Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi directed to organise the Global Congress on Population, Health and Development (PHDC) on an annual basis as it represents a great opportunity and an important platform to address the population dilemma.
Speaking at the opening session of the four-day PHDC’23, President Sisi said “The population growth is one of the most serious issues facing Egypt.” He noted that despite being a natural resources-rich continent, Africa’s natural wealth will not be enough to meet all the needs of its rapidly growing population that is expected to surge to 1.6 billion people in the coming few years.
President Sisi welcomed participants in the conference, which is held under the theme: “Healthy Population for Sustainable Development”.
Sisi also referred to the health minister’s speech, in which he spoke about the relationship between the world’s population size and the resources’ use, and whether they will be sufficient to meet the needs of the growing numbers of people not only in Egypt, and that what is happening in Egypt is another form of what is happening in the world.
Speaking at the conference, President Sisi said that several countries managed to control population and many other countries failed to stop population surge.
In the coming few years, the African population is expected to exceed 1.6 billion people, Sisi said, adding however, Africa’s natural wealth will not be enough to meet all the needs of its rapidly growing population.
Organising this conference on an annual basis is of great importance, the president said, adding “Egypt, which has a population of 105 million people, in addition to 9 million people, who are guests of the Egyptian State, is capable with its resources to bear the burden.”
Sisi referred to what came in the words of a woman who appeared in a documentary film on population that was displayed at the opening of the conference, in which she said that the most difficult thing is that she could not meet her family’s demands.
Commenting on the woman’s words, President Sisi said “The most difficult thing I go through is knowing that the resources available are far less than what is actually needed, and that this will be reflected badly on the quality of everything.”
