Population, Fertility and Family Planning

• End child marriage & keep girls in school,• Meet the high level of unmet need for family

planning & make contraceptives universally accessible

• Increase funding in family planning,• Strengthen healthcare systems & bring services to

communities,• Shift to universal secondary education• Build political will Dr Eliya Zulu

Solutions to address the population problem in Africa

• Less than 20 years ago, contraceptive use in Ethiopia (the second-most populous country in Africa) among married women of reproductive age was 3%

• Maternal mortality rates were among the highest in the world.

• Today, contraceptive use now 29%.

• Maternal deaths dropped by 50%.

• Long-acting contraceptive methods made more available.

• The 2007 import tax on contraceptives waived.

• Health Extension Programme with more than 30,000 workers trained – drawn exclusively from women who come from the communities they serve (except for pastoralist areas, where men may be selected).

Contraceptive use

Barriers to contraceptive use include:• Non-availability of methods. • Misinformation and myths• Influence of patriarchy, blocking female

empowerment and rights• Religious justificaions• Fatalism

Barriers to contraceptive use

• In countries with well organized Family Planning programs, the Total Fertility Rate (TFR) has declined. This is due to availability and accessibility of contraceptives, alongside the removal of barriers to contraceptive use.

Decline in Total Fertility Rate (TFR)

5.6

1.1

6.4

1.7

5.5

2

6.76

2.4

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

TFR

S.Korea Thailand Sri Lanka Colombia

1960 2007

Overpopulation – the elephant in the room

Overpopulation:‘tyranny of micro-decisions’

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•Overpopulation has many ‘parents’

•Overpopulation is ‘everybody’s baby’but costs & benefits are often separated,

encouraging irresponsibility

• ‘International development’without the goal of sustainable populations

is a recipe for international ruination

“I have not seen a major problem facing our planet thatwould not be easier to solveif there were fewer people

or harder, & ultimately impossible, with ever more” (Sir David Attenborough)