afrol News, 11 July - A report published by the World Bank has noted a slow pace of birth rate in sub-Saharan Africa where the population is growing at a rate of 2.5% a year.
The report dubbed "Fertility Regulation Behaviours and Their Costs: Contraception and Unintended Pregnancies in Africa and Eastern Europe and Central Asia," noted that the number of people in Africa would double within 28 years.
Published ahead of the World Population Day on Friday, the report laid more emphasis on the women's access to contraceptives, as 51 million unplanned pregnancies are linked to lack of access to contraceptive methods.
In the developing countries, the report said another 25 million pregnancies occur mainly due to incorrect us of contraceptives or failure in birth control methods.
Each year, some 68,000 women die every year due to unsafe abortions while 5.3 million become victims of temporary or permanent disability caused by the practice.
Wealthier women are more likely to use contraceptives and acquire the help of a doctor or mid-wife at birth than poor women, the report noted.
The World Bank Vice President for Human Development said it is "tragic" that so many leaders in poor countries and their donors have allowed reproductive health programs to fall off the radar.
"It's simply tragic that so many leaders in poor countries and their aid donors have allowed reproductive health programs to falloff the radar, especially at a time when population issues are also front and center of climate change, and the food and fuel crises," said Joy Phumaphi, a former Health Minister of Botswana.
She warned that falling birth rates would not be achieved through better health programs alone, concurring that improved education for girls, equal economic opportunities for women in society, and fewer households living below the poverty line are also vital parts of a strategy to achieve sustainable reductions in birth rates.
She said by allowing women access to modern contraception and family planning undoubtedly helps to boost economic growth as well as reduce high birth rates and maternal and infant deaths.
The report ranks 35 countries in Africa, including Djibouti, among the world's countries with highest birth rates with more than five children per mother.
Birth rates have fallen fastest in Asia and Latin America where populations are growing by 1.2% a year, the report said.
afrol News - It is called "financial inclusion", and it is a key government policy in Rwanda. The goal is that, by 2020, 90 percent of the population is to have and actively use bank accounts. And in only four years, financial inclusion has doubled in Rwanda.
afrol News - The UN's humanitarian agencies now warn about a devastating famine in Sudan and especially in South Sudan, where the situation is said to be "imploding". Relief officials are appealing to donors to urgently fund life-saving activities in the two countries.
afrol News - Fear is spreading all over West Africa after the health ministry in Guinea confirmed the first Ebola outbreak in this part of Africa. According to official numbers, at least 86 are infected and 59 are dead as a result of this very contagious disease.
afrol News - It is already a crime being homosexual in Ethiopia, but parliament is now making sure the anti-gay laws will be applied in practical life. No pardoning of gays will be allowed in future, but activist fear this only is a signal of further repression being prepared.
afrol News / Africa Renewal - Ethiopia's ambitious plan to build a US$ 4.2 billion dam in the Benishangul-Gumuz region, 40 km from its border with Sudan, is expected to provide 6,000 megawatts of electricity, enough for its population plus some excess it can sell to neighbouring countries.
front page
| news
| countries
| archive
| currencies
| news alerts login
| about afrol News
| contact
| advertise
| español