Dear Editor,

Health Minister Dr Christopher Tufton announced strategies to combat the country’s declining birth rate, which fell from between 60,000 and 70,000 per annum in the 1970s to 30,000 currently, a decline of more than 50 per cent.

Strategies include public relations, support to families, and improved neonatal care. It should be made clear that this decline is not unique to Jamaica alone. In the USA and elsewhere, the trend in birth rate is also in decline, this is due to a shift in priorities, economics (people cannot afford to raise children and start families), social media, digital distraction, and antisocial trends which lead to less intimacy, perpetuated even more by the 2020 pandemic.

There is also a slower life strategy, whereby young people are delaying traditional milestones — moving out later and marrying later — and prioritising finishing school before giving any consideration to starting a family. There is also mental stress and less teenage pregnancies for many of the same reasons mentioned, with increased awareness and education about consequences, birth control, diseases, and health risks.

In the USA, the decline is 24 per cent compared to the rate in 1970. People aged 19-29 are reportedly having less sexual interaction (12 per cent inactivity in 2010, which increased to 24 per cent in 2024) for the same above-mentioned reasons.

The US national birth rate has declined by 23 per cent since 2007, and the teen birth rate declined by 81 per cent due to better access to health care, education, etc. In Jamaica, Minister Tufton should capitalise on the decline; that is, less stress on health care in the next several years and less maternity mortality.

We must use this period of decline to help correct the many flaws in the health system and overhaul it to meet the needs of the population. Elsewhere, there should be other benefits, such as less cars on roads, resulting in less traffic, thereby allowing authorities time to revamp the transportation sector and better control and manage road traffic laws. Government should be able to breathe, plan, and strategise to prepare for the time when birth rates start to rise again.

The impact is not only negative. For sure, with artificial intelligence (AI) and other technological developments which will impact Jamaica, there will be less need for human labour in the next decade. We also expect the public service to shrink as efficiencies are implemented. I suspect with the rise of social influencers and creatives, there will be more self-employed.

In major cities in US and Canada, self-serve kiosks are now very popular in pharmacies and supermarkets. Banking is also reliant on machines that work and are widely accessible. The digital space and online services have improved how we shop, live, and do business, with less reliance on brick and mortar stores, malls, service centres, and government offices.

The travel industry and traditional media are also impacted with the growth in digital services and less reliance on traditional media, such as TV and newspapers. Many of my peers in the US and Canada no longer buy or watch TV, but use streaming services on mobile devices for instant connection and updates while on the move.

We can’t be boxed into old ways of thinking when life around us is rapidly changing. Every decline creates new opportunities, every break creates a blessing.

P Chin

chin_p@yahoo.com