Cebu Daily News / Opinion

http://globalnation.inquirer.net/cebudailynews/opinion/view_article.php?article_id=164186

COLOR OF WATER Color of Water : Why blame family size? By Malou Guanzon-Apalisok Cebu Daily News Posted date: October 02, 2008 In pushing for a national population policy, advocates of the Reproductive Health Bill emphasize the relationship between family size and poverty. They point to statistics such as three babies born every minute, 225 Filipino children dying daily from poverty-related diseases and 10 mothers who succumb every day due to pregnancy and childbirth-related complications. They point out that the situation highlights the relevance of family planning because a high population growth rate takes a toll on resources and hinders human development. The views derive from the United Nations Development Programme assumptions that see a correlation between human development index and annual population growth/total fertility rates. Based on UNDP theory, the Philippines cannot hope to achieve high human development if it fails to check population growth currently pegged at 2.3 percent. There is a tendency to compare us with countries in Europe, which, although Catholic, have embraced artificial family planning methods including abortion. I assume the stats to be fairly accurate and realistic but according to the World Health Organization, 99 percent of maternal and infant deaths due to childbirth complications are preventable. In other words, the deaths could have been avoided had there been adequate medical intervention by government health workers. It would be kind for legislators to tell the public how much pork barrel was spent in the construction of new hospitals or the upgrading of old ones because that would have gone a long way in reducing infants and maternal death toll. Still, we need only to look around us. Flyovers, reclamation projects, highways, bridges, government offices dot cities and the countryside. The construction of this type of infrastructure will most likely continue next year judging from the breakdown of the proposed P1.415-trillion national budget for 2009. A huge P120 billion has been allocated for the Department of Public Works and Highways but the Department of Health gets only a measly P27.8 billion. No wonder fewer hospitals are being built. In fact, while private hospitals boast of modern medical equipment, public institutions are poorly staffed and ill-equipped. Instead of addressing the pressing needs of the public health system, RH bill proponents would rather commit government funds in family planning commodities. Under HB 5043, artificial family planning methods like tubal ligation, vasectomy, and intrauterine device insertion will be made available in all public hospitals. Government will purchase hormonal contraceptives, condoms, intrauterine devices, and other "essential medicines" to implement the state policy. Artificial family planning services will become the focus of public health service to the detriment of the country’s primary health care system. The poverty that stalks our land is not because of overpopulation but misuse of public funds and unchecked government corruption. A classic example is the controversial purchase of decorative lamps used during the 12th ASEAN Summit. The project was clearly overpriced and unjustified but government went ahead with the purchase. Now some sectors want the lampposts taken down because they’re an eyesore. I say don’t, so voters will be reminded about the shameless waste and the people responsible for it. The claim that big families take a toll on resources is a fallacy because if people are educated and have equal access to jobs and business opportunities, they become engines of economic growth. Human resource has made China (population: over 1.3 billion) and India (1.1 billion) major players in the elite nations of the world. On the other hand, Italy (0.2 percent population growth), Spain, Poland, Austria and Ireland (0.3 percent) France (0.7 percent), face staggering problems brought about by a graying population. “Population growth is a multiplier of wealth; it is a driver of economic growth and creates opportunities for entrepreneurs,” states Steven Mosher, president of the Population Research Institute and long-time critic of United Nations policies that attack population growth in poor countries. Mosher stressed one need only to “cast a glance at dying Europe or moribund Japan, to be proven wrong.”