World’s Population Hits Estimated 8 Billion

News Desk

Philippines: A baby girl born in Manila’s Tondo district is being hailed by the Philippine mediaas the symbolic eighth billion person in the world. Vinice Mabansag was born at Dr Jose Fabella Memorial Hospital at 1:29 am (local time).

The United Nations has said that the world’s population has reached 8 billion, which was 7 billion 11 years ago. The world population has grown by one billion people in the past 12 years, and India will likely surpass China as the most populous country in the coming year.

According to the United Nations, the world has reached a major milestone in public health which has increased life expectancy and lowered mortality rates. However, the moment also serves as a wake-up call for humanity to look beyond the statistics and fulfil its shared responsibility to protect people and the environment, beginning with the most vulnerable.

In contrast, the global population has grown very rapidly over the past century, and despite a significant slowdown in the pace of growth, the UN projects that the world’s population will surpass 9 billion around 2037 and 10 billion around 2058.

In densely populated districts such as Swabi, Mardan, Nowshera, Peshawar, and Charsadda, the human cost of this crisis is evident.

In Nowshera’s Pabbi tehsil, residents must fetch clean water from filtration plants after underground wells became contaminated following the 2010 and 2022 floods.

“There is no letup in our miseries. The water table in our village became unsafe after the 2022 floods,” said Riazul Haq, a Nowshera resident. Despite raising the issue with lawmakers, he said no significant action has been taken.

Husain Khan, a farmer from Mohib Banda village, wakes before sunrise to walk nearly eight kilometers each day just to fetch drinking water. “The water in our village wells is no longer safe. We have no other option,” he said.