I FOUND letters from B Walker and T Cooper (HAS, June 23) concerning Peter Mullen very interesting but, as with foreign aid, is there not a point which is being overlooked?

Such is the outdated attitude of certain religions and cultures towards life that they not only forbid the use of contraception, but encourage large families.

This traps people into a cycle of poverty out of which they can’t escape, while leading to a population explosion which the local environment cannot sustain.

In turn, this leads to overexploitation of the land, water and natural resources causing droughts, crop failures, starvation, diseases, extinction of other species and the expansion of deserts.

I have no problem with providing foreign aid to help those suffering from starvation or drought, but all foreign aid must form part of a program to promote the use of contraception.

A program, backed by religious bodies, to encourage the idea of smaller families and the use of contraception would achieve this.

To do otherwise will cause more suffering and could, ultimately, lead to the demise of us all.

CT Riley, Spennymoor.