worsen the country’s dependency levels.

According to the second edition of the Multidimensional Poverty Index, a report published by the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs and the National Statistical Office released last year, 58.9 percent of Malawians live in multidimensional poverty.

However, NPC and other delegates to the launch of the APC expressed optimism that the conference would identify evidence-based solutions and interventions to help the country capitalise on the potential of its youthful population.

The ninth African Population Conference is being held under the theme ‘Road to 2030: Leveraging Africa’s human capital to achieve transformation in a world of uncertainty’.

Likoma district director of health and social services Gracewell Mathewe has described the construction of a staff house at Chima Health Centre in the district as a milestone in health service delivery.

Speaking in an interview on Saturday, he said the K18 million house, constructed under the Government to Enable Service Delivery (Gesd) project, has solved accommodation problems at the facility.

Mathewe said healthcare workers reside far away from the health centre, which affects their availability.

“It is important for healthcare workers to reside near their workplace to help patients timely,” he said.

Chima Health Centre nurse and midwife technician Lyson Kasakatiza thanked the council for the house.

“People can access healthcare services anytime unlike in the past when I used to stay away from the health centre. It was challenging to walk long distances every day because I could reach the facility tired,” he said.

A mother, Iness Phiri said the availability of a healthcare worker at the facility has given people hope of getting assistance at night.

“When there is an emergency at night, we will be able to go to hospital, knowing we will get assistance,” she said.

Likoma district director of public works Shadrick Msiska said the council has constructed the second staff house at the facility which is expected to be handed over by the end of May.

Chima Health Centre is a public health facility on the island district where people for many years were depending on St. Peter’s Hospital owned by the Anglican Church