IN THE NEXT DECADE, Barbados could be facing a serious population problem with predictions that individuals over 65 years old will outstrip the number of children.
While not a revelation, still it was somewhat startling to hear demographer and former director of the United Nations Population Division, Joseph Chamie, forecast that by 2025, Barbados would be among countries facing a historic reversal of populations.
It was equally shocking for some to hear the proposal of Pastor David Durant who floated the idea that this country should consider giving a monetary incentive to married couples to have more children.
While many have come down on the pastor for his suggestion, let’s not forget others who before him had mooted other measures to tackle the looming population challenge. Minister of Education Ronald Jones is on record as calling for more people to have children. This week, he again repeated the call, stating that Barbados’ low population could spell danger for this country in the next 50 years.
Former president of the National Organisation of Women, Marilyn Rice-Bowen, also weighed in on the population issue sometime ago, suggesting that a tax incentive be given to professional women who could afford to have children. Both these suggestions were rebuffed by some in society.
As it stands now, Barbados’ birth rate is at 1.84 births per woman. This statistic is then juxtaposed to the fact that the average life expectancy is 74.3 years.
As a society, the question we now face is how do we balance the low birth rate, with the right to choose to have children or not. We believe that these are decisions that are not taken lightly by individuals or couples who consider their incomes, their lifestyles and their desire to be parents or not, when planning their future. These are all decisions that are made by individuals and should not be thrust upon them by the state or any organisation.
While the suggestions are well intended, decisions to have children cannot be taken lightly, nor can they be made by anyone other than the individuals involved.
The belief held by so many that children are a gift from God may not fit well with the suggestion from Pastor Durant.
With any recommendation to have more children, there must always be the prerequisite that children must be well taken care of. It would be pointless to encourage individuals to have more children when at the end of the day the children cannot be well cared for. It is equally important to make sure that any measure will not put more pressure on the state and the social services.
These are discussions that must take place as we as a society tackle this population issue. While we acknowledge that something must be done to encourage individuals to “be fruitful and multiply”, we believe the ideas and suggestions put forward must be properly ventilated and fit with our values as a Christian society.