By the Gazette Editorial Board THE Health Committee of the House of Deputies has drawn up a draft law to help combat overpopulation as part of the new family planning project the government has adopted, to convince citizens to be satisfied with two children. The bill, which was prepared by 60 parliamentarians, suggests offering some incentives to families to encourage them to be satisfied with two children. The House of Deputies will thoroughly discuss the bill at its next session in October and it will also undergo public debate, according to a recent statement made by the committee chairman, Mohamed el-Ammari. The aim is to ensure that the new bill does not contain any articles that violate the constitution or impose punitive measures against families with more than two children. Egypt is one of the countries that has a high population growth rate of 2.56 per cent and according to the 2017 census, the population within the country is 94,798,827. To overcome this problem the government has decided to launch a new family planning project to help contain this phenomenon that threatens to render the country's development drive ineffective. The "Two is Enough" project, which is to be implemented by the Ministry of Social Solidarity in 10 governorates, is based on increasing the awareness of the public of the importance of being satisfied with two children, so as to have a better future and to overcome poverty. Most poor people in Egypt are convinced that having a big family is the right way to overcome poverty and increase their income. "The aim of the new project is to change this conviction, without imposing punitive measures," Minister of Social Solidarity Ghada Wali confirmed, when she launched the project at the start of this year. This makes us wonder about the recent decision taken by the Ministry of Supply with regard to limiting the number of newborn children to be added to the ration cards to no more than three children per family. The ministry has started applying this rule to children born between 2006 and 2015. This means that families with more than three children will not be able to add a fourth, fifth or sixth child born during this period, to the ration card. Ration cards are used by the government to offer economic aid in the form of monthly subsidised food commodities to the neediest families, so they are better able to cope with the economic hardship resulting from the implementation of economic reforms. Depriving some children from enjoying this privilege can only be seen as a punitive measure against families who do not comply with the family planning system. The government has every right to take whatever measures it deems necessary to help curb population growth without violating the constitutional rights of all citizens. So, the proposed bill is significant in that it suggests offering incentives to families that commit to the "Two is Enough" project, which might well increase the number of families deciding to be satisfied with two children.
