Promoting sustainable solutions: International Symposium addresses population issues
On the occasion of World Population Day which is globally observed on July 11, the Global Centre for Public Health Care and Management (GCPHCM) of the international NGO Global Forum for Sustainable Rural Development (GFSRD) collaborated with the Department of Community Medicine of TRIHMS, Arunachal, and SRICASW, and SHHFI to organize an international symposium with the theme “Population: A Multi-pronged approach”.
Experts from different fields across various countries shared their insights and experiences to help delegates understand the complexities surrounding various population issues be it waste management. reproductive health, gender equality, gender-based violence, and migration or opportunities that may be hidden.
The speakers Dr. I Made Wahyu Wijaya from Indonesia, Dr. Payel Biswas Soo and Dr. Rabindra from India, G. Bosco Rajah from Sri Lanka, and Coach Wisani Climent Maluleke from South Africa not only discussed the problems but offered sustainable solutions and discussed how they have been practicing these solutions.
The program was initiated and moderated by Dr. Amrita Sarkar, Associate Professor in the Department of Community Medicine, TRIHMS, and honorary head of the Public Health wing of GFSRD.
She paid homage to Dr. K.C. Zachariah, the famous Indian demographer from Kerala, to mark when the world population reached five billion on July 11, 1987.
She added that recently there have been two notable population milestones. In November 2022, the global population reached a significant milestone of eight billion people.
Additionally, in April of this year, India surpassed China to become the world's most populous country, according to estimates from the United Nations.
These developments highlight the ongoing challenges and implications associated with global population growth.
This was followed by a welcome address from GFSRD founder Dr. Jayanta Choudhury wherein he spoke about various population-related issues. He added how a well-educated and skilled population becomes an asset instead of a liability and how GFSRD along with its 17 global centers in various parts of the world are working towards it.
The Chief guest Dr. Moji Jini, Director, TRIHMS spoke about how the norms and roles of various units of the population are changing continuously and especially in current times when both female and male roles are increasingly overlapping, he also shared his experiences from working in remote areas of Arunachal Pradesh.
The keynote address was given by the guest of honor Former IAS and Special Secretary of MoHFW, GOI wherein she stressed upon the need for planned urbanization as 70% of the total global population will be staying in urban areas alone by 2050.
She also stressed upon this year’s theme of World Population Day “Unleashing the power of gender equality: Uplifting the voices of women and girls to unlock our world’s infinite possibilities” and stressed how the wants and needs of women and girls matter as they contribute for 49.7% of the global population, yet they are often ignored and their rights violated in population policies.
The feedback from attendees was overwhelming and there were representatives from many African countries including South Africa, Sierra Leonne, Congo DRC, Nigeria, etc.
Asian countries of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Nepal, Uzbekistan, Indonesia, and India and the European country of Greece and the organizing team urged all to take a pledge to implement the learning from the event to cause a positive change in the society.