scholarly journals Prospects for accelerated fertility decline in Africa

2017 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
John Cleland
Keyword(s):  
Family Planning ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
World Population ◽  
High Fertility ◽  
Rapid Population Growth ◽  
Political Leaders ◽  
Political Will ◽  
Slow Pace ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
The One

The future size of world population depends critically on what happens in sub-Saharan Africa, the one remaining region with high fertility and rapid population growth. The United Nations envisages a continuing slow pace of fertility change, from five births per woman today to three by mid-century, in which case the population of the region will increase by over one billion. However, an accelerated decline is feasible, particularly in east Africa. The main grounds for optimism include rising international concern and funding for family planning (after fifteen years of neglect), and favourable shifts in the attitudes of political leaders in Africa. The examples of Ethiopia and Rwanda show political will and efficient programmes can stimulate rapid reproductive change.

The changing value of children among the Kikuyu of Central Province, Kenya

Africa ◽  
1996 ◽  
Vol 66 (3) ◽  
pp. 411-436 ◽  
Author(s):  
Neil Price
Keyword(s):  
Family Planning ◽  
Social Institutions ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
High Fertility ◽  
Central Province ◽  
Economic Insecurity ◽  
Family Planning Services ◽  
Value Of Children ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Demand For Children

Within demography, high fertility in sub-Saharan Africa was considered until recently to reflect a demand for children firmly rooted in indigenous social institutions, which were resistant to external forces of change. On the basis of findings from recent Demographic and Health Surveys, Caldwell et al. (1992) suggest that many of the institutional supports for high fertility in sub-Saharan Africa—such as lineage-based descent systems, polygyny, bridewealth, extended kinship structures, child fostering, and communal land tenure—are being eroded. This article considers changes in the value of children among the Kikuyu of Central Province, Kenya, and the extent to which the social institutions which have traditionally supported high fertility have persisted. Fieldwork undertaken in two ethnically homogenous communities, one rural and one peri-urban, reveals significant variation in the fertility motives and value of children in the two communities. In the rural community many of the indigenous social supports for high fertility, although modified, cohere. In the context of economic insecurity and lack of access to land (especially for women without sons), manipulation of customary kinship and marriage practices (supported by the persistence of many indigenous religious beliefs and ideologies about fertility) has become strategically important for realising fertility desires. There is, however, unmet demand for modern contraception, due largely to lack of access to and the poor quality of family planning services. In contrast, in the peri-urban community, where access to family planning services is relatively good, there has been effective legitimation of fertility regulation and the use of modern contraception is widespread. There is markedly less economic insecurity: wage labour opportunities are available, and some women have successfully challenged male control over land. Consequently, there is reduced demand for children, although a number of the indigenous cultural supports for high : fertility retain residual importance.

scholarly journals Human fertility in relation to education, economy, religion, contraception, and family planning programs

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Frank Götmark ◽  
Malte Andersson
Keyword(s):  
Family Planning ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Gdp Per Capita ◽  
World Population ◽  
Relative Importance ◽  
Health Food ◽  
Family Planning Programs ◽  
Five Factors ◽  
Per Capita ◽  
Sub Saharan

Abstract Background The world population is expected to increase greatly this century, aggravating current problems related to climate, health, food security, biodiversity, energy and other vital resources. Population growth depends strongly on total fertility rate (TFR), but the relative importance of factors that influence fertility needs more study. Methods We analyze recent levels of fertility in relation to five factors: education (mean school years for females), economy (Gross Domestic Product, GDP, per capita), religiosity, contraceptive prevalence rate (CPR), and strength of family planning programs. We compare six global regions: E Europe, W Europe and related countries, Latin America and the Caribbean, the Arab States, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Asia. In total, 141 countries are included in the analysis. We estimate the strength of relationships between TFR and the five factors by correlation or regression and present the results graphically. Results In decreasing order of strength, fertility (TFR) correlates negatively with education, CPR, and GDP per capita, and positively with religiosity. Europe deviates from other regions in several ways, e.g. TFR increases with education and decreases with religiosity in W Europe. TFR decreases with increasing strength of family planning programs in three regions, but only weakly so in a fourth, Sub-Saharan Africa (the two European regions lacked such programs). Most factors correlated with TFR are also correlated with each other. In particular, education correlates positively with GDP per capita but negatively with religiosity, which is also negatively related to contraception and GDP per capita. Conclusions These results help identify factors of likely importance for TFR in global regions and countries. More work is needed to establish causality and relative importance of the factors. Our novel quantitative analysis of TFR suggests that religiosity may counteract the ongoing decline of fertility in some regions and countries.

