Samba’s population been increasing rapidly especially in urban areas. This has had implications On the provision Of social services and employment. It IS for this reason that this essay critically analyses the implications Of rapid urban population growth since 1964 in Zambia and Will show how economic development can help reduce Samba’s population.
The first defines the key terms Which are population and economic development Population is defined by William and Ann (2006; 59) that “a population consists of all the members of a single pieces living in a specific area at the same time. Generally population is the number of people living In a particular geographical area at a gun time”. Samba’s population stands at approximately Economic development Is the increase In living standards, Improvement in self-esteem needs and freedom from oppression as well as a greater choice (Toward and Smith: 2009). It relates to growth tot human capital indexes.
It also Implies the changes in Income saving and investment along with socio-economic structure of the country. According to projections from the United Nations. Samba’s population is projected to increase 41% by the end of the century. 6496 of Samba’s population live below the poverty line and the majority in urban areas who usually start their lives in slum areas with poor access to water, sanitation, health care facilities and employment. Zambia is one of the most urbanites countries in Sub-Sahara Africa with 35% of the population living in urban areas (YMMV. Galvanometer’s. Mom). Samba’s continuous increase in population size has put pressure on an already overburdened socio-economic resource base particularly in core development sectors such as education. Health and food security. Urban population has groan rapidly in Zambia due to several pull factors. These pull factors include mineral resources. Availability of manufacturing industries for employment. Transport and communication accessibility and availability Of social Services, Others include good climate and fertile soil, Therefore people move to urban areas because Of the above factors However. Population growth has implications, Toward and Smith (2009; BIB), State that “rapidly growing population have led to land, water and fuel wood shortages in rural areas and urban health crises stemming from lack of sanitation and clean water”. Sanitation is one of he implications of urban population growth. This is due to unplanned settlements, underdeveloped water and sanitation systems place a burden on household health. Poor sanitation and unsafe water sources increases for the risk of water borne diseases.
Therefore households especially in slums or shanty compounds that are highly populated are more exposed to the risk diseases like dysentery and cholera. One of the Implications tot rapid urban population ;s overcrowding and creation of squatter compounds (shanty compounds). This Is because rapid population growth In urban areas places a burden on urban Infrastructure such as housing, water and annotation and energy. Therefore. This pressure will worsen the poor living conditions for the low income populations. This forces people to live in slums which are overcrowded. Eve inadequate shelter, lack clean water and adequate sanitation and vulnerable to exploitation and abuse (Ministry of Finance and National Planning: unlace Notations Development Programmer C 004) Turner writes Tanat poor people take the blunt of sub- standard housing, inadequate or polluted water, lack of sanitation and solid waste disposal outdoor and indoor air pollution (from low quality cooking and heating fuels). The increase in urban population has also led to the depletion of natural resources such as trees and forests. This is because trees are cut down in large masses so that land can be created for people to build houses.
The other reason is that there is a heavy dependency on solid fuels for cooking (Brenner ; Ukulele; 2009). Land however, in some areas, is cleared for agricultural purposes and in some instances has led to soil erosion. This is because increasing population has contributed to severe and accelerating land degradation, deforestation and soil erosion, (Ministry of Finance and National Planning; 2010). Urban population growth has led to shortages of educational facilities. This is because population growth has an impact one education.
The schools are not enough to carter for the growing population. According to the Ministry of Finance and National Planning (2002; 99) “there is inadequate provision of appropriate educational opportunities for the differently abele children”. Unemployment is one of the implications of increased population in urban areas. Over population, leads to unemployment, in the sense that there are fewer Jobs versus, more people in urban areas. Despite the relatively high economic activities in urban areas, there is relatively high levels of unemployment” Brenner & Ukulele (2009; 5).
The distribution of the resources in urban areas, have become very difficult because there are more people who are fighting for these resources. Given the current economic and population situation in the country, it will be very difficult to absorb all the new entrants into the labor force. This in turn leads to young people to engage themselves in beer drinking, prostitution, drug abuse and other related vices. The increase in urban population has also led to inadequate medical facilities. This is due to overcrowding.
According to the Ministry of Finance and National Planning (2007; 10) “high fertility and the increasing morbidity are a challenge to the provision of health services”. As a result of this, services such as reproductive health, antenatal and post natal services are not fully accessed because of rapid population and little manpower for the population. Samba’s economic growth due to over population has brought about the risk of environmental damage by exerting unmitigated pressures on the environment (Environmental Council Of Zambia; 2001).
This can be seen by he policy of economic liberation’s in Zambia which has led to government of subsidies on electricity which in turn leads to increased use of fuel wood for cooking and heating which is an instrument for increased deforestation. This may lead to desertification and increase the occurrence of droughts. Population increase has also led to other economic activities have also degraded land. Primary industries such as mines and agriculture form the backbone of developing economies throughout much of the world. In this regard most of these countries have relied on the exploitation of natural resources.
Reliance on industries such as mining for economic survival has left vast areas of land degraded. However economic development can help reduce Samba’s population in various ways. One way is by increasing agricultural production, “agriculture has become an increasingly important contributor to Samba’s economy and exports” Vision 2030 (2007; 23). This Is Decease I t NAS snow signs AT Improvement particularly Tort scans crop production and employment opportunities. Economic development can help reduce the country population through increased services in sexual reproductive health.
This is because the main challenges in integrated reproductive health include shortage of appropriately trained stuff, poor transport and communication systems” Fifth National Development Plan (2006; 178). Therefore if the country is economically developed, these services can be acquired and will help in the reduction of population. Population can be reduced through building more schools; however this can only be done if the country is economically developed. Education can help reduce fertility rates in the country and as a result contribute to economic development “education is critical in enhancing a country social economic placement.
It builds people’s abilities in terms of skills and the ability to receive and process information for livelihood choices” Zambia Vision 2030 (2007; 33). Through education, learners are taught on population education and they know the impacts of rapid population growth in a country and effects it has on economic development. When a country is economically developed, access to health facilities are not usually a challenge and a healthy population is important to a country economic development. Through this the health sector tries to reduce maternal mortality ratio, insuring the availability of drugs and medical supplies.
Issues of family planning awareness are highly promoted. This in turn helps reduce fertility rate in the country (Ministry of Finance and National Planning; 2010). However making advancements in health care delivery requires enough financial resources are available to ensure that the health sector achieves its goals and this can only be done if the country is economically developed. Economic development helps reduce rural-urban migration because people can be self-empowered and there can be facilities which can be accessed in rural areas Just s urban areas.
These facilities include schools, health facilities and other socio- economic facilities. In conclusion, population has become an important issue of concern, this is so because population in terms of its size and composition and has far reaching implications on the society. It is the major asset resource for development and the prime beneficiary for development in society. Therefore the implications of rapid population growth since 1964 in Zambia have been critically analyses. The ways in which economic development can help to reduce Samba’s population have been shown.
It has been analyses that the implications of urban population include overcrowding of towns, creation of shanty compounds, poor housing, depletion of natural resources through deforestation, pollution. Other implications included lack of social services such as education and health, water and sanitation. However it was also shown that economic development can contribute to reducing population. These activities included increasing awareness in family planning; promote population coeducation, Increase agriculture production In rural populations Ana more knowledge on sexual reproductive health.
