Population plan may help ease food crisis – NGOs

Matthew Heyes / Wed 9 April / Population

http://www.gmanews.tv/story/88483/Population-plan-could-help-ease-food-crisis--group

This article looks at the growing problem of rising world population and efforts in the Philippines to control it. A non government organization, EnGendeRights, is making efforts to control the recent growth in the Philippines. They have also appealed directly to the United Nations Human Rights Council to apply pressure on the government. Their requests are basic, greater availability of sexual health information and all sorts of contraception. President Arroyo however is under pressure from the Catholic Church to promote natural family planning due to their opposition to birth control. Subsequently a lawyer representing EnGendeRights pushed for an enactment of a national law on reproductive health care that would ensure women's reproductive and sexual rights – regardless of who are the heads of the national and local governments. The Catholic Church has been lobbying against all population control programs including sex education for teenagers and modern family planning methods

The main problem facing the Philippines is a shortage of food, and in particular rice which is part of their staple diet. Land used for growing crops is decreasing as it is instead being used to house the growing population. Fears are that there will not be enough food for Pilipino people as the cost of food production will increase as well as the global demand therefore raises prices. This rice shortage has already led to 21% of Filipino children under the age of five being underweight. A lack of adequate health care in the Philippines also means that there is a high death rate among mothers – 200 for every 100,000 live births – because they can't get basic and emergency obstetric care.

The EnGendeRights lawyer also appealed to the United Nations Human Rights Council over other women’s issues in the Philippines. Particularly the lack of government attention paid to solving cases of rape, abduction, and torture of Filipino women by military personnel.