scholarly journals Trends in fertility and fertility preferences in sub-Saharan Africa: the roles of education and family planning programs

Genus ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 76 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
John Bongaarts
Keyword(s):  
Family Planning ◽  
Family Size ◽  
Fixed Effects ◽  
Population Policy ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
High Fertility ◽  
Family Planning Programs ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Desired Family Size ◽  
Dhs Surveys

Abstract A common explanation for the high fertility prevailing in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is a widespread desire for large families. This situation poses a challenge to population policy-makers in the continent. If the desired family size is high, then presumably family planning programs can only have a limited effect on fertility because these programs aim to assist women in achieving their reproductive goals. But this conclusion is based on the assumption that family planning programs do not affect the desired family size, which is questionable and is investigated here. This study examines the determinants of trends wanted and unwanted fertility in SSA using fixed-effects regressions of country-level data. The dependent variables include the total fertility rate, and its wanted and unwanted components. Explanatory variables include a family planning program score and four socioeconomic variables (women’s educational attainment, child mortality, GNI per capita, and percent urban). Data come from 103 DHS surveys in 25 countries in SSA with at least two DHS surveys between 1989 and 2019. Women’s education and family planning programs are found to be the dominant determinants of fertility decline and their effects operate by reducing both wanted and unwanted fertility. The effects of education are not surprising but the finding that family planning programs can reduce wanted fertility implies that their impact can be larger than conventional wisdom suggests. Indeed, in a few poor countries, the implementation of high-quality programs has been associated with substantial declines in wanted fertility (e.g., Ethiopia, Malawi, Rwanda). The mechanism through which this effect operates is unclear but likely involves media programs that diffuse knowledge about the benefits of smaller families.

Determinants and Consequences of Population Trends in Sub-Saharan Africa

2020 ◽  
pp. 55-76
Author(s):  
Sergey Ivanov
Keyword(s):  
Family Planning ◽  
Population Growth ◽  
Child Mortality ◽  
Demographic Transition ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
High Fertility ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
Rapid Population Growth ◽  
Family Planning Programs

During the universal demographic transition, the traditional type of population reproduction, characterized by high mortality and high fertility, is transformed into a type of reproduction in which both components are at a low level. The demographic transition is not taking place in a social vacuum, but under the influence of many social factors, including the growth of education and economic development. Reducing child mortality is a sine qua non for changing reproductive behavior. Declines in mortality and fertility are usually separated by long periods when population growth is accelerating. The population explosion is fading away in most countries of Asia and Latin America because they have passed the main part of the demographic transition. In Africa, the decline in child mortality began later and is still in the incipient phase. As a result, fertility, although declining in recent decades in most countries, is declining slowly and remains high. The region as a whole is in the early stage of the demographic transition: the population is growing rapidly and it is not expected to stabilize until the end of the century. Most of the economic and social consequences of rapid population growth are negative. Their conceptualization takes place within the framework of the neo-Malthusian paradigm, which made it possible to substantiate demographic policy based on family planning programs that have proven their effectiveness in different regions of the world. The negative, and sometimes disastrous, consequences of rapid population growth are particularly pronounced in Africa. Anti-Malthusianism is less inclined towards scientific argumentation, and its main goal is not pragmatic solutions to problems, but ideological proclamations, although some anti-Malthusian concepts have positive potential. The concept of the demographic dividend, developed in recent decades, makes it possible to remove the contradictions between two opposing paradigms, since it shifts the emphasis from the negative consequences of rapid population growth to the positive consequences of changes in the population age structure during the demographic transition. The demographic transition in Africa needs to be accelerated, and policies are able to do this without relying on the impractical assumptions of fast economic growth. Three interrelated factors are critical: development of education, radical reduction in child mortality and strengthening of family planning programs.

