She has three daughters and would like them to have a brother. President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi says the two biggest threats to Egypt are terrorism and population growth. Decades ago, Egypt had a family-planning program, supported by the United States. The fertility rate fell from 5.
Large amounts of contraceptives were made available and advertisements increased demand for birth control.
But Egypt was relying on donor support and when that assistance went away, family planning was neglected. By the fertility rate had gone up to 3.
The two-year campaign targets more than 1. The Social Solidarity Ministry, with local NGOs, has trained volunteers to make home visits and encourage people to have fewer children. Mothers are invited to seminars with preachers who say that Islam allows family planning, and doctors who answer questions. Billboards and TV ads promote smaller families. The government aims to reduce the current fertility rate of 3.
At a session teaching volunteers how to speak to mothers and fathers about family planning in a village in Giza, Asmaa Mohammad, a year-old volunteer, told Reuters she would rather have three children than two. Deeply rooted traditions and lack of education explain why many Egyptians have big families. Some view children as a future source of support. Others who only have girls keep having more until they get a boy who can carry on the family name. She stopped using an IUD after suffering from bleeding.
