Reem Leila reports on the challenges posed by Egypt's burgeoning population With some experts predicting Egypt's population could more than double by 2050, reaching 160 million, population control is once again high on the political agenda. President Hosni Mubarak told last year's National Conference on Population that population growth represented a major challenge and obstacle to development. Even if measures are taken to slow the rate of growth few doubt that Egypt's population will be much less than 100 million by 2025. Against such concerns the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Sheikh Mohamed Sayed Tantawi told newspapers that the number of children a couple decides to have remains a personal matter but stressed that Islam requires parents to take full responsibility for their offspring. "Parents should have only as many children as they can provide for," Tantawi said. In cases where the father was unable to provide adequately for more children it was permissible, Tantawi argued, to use birth control methods. He also said parents should reach an agreement over the number of children they want, while at the same time announcing that Islam forbids permanent methods of birth control such as sterilisation. Minister of State for Family and Population Mushira Khattab supports the argument that "giving birth to children should be in proportion to families' financial abilities". She also pointed out that "a proper understanding of religion is essential to implement birth control in Egypt". In the last 30 years Egypt's population has doubled. Even before the global financial crisis, with Egypt's economy growing at an annual rate of seven per cent, unemployment was rampant and 40 per cent of Egyptians were living on or below the poverty line. With random protests spurred by rising food prices and reductions in the subsidies paid on staples such as bread there is an urgent need, say commentators, to kick-start the debate on how best to minimise the stress population growth places on limited resources. Many people in rural areas refrain from registering newly born infants. "It is a big problem," says Khattab. "We must work on convincing people first to register their children in order to know the actual figures and rates of population growth." Khattab insists that there is no possibility of her ministry participating in any legislation that seeks to place a limit on the number of children each family can have. But the challenge, she says, needs to be tackled "by this generation". "It's a difficult process and will take years to solve but population growth must not be allowed to obstruct our efforts for development and improving standards of living." Awareness campaigns addressing both men and women, showing the social and economic repercussions of large families, and the impact on health, are essential. As, says Khattab, is improving the status of women and reducing illiteracy. While in the past officials have stopped short of calling for birth-control measures, something that might not play well with an increasingly conservative public, Khattab is currently asking religious leaders and NGOs, to "educate people about the problem". Population, sustainable development and the optimal reproduction level for Egyptian families are intimately linked. "We need to publicise the idea that two children for every family leads to a better life for everyone," argues Khattab. She also raises the usual spectre of funding, arguing that the resources to finance national campaigns aimed at persuading the public that two children represent the optimal family size are limited. She does, however, promise to tackle the problem. "I will do so by following the path I took while tackling the problem of female genital mutation." The National Population Council's Hussein Abdel-Aziz stresses that government commitment to reducing growth rates, arguing that raising consciousness of the benefits of smaller families, particularly among rural populations, is a key plank of government policy. Abdel-Aziz also revealed that the possibility of fining families that have more than three children had been raised but stressed that the issues "have not yet been discussed with the concerned authorities". Khattab argues that positive incentives would be far more efficacious than a series of penalties. "The forms of incentives need to be discussed though I have met with a wide spectrum of people to start working on the issue," she says.
