New Egypt Family Planning Program Launches
May 15th, 2018 |
On Thursday, May 10, 2018, the Egyptian government and USAID launched a new initiative to strengthen the Egyptian family planning program. The initiative, Strengthening Egypt’s Family Planning Program (SEFPP), is a five-year, USAID-funded activity that works with the government of Egypt to address the country’s rapid population growth by reducing the unmet need of women and men for family planning counseling services and methods through evidence-based planning, decision making, and policy formulation.
The Minister of Health and Population, Dr. Ahmed Emad El Din Radi, attended the launch and commented that the project was crucial because studies by the Ministry show that the population of Egypt will reach 118 million by 2032 if Egypt does not take steps to address the dramatic population expansion. According to the last census, Egypt’s population has risen from 72 million in 2006 to 84 million in 2013, and the World Bank estimated it at 95.69 in 2016. This growth is primarily influenced by changes in birth rate, from an average of 3.0 births per woman in 2008 to 3.5 in 2013.
Kumkum Amin, JSI Associate Director, and Dr. Ali Abdel Megid, SEFPP’s Chief of Party, both spoke of JSI’s long history of working in Egypt on projects that improve health outcomes for women and children. SEFPP will continue in this tradition as the program works to improve family planning service provision, knowledge, and access so Egyptian women and men can make informed decisions about their families.
