The report believes rapid population growth in Africa will trigger social problems such as poverty, crime, unemployment and political unrest, plus it will make resources scarce and elevate pollution.
Asia, with its present population of 4.4 billion, is expected to climb by 2010 to 5.3 billion, and then decline to around 4.9 billion.
Will Africa, the world’s poorest continent, be devastated by runaway population? What is causing this acceleration in numbers? Can this trend be stopped? Are Africans themselves concerned, or not?
To determine answers to these questions, I interviewed, via email, a Ugandan associate - Bwambale Robert Musubaho - the director of Kasese Humanist Primary School and co-founder of the recently-established BiZoHa orphanage.