scholarly journals Promoting Scale-Up Across a Global Project Platform: Lessons from the Evidence to Action Project

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Ghiron ◽  
Eric Ramirez-Ferrero ◽  
Rita Badiani ◽  
Regina Benevides ◽  
Alexis Ntabona ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Family Planning ◽  
Scale Up ◽  
Scaling Up ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Health System Strengthening ◽  
Country Level ◽  
Look Ahead ◽  
Republic Of The Congo ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Multi Stakeholder

AbstractThe USAID-funded flagship family planning service delivery project named Evidence to Action (E2A) worked from 2011 to 2021 to improve family planning and reproductive health for women and girls across seventeen nations in sub-Saharan Africa using a “scaling-up mindset.” The paper discusses three key lessons emerging from the project’s experience with applying ExpandNet’s systematic approach to scale up. The methodology uses ExpandNet/WHO’s scaling-up framework and guidance tools to design and implement pilot or demonstration projects in ways that look ahead to their future scale-up; develop a scaling-up strategy with local stakeholders; and then strategically manage the scaling-up process. The paper describes how a scaling-up mindset was engendered, first within the project’s technical team in Washington and then how they subsequently sought to build capacity at the country level to support scale-up work throughout E2A’s portfolio of activities. The project worked with local multi-stakeholder resource teams, often led by government officials, to equip them to lead the scale-up of family planning and health system strengthening interventions. Examples from project experience in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Nigeria, and Uganda illustrating key concepts are discussed. E2A also established a community of practice on systematic approaches to scale up as a platform for sharing learning across a variety of technical agencies engaged in scale-up work and to create learning opportunities for interacting with thought leaders around critical scale-up issues.

scholarly journals Wealth-related inequalities in demand for family planning satisfied among married and unmarried adolescent girls and young women in sub-Saharan Africa

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (S1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin K. Mutua ◽  
Yohannes D. Wado ◽  
Monica Malata ◽  
Caroline W. Kabiru ◽  
Elsie Akwara ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Family Planning ◽  
West Africa ◽  
Adolescent Girls ◽  
Young Women ◽  
Rate Of Change ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Demographic And Health Surveys ◽  
Sexually Active ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Over Time

Abstract Background The use of modern contraception has increased in much of sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). However, the extent to which changes have occurred across the wealth spectrum among adolescents is not well known. We examine poor-rich gaps in demand for family planning satisfied by modern methods (DFPSm) among sexually active adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) using data from national household surveys. Methods We used recent Demographic and Health Surveys and Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys to describe levels of wealth-related inequalities in DFPSm among sexually active AGYW using an asset index as an indicator of wealth. Further, we used data from countries with more than one survey conducted from 2000 to assess DFPSm trends. We fitted linear models to estimate annual average rate of change (AARC) by country. We fitted random effects regression models to estimate regional AARC in DFPSm. All analysis were stratified by marital status. Results Overall, there was significant wealth-related disparities in DFPSm in West Africa only (17.8 percentage points (pp)) among married AGYW. The disparities were significant in 5 out of 10 countries in Eastern, 2 out of 6 in Central, and 7 out of 12 in West among married AGYW and in 2 out of 6 in Central and 2 out of 9 in West Africa among unmarried AGYW. Overall, DFPSm among married AGYW increased over time in both poorest (AARC = 1.6%, p < 0.001) and richest (AARC = 1.4%, p < 0.001) households and among unmarried AGYW from poorest households (AARC = 0.8%, p = 0.045). DPFSm increased over time among married and unmarried AGYW from poorest households in Eastern (AARC = 2.4%, p < 0.001) and Southern sub-regions (AARC = 2.1%, p = 0.030) respectively. Rwanda and Liberia had the largest increases in DPFSm among married AGYW from poorest (AARC = 5.2%, p < 0.001) and richest (AARC = 5.3%, p < 0.001) households respectively. There were decreasing DFPSm trends among both married (AARC = − 1.7%, p < 0.001) and unmarried (AARC = − 4.7%, p < 0.001) AGYW from poorest households in Mozambique. Conclusion Despite rapid improvements in DFPSm among married AGYW from the poorest households in many SSA countries there have been only modest reductions in wealth-related inequalities. Significant inequalities remain, especially among married AGYW. DFPSm stalled in most sub-regions among unmarried AGYW.

