1. Question of: Measures to increase the standard of living of nations with high birth rates
FORUM: ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE (ECOSOC)
MAIN SUBMITTER: United States of America
CO-SUBMITTERS: Hungary, Islamic Republic of Pakistan, Germany, Luxembourg, Republic of India, Republic of
Korea, Panama, Thailand United Kingdom
Realizing that​ inhabitants of countries with high birth rates do not see the need and importance of reducing their
birth rates,
Noting that​ countries with the world’s highest birth rates are mainly those in the African continent, such as Niger
and Mali, and hence it would be prudent to tailor solutions to these African countries,
Expresses disappointment​ that MEDCs do not act in accordance to Article 1, Section 3 of the Charter of the
United Nations,
Further expresses disappointment​ that according to the current trajectory of development, countries do not seem
on track to fulfilling the Millennium Development Goals for reducing birth rates and death rates, therefore
recognizing the need to accelerate this process.
Defines​ improving the standard of living as “a process of enlarging people’s choices”, the most critical of these
wide ranging choices are to live a long and healthy life, to be educated and to have access to resources needed for
a decent standard of living.
1. Cognizant that ​high birth rates arise from compensatory birth or insurance birth due to high infant
mortality rates and hence directs the WHO and UNICEF in accordance with the 4​th​
and 5​th​
Millennium
Development goals to:
a. increase access to vaccination and immunization for the purpose of reducing common causes of
death which can be easily prevented such as tuberculosis, polio, diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis
and measles,
b. increases access to sanitation to eliminate environmental conditions favourable to spread of
diseases through water such as cholera and typhoid through the purification of water supplies
and installation of efficient sewage disposal,
c. reduce the incidence of AIDs, which is the single largest cause of child mortality, through
methods such as but not limited to HAART (Highly Action Antiretroviral Therapy) for
pregnant women;
2. Emphasizing​ the importance of establishing anti-natal policies under the jurisdiction of the United
Nations Population Fund such as, but not limited to:
a. introducing a policy directed at couples of majority group of the growing population to limit the
number of children they can have which does not include imposition of sanctions,
b. encouraging member states to adopt policies suggested by the Commission on Population and
Development as well as the sharing of best practices.

2. c. deploying the implementation of voluntary family planning programming to educate women,
d. provision of cash incentives among rural communities for voluntary contraception such as male
or female sterilization;
3. Recognizing that higher education among girls lead to lower fertility rates the higher the literacy level,
the more capable the women are in taking their own decisions regarding the fertility and family planning
processes, hence directing the World Bank to:
a. close the education gender gap and promote inclusive education between the two genders in
collaboration with the UNESCO
b. promote education regarding family planning and the creation of sustainable families,
c. endorse the spread of education on population growth in rural areas by ways such as but not
limited to, performing directed plays or skits in the area’s common language;
4. Seeks to reduce the reliance on child labour for the purpose of ensuring that children are allowed access
to education, and also for the purpose of transitioning to manufacturing or tertiary sectors which are less
labour intensive than the agricultural sector through:
a. the understanding that this reliance on children is for lowly skilled and repetitive jobs which can
be automated, therefore alternatives such as mechanized labour or better farming methods can
be utilized and introduced by the UNDP;
5. Emphasizes that the transition to more developed sectors of the economy will rely on economic
development and hence recommends for states to adopt the following macro-economic policies:
a. attracting FDI by improving protection for intellectual property rights, achieving great
transparency in laws and regulations, strengthening competition law, and reforming the judicial
system to ensure better enforcement of laws and contracts,
b. collaboration with the IMF to expand the private sector through legal and institutional reforms
in the form of reducing restrictions on foreign investment, ensuring that investors are treated
commonly,
c. the implementation of Mise à Niveau programmes as done in Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria and
Egypt which provide financial and other assistance to qualifying businesses for the promotion of
SMEs,
6. Realizing the effective economic development and sustainable growth will require good governance
hence calling upon:
a. collaboration between NGOs such as Transparency International and the UNDP to monitor and
work with governments to ensure that developmental efforts are not squandered;
7. Finally calling upon member states to work towards the goals of increasing standard of living by
achieving higher measures on the HDI as well as lower measures on the GINI through enacting social
sustainable social policies.