The Fund for the United Nations Population (UNFPA) has unveiled its flagship product Global population Report on Tuesday, warning that an increasing number of people are refused freedom to start families due to the rowing of life costs, the persistent inequality of the sexes and the deepening of uncertainty about the future.
Title The real fertility crisis: the pursuit of the reproductive agency in a changing worldThe report argues that what is really threatened is the ability of people to choose freely when – and if – having children.
The report is based on a recent UNFPA / Yougov survey covering 14 countries that represent 37% of the world’s population together.
Money Winries
Economic obstacles were the highest factor, with 39% of respondents citing financial limitations as the main reason for having fewer children than they would like.
Fear for the future – from climate change to war – and employment insecurity followed, cited by 19% and 21% of respondents, respectively.
Thirteen percent of women and eight percent of men highlighted the unequal division of domestic work as a factor to have fewer children than desired.
The investigation also revealed that an unintentional adult experienced unintentional pregnancy, one in four felt incapable of having a child in their favorite time and one in five said they had to have children they did not want.
Solutions to the fertility crisis
The report warns against simplistic and coercive responses to the decline in birth rates, such as baby bonuses or fertility targets, which are often ineffective and violating human rights.
Instead, the UNFPA urges governments to extend choices by removing the obstacles to parenting identified by their populations.
Recommended actions include strengthening more affordable parenting through housing investments, decent work, paid parental leave and access to complete reproductive health services.
Immigration factor
The agency also encourages governments to consider immigration as a key strategy to combat labor shortages and maintain economic productivity within the framework of the fall in fertility.
With regard to gender inequalities, the report calls for the fight against stigma against the involved fathers, the working standards that push mothers out of labor, restrictions on reproductive rights and the widening of gaps between the sexes in attitudes among the younger generations which contribute to the increase in single.
