Dr. Eliya Zulu,director of the African Institute for Development Policy in Nairobi:

The most effective ways to address Africa's population issues are:• to end child marriage & keep girls in school,• meet the high level of unmet need for family planning & make contraceptives universally accessible• increase funding in family planning,• strengthen healthcare systems & bring services to communities,• shift to universal secondary education, and lastly,• build political will.

Speech, Berkeley, USA, February, 2012

Mao: “Every mouth has two hands”

Less than 20 years ago, contraceptive use in Ethiopia (the second-most populous country in Africa) among married women of reproductive age was 3%

Maternal mortality rates were among the highest in the world.

Today, contraceptive use now 29%.

Maternal deaths dropped by 50%.

Long-acting contraceptive methods made more available.

The 2007 import tax on contraceptives waived.

Health Extension Programme with more than 30,000 workers trained – drawn exclusively from women who come from the communities they serve (except for pastoralist areas, where men may be selected).

Media debate usually superficial

Still a largely pro-natalist culture

Several governments offer ‘baby bonuses’ and/or promote immigration and/or restrict family planning

Overpopulation is still the ‘elephant in the room’

Overpopulation:‘tyranny of micro-decisions’

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Final thoughts

•Overpopulation has many ‘parents’

•Overpopulation is ‘everybody’s baby’but costs & benefits are often separated,

encouraging irresponsibility

•‘International development’without the goal of sustainable populations

is a recipe for international ruination

Overpopulation has become the “elephant in the room”.But we deny its existence or divert attention from it at our peril.

“I have not seen a major problem facing our planet that

would not be easier to solveif there were fewer people

or harder, & ultimately impossible, with ever more”

(Sir David Attenborough)