Demography & GOARN

Definition:

The scientific study of human population is called demography.

Demography is concerned with the following human phenomenon:

ü  Changes in population (growth or decline)

ü  Composition of the population

ü  Distribution of the population

It deals with the five demographic processes namely:

Ø  Fertility

Ø  Mortality

Ø  Marriage

Ø  Migration

Ø  Social Mobility

These above five processes are continuously are at work with in a population determining population size, composition of the population and distribution of population.

Demographic cycle:

We have the following five demographic stages or cycles.

a)    1^st stage (high stationary):

This stage is characterized by high birth rate and high death rate which cancels each other and the population remains stationary.

b)    2^nd stage (early expanding):

The death rate begins to decline while birth rate remains unchanged. It is due to health promotion. Many countries in South Asia and Africa are in this stage. Birth rate increased due to improve conditions.

c)     3^rd stage (late expanding):

The death rate declines still further and the birth rate tends to fall. The population continues to grow because birth exceeds death. China and Singapore are experiences this stage.

d)    4^th stage (low stationary):

The stage is characterized by a low birth rate and low death rate with the result that the population becomes low stationary.

e)    5^th stage (decline):

The stage is characterized by a low birth rate and high death rate with result of decrease or decline in population. This stage is found in Germany and Hungry.

Objectives of demography:

Some of the important objectives of demography are as follows.

         i.            The average size of the family would be reduced from 4-2 up to 3-2 children.

       ii.            The birth rate per thousand populations should be reduced to 21-50.

      iii.            The death rate per thousand populations would be reduced to 20-10.

     iv.            The infant mortality rate would be reduced to 60 or less.

       v.            The effective couple protection rate would be raised to at least 60%.

GOARN:

It stands for Global Outbreak Alert & Response Network. This network constantly alerts the community to the threat of outbreaks and ready to respond.

Objectives:

         i.            Combating the international spread of outbreaks

       ii.            Ensuring the appropriate technical assistance reaches affected states rapidly

      iii.            Contributing to long term epidemic preparedness and capacity building

The initial meeting of GOARN was held in Geneva in April 2000.