Africans have for centuries regarded their young people as an insurance to the aged population. It is for this reason that Africa celebrates the birth of the 7 billionth  baby.

Africa must guard against falling into the trap of looking at its population in negative light. With a major portion of the continent’s resources lying idle and underutilized, more manpower is needed to exploit them efficiently. An increased population will raise the demand for various essential and luxury goods hence an incentive for producers to set up more industries. If properly equipped, new talented minds will emerge amongst younger generations to provide solutions to challenges facing the continent. Moreover, the greater longevity in life projected for all regions coupled with low fertility rates with the resultant challenge of ageing populations gives Africa an opportunity to export labour in affected regions.

Demographers have described the world population which has hit the 7 billion mark and is projected to reach 9 billion by 2045 as huge and worrying. They allege that it will spur food insecurity, unemployment, environmental degradation, low living standards and high inflation. Africa reportedly has a concentration of high-fertility countries (39 out of the 55 countries in the continent have high fertility) and is said to be contributing heavily to this rise. Its population which hit 1 billion in 2010 is set to double by 2050.

According to UNFPA Executive Director, Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin, it is urgent that the world provides “safe and effective family planning” and invest in enabling women and men to determine the number and spacing of their children.

A prudent focus ought not to be on funding family planning but rather, addressing factors that bring about food insecurity, unemployment, exclusionary policies, poor healthcare, housing challenges, political instability and inability to respond to challenges creatively, among others. An empowered population is a great bonus.