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Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Lizzie Tudor who wrote (1088)	7/18/1999 5:26:00 PM
From: Les H	Respond to of 769667

World population to hit 6 billion this year NEW YORK, Jul 15 (Reuters Health) -- The world's 6 billionth baby will be born sometime this October, according to a panel of experts who spoke at a Manhattan press conference on population issues Wednesday. An estimated 150 million women in developing countries say they want to delay or cease child-bearing, but lack the access to modern contraception, according to a survey conducted by the Packard Foundation, the nonprofit organization that sponsored the conference. The United Nations is advocating strong family-planning strategies. While it took until the early 1800s to reach a population of one billion, the world's population has been doubling roughly every 35 years since then. China, already a member of the ''One Billion Club,'' will soon be joined by India, perhaps as early as next month. Because virtually all of this population growth will occur in developing countries, demographers are concerned with quality of life issues for those countries. Population growth will have a ''profound impact on the quality of each birth, causing a steady decline in healthcare, education, and economic opportunities for them,'' said Pranay Gupte, publisher of The Earth Times newspaper. The booming population will have a big impact on countries such as India, according to Gupte. The nation's population is growing by 18 million annually. Although India has made great strides economically, recently achieving the status of the 10th largest economy in the world, it suffers from socioeconomic divisions, noted Gupte. Consequently, economic opportunity has been experienced by all economic groups, and India's average per capita income remains below US $400. Because roughly one billion people worldwide are in the 15 to 25 age group, ''this generation will have a profound impact on all generations to come,'' said Rachel Russell of Planned Parenthood. As a member of the United Nations Youth Delegate, Russell's goal is to inform UN policy by bringing youth into the policy-making process. Planned Parenthood is focusing on smaller, local organizations to bring their message into villages where large families are common. One group, for example is working with grassroots groups in Uttar Pradesh -- a densely populated state in India. Their hope is to add an ''international perspective and a global commitment'' to slowing growth in a nation where 75% of women use no form of contraception at all, and the government has relied primarily on male sterilization to curtail population growth. But population control measures need funding. Richard Schlosberg, CEO of the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, noted UN estimates that $17 billion is needed to implement education and reproductive health strategies.