January 2024 Update
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JANUARY 2024
Dear John,
January can be incredibly cold and gloomy here in the UK, and as such it's
notoriously the slowest time of the year. Not so at Population Matters this
year, where it's been all go and the month has honestly flown by. Here's a
taste of what we've been up to.
Our Media and Campaigns Officer, Madeleine, provides an update on progress
since our Vanishing Icons report last year. There is also an opportunity to
attend an event where Madeleine will discuss the report and how our human
numbers are impacting the world's wildlife.
We have been organising another Population Conversation event, this time in
Abuja, Nigeria. Our Partnerships, Advocacy and Voice Manager, Abimbola,
gives some local context below and we will be reporting back from the event
on our socials and website during February.
The Office for National Statistics has released its new UK population
projections and they have increased significantly since the previous
release two years ago. Find out more and read our response below.
Finally, we hope that you might be able to make a donation towards our
brand-new partner, Agape Woman and Child Empowerment Foundation (AWOCHE),
and its vital community work in Nairobi, Kenya. Shweta, our Empower to Plan
co-ordinator, also provides more local context on the situation in the two
areas of Nairobi where AWOCHE works.
- The PM team
POPULATION MATTERS
Come and learn more about our Vanishing Icons report
On Thursday, 29 February, Population Matters London will be hosting an
online event looking at our Vanishing Icons report and how human population
growth is driving some of our most beloved animals to extinction. If you
would like to join the discussion, register for free below.
Read more [3]
1.5C global heating and a view from Kenya
With news that global heating may pass the 1.5C threshold this year, last
November’s COP28 takes on a new level of significance. We look at recent
reporting and hear from one of our Choice Ambassadors, Dorcas Wakio, who
attended December’s conference in Dubai.
Read more [4]
The Nigeria Population Conversation
Nigeria is the sixth most populous country in the world, with a population
of over 226 million, half of whom are young people. On the 13th of
February, Population Matters will be hosting a Population Conversation
event in the federal capital, Abuja. Partnerships, Advocacy and Voice
Manager, Abimbola Junaid, tells us more about what’s in store.
Read more [5]
POPULATION & ENVIRONMENT
Iconic animal species are still on the brink
Last year, Population Matters released the _Vanishing Icons: How
population growth is driving our most loved animals to extinction_ report,
examining the plight of six species. Campaigns and Media Officer, Madeleine
Hewitt, returns to provide an update on how these species are faring in the
new year.
Read more [6]
Artificial Intelligence and "population collapse"
The rise of Artificial Intelligence is currently high on the political
agenda, and will shape the way we work and interact with one another in the
coming years and decades. But just how reliable is it in early 2024? To put
it to the test, we decided to ask ChatGPT about “population collapse”
and break down its response.
Read more [7]
The ONS has released the latest UK population projections - here's our
response
Yesterday (30 January 2024), the Office for National Statistics released
the latest UK population projections. The headline is that we will hit 73
million by 2036, three million more people than they projected two years
ago. Click below to read our response in full.
_“The UK needs an informed, cohesive, evidence-based population policy
– not passivity, not the outcome of a squabble between the Home Office
and the Treasury, and not, even worse, a cocktail of ill-informed panic
over ageing and an increasingly creepy pro-natal agenda.”_
Read more [8]
WOMEN'S RIGHTS & SEXUAL HEALTH
The issues of urbanisation in Nairobi, Kenya
In Nairobi’s Kibera and Korogocho districts, high population density
brings intricate challenges, compromising access to services and
heightening insecurity. Here we delve deeper into the local contexts, where
population density is one of many issues faced by those that live there.
Read more [9]
Macron is playing a dangerous game with abortion rights
President Macron has announced a "demographic rearmament" in France to
counter the country's declining birthrate. Some of his language echoes that
of the far-right, both in France and further afield, which is deeply
concerning for those seeking to protect reproductive rights.
Read more [10]
TAKE ACTION
Support AWOCHE, our new Empower to Plan partner in Kenya
We have teamed up with AWOCHE Foundation in Kenya to implement community
development initiatives in Nairobi, with a special focus on adolescent
sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) and environmental
sustainability. Your support will help fund:
👉 Mentorship sessions
👉 SRHR and environmental ambassadors
👉 Community clean-up and tree plantation drives
👉 Monthly community radio talk shows
Donate Now [11]
Quote of the month
_“We need the technology. We need transfer to renewable energy. We need
to stop subsidizing fossil fuel companies. We must think about human
population with its cattle. It’s an all-of-the-above moment.”_
- Jane Goodall, environmentalist and PM Patron in The New York Times [12],
23 January 2024
Photo © Stuart Clarke
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© 2024 Population Matters
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