The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has warned that global fertility rates are plummeting at an alarming rate.
Millions of people are unable to have the number of children they desire due to a number of barriers, the agency says.
The UNFPA recently published a report, titled ‘The Real Fertility Crisis – The Pursuit of Reproductive Agency in a Changing World’, which raises concerns over the unprecedented decline in fertility.
The findings of the report are based on an online survey of over 14 000 adult men and women from 14 different countries, making up about 37% of the world’s population.
The countries surveyed were South Korea, Thailand, Italy, Hungary, Germany, Sweden, Brazil, Mexico, the United States, India, Indonesia, Morocco, South Africa, and Nigeria.
Based on its findings, the UNFPA calls for urgency to realise the individual’s reproductive agency, which would give them the ability to make their own free, informed and unfettered choices about having sex, using contraceptives or starting a family.
“Reproductive agency requires not just the ability to say yes or no, nor just the right to be free of coercion, it requires the full range of conditions that enable people to exercise true choice.
“It must focus on enabling political, legal, and social environments that enable individuals to make these decisions. Reproductive agency offers a pathway towards the full realisation of reproductive rights,” the report reads.
The report also highlights that currently, the focus is on alarmism over population explosion and population collapse and not on the real-world concerns of people making consequential, intimate choices about their bodies, families and futures.
According to the report, the crisis is not rooted in the individual’s reproductive decisions that fail to align with the needs of the economy.
“The fertility crisis is rather rooted in environment and policy choices that are not aligned with the desires of individuals, which failed to create economic security and personal empowerment that people say are the preconditions for realising their family formation goals.
“Hence, the current fertility crisis requires inventions that are not designed to induce people to use contraception or discourage them from doing so, neither policies that promote childbearing or incentivise small families,” the report reads.
According to the report, part of the solution is to greatly increase global investment in advancing reproductive autonomy, regardless of a country’s fertility rate.
In an age of information overload, Sunrise is The Namibian’s morning briefing, delivered at 6h00 from Monday to Friday. It offers a curated rundown of the most important stories from the past 24 hours – occasionally with a light, witty touch. It’s an essential way to stay informed. Subscribe and join our newsletter community.
The Namibian uses AI tools to assist with improved quality, accuracy and efficiency, while maintaining editorial oversight and journalistic integrity.
Stay informed with The Namibian – your source for credible journalism. Get in-depth reporting and opinions for
only N$85 a month. Invest in journalism, invest in democracy –
Subscribe Now!
