Overpopulation hinders government efforts for comprehensive development.
This statement by Minister of Health and Population Khaled Abdel Ghaffar came during a meeting of the National Population Council (NPC) on Monday.
Deputy Minister for Population Affairs Tarek Tawfiq attended the meeting, which was held under the chairmanship of the minister.
It is the chief role of the NPC to take serious and collective action to tackle overpopulation, the minister said.
Ministry of Health spokesman Hossam Abdel Ghaffar said the minister called on the authorities concerned to add content to school curricula at each stage of education about population and reproductive health.
The minister also called the enforcement of laws criminalising under-age marriage, non-registration of births and child labour, the spokesman added.
Egypt’s population currently stands at more than 102 million and is growing at 1.94 per cent, which means 2 million births every year.
More than 5,000 medical units nationwide offer family planning services, the minister said, adding that population growth is one of the greatest challenges to development, resulting in economic and social pressures due to the disparity between resources and population.
“This is a factor in the decline of per capita returns from economic growth that the government has achieved in recent years.
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