As of yesterday, 7 billion people call Earth home
Source: Agencies |
November 1, 2011, Tuesday
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Print Edition
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She came into the world at two minutes before midnight, a tiny, wrinkled girl born into a struggling Manila family. Yesterday, she became a symbol of the world's population reaching 7 billion people and all the worries that entails for the planet's future.
Danica May Camacho, born in a crowded public hospital, was welcomed with a chocolate cake marked "7B Philippines" and a gift certificate for free shoes. There were bursts of photographers' flashes, and speeches by local officials.
The celebrations, though, reflected symbolism more than demography.
Amid the millions of births and deaths around the world each day, it is impossible to pinpoint the arrival of the globe's 7 billionth occupant. But the UN chose yesterday to mark the day with a string of festivities worldwide, and a series of symbolic seven-billionth babies being born.
Danica was the first, arriving at Manila's Jose Fabella Memorial Hospital at two minutes before midnight - but doctors said that was close enough to count for a Monday birthday.
"She looks so lovely," the girl's mother, Camille Galura, whispered as she cradled the 2.5-kilo baby, who was born about a month prematurely.
The baby was the second for Galura and her husband Florante Camacho, a struggling driver who supports the family on a tiny salary.
Eric Tayag of the Philippines' Department of Health said later that the birth came with a warning.
"Seven billion is a number we should think about deeply," he said.
"We should really focus on the question of whether there will be food, clean water, shelter, education and a decent life for every child," he said. "If the answer is 'no,' it would be better for people to look at easing this population explosion."
In the Philippines, much of the population question revolves around birth control. The government backs a program that includes artificial birth control. The powerful Roman Catholic Church, though, vehemently opposes contraception.
Galura, a Catholic like her husband, said she was aware of the church's position but had decided to begin using a birth-control device.
"The number of homeless children I see on the streets keeps multiplying," Camacho said. "When I see them, I'm bothered because I eat and maybe they don't."
Demographers say it took until 1804 for the world to reach its first billion people, and a century more until it hit 2 billion in 1927. The 20th century, though, saw things begin to cascade: 3 billion in 1959; 4 billion in 1974; 5 billion in 1987; 6 billion in 1998.
The UN estimates the world's population will reach 8 billion by 2025 and 10 billion by 2083. But the numbers could be way off, depending on factors from life expectancy to access to birth control to infant mortality rates.
In Uttar Pradesh, India, the most populous state in the world's second-most populous country, officials said they would appoint seven girls born yesterday to symbolize the 7 billion.
India, which struggles with a deeply held preference for sons and a skewed sex ratio because of millions of aborted female fetuses, is using the day to highlight that issue.
"It would be a fitting moment if the 7 billionth baby is a girl born in rural India," said Madhu Gupta, an Uttar Pradesh gynecologist. "It would help in bringing the global focus back on girls, who are subject to inequality and bias."
Yesterday, the chosen Indian babies were born at the government-run Community Health Center in the town of Lall, on the outskirts of the Uttar Pradesh capital of Lucknow. Six babies were born between midnight and 8am yesterday at the center. Four were boys.
India, with 1.2 billion people, is expected to overtake China around 2030 when the Indian population reaches an estimated 1.6 billion.
Danica May Camacho, born in a crowded public hospital, was welcomed with a chocolate cake marked "7B Philippines" and a gift certificate for free shoes. There were bursts of photographers' flashes, and speeches by local officials.
The celebrations, though, reflected symbolism more than demography.
Amid the millions of births and deaths around the world each day, it is impossible to pinpoint the arrival of the globe's 7 billionth occupant. But the UN chose yesterday to mark the day with a string of festivities worldwide, and a series of symbolic seven-billionth babies being born.
Danica was the first, arriving at Manila's Jose Fabella Memorial Hospital at two minutes before midnight - but doctors said that was close enough to count for a Monday birthday.
"She looks so lovely," the girl's mother, Camille Galura, whispered as she cradled the 2.5-kilo baby, who was born about a month prematurely.
The baby was the second for Galura and her husband Florante Camacho, a struggling driver who supports the family on a tiny salary.
Eric Tayag of the Philippines' Department of Health said later that the birth came with a warning.
"Seven billion is a number we should think about deeply," he said.
"We should really focus on the question of whether there will be food, clean water, shelter, education and a decent life for every child," he said. "If the answer is 'no,' it would be better for people to look at easing this population explosion."
In the Philippines, much of the population question revolves around birth control. The government backs a program that includes artificial birth control. The powerful Roman Catholic Church, though, vehemently opposes contraception.
Galura, a Catholic like her husband, said she was aware of the church's position but had decided to begin using a birth-control device.
"The number of homeless children I see on the streets keeps multiplying," Camacho said. "When I see them, I'm bothered because I eat and maybe they don't."
Demographers say it took until 1804 for the world to reach its first billion people, and a century more until it hit 2 billion in 1927. The 20th century, though, saw things begin to cascade: 3 billion in 1959; 4 billion in 1974; 5 billion in 1987; 6 billion in 1998.
The UN estimates the world's population will reach 8 billion by 2025 and 10 billion by 2083. But the numbers could be way off, depending on factors from life expectancy to access to birth control to infant mortality rates.
In Uttar Pradesh, India, the most populous state in the world's second-most populous country, officials said they would appoint seven girls born yesterday to symbolize the 7 billion.
India, which struggles with a deeply held preference for sons and a skewed sex ratio because of millions of aborted female fetuses, is using the day to highlight that issue.
"It would be a fitting moment if the 7 billionth baby is a girl born in rural India," said Madhu Gupta, an Uttar Pradesh gynecologist. "It would help in bringing the global focus back on girls, who are subject to inequality and bias."
Yesterday, the chosen Indian babies were born at the government-run Community Health Center in the town of Lall, on the outskirts of the Uttar Pradesh capital of Lucknow. Six babies were born between midnight and 8am yesterday at the center. Four were boys.
India, with 1.2 billion people, is expected to overtake China around 2030 when the Indian population reaches an estimated 1.6 billion.
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