Population is a big problem
United Nations has appealed for much greater investment in family planning to help reduce poverty and slow down population growth. The UN estimates say the world’s population will grow by more than a third by the year 2050. A growth rate it says is unsustainable.
Over 200 million women, many in the developing world don’t have access to contraceptives. Hundreds of thousands of women die in childbirth each year, of from botched illegal. And women are crucial to the world’s food production. In Africa and Asia, they grow over 80% of crops. Access to contraceptives would give women the chance to plan their families, and the resulting slower population growth would, the UN says, ease pressure on food’s supplies and reduce damage to the environment.
The world bank says China’s spearheading an unprecedented amount of investment into infrastructure Africa. The bank says China is developing finance deals with more than 35 Africa countries, including 10 major hydropower projects. The report says China has benefited from its investment deals, importing more than $22 billion worth of natural resources from Africa in 2006.