Understanding the size and structure of populations and the way they are changing is essential for development planning.

Prof Martin Enock Palamuleni from the North-West University’s (NWU’s) Faculty of Humanities stressed this during his inaugural lecture on 13 September at the campus in Mahikeng.

During his lecture titled “Repositioning demography and population studies in Sub-Saharan Africa”, he argued that in order to successfully integrate population variables into development planning, demographic data of acceptable quality is needed.

“Demographers play a critical role in collecting, analysing, interpreting and disseminating demographic data obtained from population censuses, surveys and other sources,” said Prof Palamuleni. 

He warned that global and national goals and targets such as the Sustainable Development Goals will not be realised if population and demographic parameters are marginalised.

“Planners and policy makers should understand not only the levels, trends and differentials in demographic parameters (fertility, mortality and migration), but also their determinants and consequences. This can only be achieved if there are enough people trained in statistics and demographic analyses.”

According to Prof Palamuleni, there has recently been a growing focus on population studies at the expense of demography, which has raised concerns among demographers.

“There is thus a need to reposition demography and population studies. Demographers should not shy away from engaging on topical issues such as gender-based violence, climatic change, migration, the demographic dividend, unemployment, poverty reduction, fees must fall, decolonisation and corruption.”

More about the researcher

Prof Palamuleni is a C3-rated researcher who holds a BSc (cum laude) from the University of Malawi, and an MSc and a PhD in demography from the London School of Economics and Political Sciences at the University of London.

He has served as an external examiner for various local and international universities in Africa, including the universities of the Witwatersrand, KwaZulu-Natal, Venda, Free State, Cape Town, Western Cape, Makerere, Botswana, Namibia and his alma mater, the University of Malawi’s College of Medicine.

To date, he has examined 44 master’s dissertations and 12 PhD theses.

Prof Pamela Maseko, executive dean of the Faculty of Humanities congratulates Prof Martin Palamuleni after his inaugural address.