The Definitive Guide to Living in the Capital , Cairo , Egypt

(Image credit: Egyptian Streets)

Throughout December, the Ministry of Health is aiming to combat overpopulation with free family planning services in remote villages around Port Said, Damietta, Fayoum and Sohag, among others. This initiative will be raising awareness about family planning methods through medical examinations and medication.

The Our Days Are Better (Ayamna Ahla) campaign will be highlighting the significant impact family planning has on maternal health as well as children, in two stages. The first one is set to run from the 1^st to the 5^th of December, while the second stage will be from the 8^th to the 12^th, according to Egyptian Streets and Egypt Independent.

By the end of 2020, Egypt’s birth rate is expected to decrease to 3 children per woman, and then to 2 per woman by 2030. The only way to do so is to eliminate the stigma surrounding controlled and safe reproduction, so that family planning can become the norm and overpopulation can be resolved.

Published by the UNFPA, The Egypt Demographic and Health Survey (EDHS) reported 14% of pregnancies in Egypt as unwanted in 2008. If such unwanted births were eradicated, the fertility rate in Egypt would decline tremendously, which can only happen through similar family planning efforts by the Egyptian Government.