Population, Family Planning and International Development

To address Africa’s population issues:• 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, and lastly,• build political will.

Dr Eliya Zulu

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).

Contraception Usage

Superficial Media Debate

Overpopulation – the elephant in the room

Overpopulation:‘tyranny of micro-decisions’

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Final thoughts

•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)