Birth control campaign kicks off in 11 Egyptian governorates as 1st phase

CAIRO – 13 February 2022: The Ministry of Health and Population launched Sunday the first phase of a birth control campaign in 11 governorates. The campaign is carried out by mobile clinics, which examine beneficiaries to determine the most suitable means of birth control for each case, and provide them free of charge.

The first phase is taking place on February 13-24 in Giza, Fayoum, Alexandria, Beni Suef, Daqahliyah, Kafr El Sheikh, Asyut, Qena, Aswan, New Valley, and South Sinai.

Free means of birth control are already available at healthcare units nationwide. But, this campaign is considered a boost to the efforts deployed to curb population growth.

The Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) announced early in December that the Egyptian population had hit 102,746,000 growing by 250,000 in just 60 days.

That means a slowdown has occurred as the last quarter a million was recorded over 50 days until October 13. It is noted that the Egyptian population became 102 million on June 5.

In several events, President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi warned of the repercussions of overpopulation noting that people may not feel the impact of economic growth, if the pace of population growth continues like that.

Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouli presented in October the challenges facing the Egyptian state and the key projects undertaken to mitigate their impact.

The prime minister underlined overpopulation as the major crisis crippling the growth and development of Egypt.

"Since 2014, the Egyptian population has been increasing by 2.4 million per annum. As such, the population may double to become 200 million by 2050…The largest age bracket is 0 to 10. Hence, in just one decade those who can form families will multiply," the prime minister stated.

"The accrual budget deficit until 2030 - where the population is estimated to be 125 million - will be over LE600 billion in order to offer services," the prime minister showcases.

Additional reporting by Noha El Tawil