The European population crisis also affects Slovakia

Europe is dying out. According to statistical forecasts, there will be 27.3 million fewer European Union citizens by 2100. This shocking figure includes not only birth and death rates, but also migration and the high number of refugees from Ukraine. The fact that, for the first time, the population has risen after the Covid pandemic does not make any difference.

If we look only at the Slovak Republic, for the third year in a row, the number of births has been lower than the number of deaths. Unless this trend is reversed, Slovakia will have only 3 million inhabitants in 2100.

The ageing population and the lack of a productive population are increasingly pressing issues. In practice, they will translate into a shortage of doctors, nurses, teachers, workers, service workers, administrative workers, technology workers, and so on. But given the difficulty of the solutions, which require legislative, social and political action, no political party has unpacked these issues.

Now, on the occasion of the International Day of Action for Women's Health on May 28, we are sounding the alarm with serious facts, findings and, above all, solutions.

Analysis of the problem

The problem has many causes, and one of them is education. For decades, Europe has been educating young people on the basis of information regarding venereal diseases and the population explosion in Africa. And so it teaches each successive generation how not to get pregnant. In contrast, it offers only the minimal support to enable women of reproductive age to plan and have the children that, according to surveys, they themselves want to have.

Yet problems with conception are only one part of a steadily declining birth rate. The biggest problem at the moment is the age of new mothers. Increasingly, couples are trying for their first child at an age when biologically it is hardly possible anymore. This is largely a consequence of the need for emancipation. In Europe, this problem is greatest among women in countries where the influence of religion has perpetuated inequality – that proverbial place of the woman 'with the pot by the stove'. This is why the problem is most acute in strongly Catholic countries such as Italy, Spain, Portugal, but also Slovakia. Women nowadays are simply more confident in making decisions about their lives, their careers, whether and when to become mothers.

Interestingly, postponing conception of a first child is not related to parents' lack of income, as populists claim, and the media often repeat. On the contrary, precisely where poverty is greatest, for example in the poorest countries in Africa, the average number of children per woman is over seven. The same applies to Slovakia and its poorest areas.

Education

This topic is also closely related to educational attainment – the higher a woman's level of education, the more she postpones the decision to become a mother, or whether to become a mother at all. Parents also find it difficult to combine child-rearing and a career. Possible solutions include more part-time work opportunities or sufficient pre-school facilities.

A keys to solutions is the education of young people. Without information, it is impossible to make informed decisions. But young people make them anyway. Politicians are not always aware of this or do not attach importance to it. This is not right, and population trends in Europe are proof of this. However, examples of good practice already exist in this area. For example, a unique project for teaching in secondary schools – the FerTeen project, called Medzi nami (Between Us) in Slovakia, which is currently being translated into ten other languages – comes from this country. It provides young people with information on when a woman can become pregnant naturally, how to identify ovulation, and that family planning must take into account other factors besides the age of the parents, such as the environment, the quality of male sperm and the risk of endometriosis (a gynaecological inflammatory disease), which often takes up to ten years to diagnose.

Environmental quality

Although it may not seem like it at first, environmental factors also have a huge impact on reproductive health. Today, microplastics, one of the so-called gender benders, are widely found practically everywhere. Virtually anything we drink or consume is full of microplastics and contaminated with substances that threaten fertility, pregnancy and the hormonal balance of women and men. The number of impacts grows every day. Heavy metals are also found in groundwater. Hormones from contraceptives and other sources, pollutants, phthalates, bisphenols, disinfectants and synthetic steroids are flowing out of the tap, impacting the endocrine system. But they are also in cosmetics, cleaning products, and food packaging.

Again, solutions exist.This problem needs to be highlighted with a strong, united European voice, as it is virtually the same across Europe, negatively affecting the chances of getting pregnant and ultimately draining resources from the public health budget. An example is the initiative to bring the Nature Restoration Law (NRL) into line with environmental science, taking into account the World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines on air pollution, green zones in residential areas, chemicals and noise; and to set ambitious targets for all areas of nature in need of restoration. For example, to convert at least 10 percent of urban areas into green and blue spaces (open streams, rivers, ponds and lakes) by 2030 and protect them by law, and to re-water at least 30 percent of peatlands in the EU.

Last but not least, it will be necessary to focus on health care, specifically on the competences of the general practitioner. They see their patient, their age and their general health and can start to discuss the issue with the patient proactively and address potential problems in a preventive way.

The population crisis, as well as massive environmental pollution, the necessary changes in education and healthcare, are all areas in which cooperation between European countries has a major impact. We should stop looking for solutions to common problems only 'at home'. Rather, thanks to lively contacts and cooperation, if we tackle these factors together across national borders, positive change will be much more effective, cheaper, quicker and will benefit everyone in Europe.

Denisa Priadková is a reproductive health expert and founder of the international non-profit organisation in-fertility and the FerTeen project.

Lucia Kleštincová is an expert on European policies.

Both are running for the European Parliament on behalf of Volt Slovakia.