Conclusion

2018 ◽  
pp. 337-346
Author(s):  
Rhys Jenkins
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Chinese Economy ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Domestic Consumption ◽  
Economic Relations ◽  
Investment Projects ◽  
One Belt One Road ◽  
The Caribbean ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
The One

By way of conclusion, this chapter focusses on two issues. The first is how China’s relations with Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) are likely to be affected in the future by recent changes in the Chinese economy and its internationalization. Since 2012, the Chinese economy has been characterized by a ‘New Normal’ of slower economic growth and a rebalancing of the economy towards increased domestic consumption and less reliance on investment and exports. China also launched the One Belt, One Road (OBOR) initiative in 2013, which seeks to link China with other Asian countries and Europe through major investment projects. The second issue concerns the continuing tensions that derive from the asymmetric economic relations between China and the two regions and whether steps will be taken to resolve them.

Population, Environment, and Women’s Issues

2002 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Family Planning ◽  
Population Growth ◽  
Married Couples ◽  
Developing Nations ◽  
World Population ◽  
High Fertility ◽  
Fertility Rates ◽  
Religious Traditions ◽  
The World

Ultimately, the necessity to supply food, energy, habitat, infrastructure, and consumer goods for the ever-growing population is responsible for the demise of the environment. Remedial actions for pollution abatement, and further technological progress toward energy efficiency, development of new crops, and improvements in manufacturing processes may help to mitigate the severity of environmental deterioration. However, we can hardly hope for restoration of a clean environment, improvement in human health, and an end to poverty without arresting the continuous growth of the world population. According to the United Nations count, world population reached 6 billion in mid October 1999 (1). The rate of population growth and the fertility rates by continent, as well as in the United States and Canada, are presented in Table 14.1. It can be seen that the fastest population growth occurs in the poorest countries of the world. Despite the worldwide decrease in fertility rates between 1975–80 period and that of 1995–2000, the rate of population growth in most developing countries changed only slightly due to the demographic momentum, which means that because of the high fertility rates in the previous decades, the number of women of childbearing age had increased. Historically, the preference for large families in the developing nations was in part a result of either cultural or religious traditions. In some cases there were practical motivations, as children provided helping hands with farm chores and a security in old age. At present the situation is changing. A great majority of governments of the developing countries have recognized that no improvement of the living standard of their citizens will ever be possible without slowing the explosive population growth. By 1985, a total of 70 developing nations had either established national family planning programs, or provided support for such programs conducted by nongovernmental agencies; now only four of the world’s 170 countries limit access to family planning services. As result, 95% of the developing world population lives in countries supporting family planning. Consequently, the percentage of married couples using contraceptives increased from less than 10% in 1960 to 57% in 1997.

ANALYSIS OF THE BRI AND CHINA’S OFDI IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-25
Author(s):  
ZHIKAI WANG ◽  
YANGYANG LU ◽  
SIMIN ZHANG ◽  
ENGIDAW SISAY NEGASH
Keyword(s):  
Bilateral Trade ◽  
Transportation Cost ◽  
Global Strategy ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Chinese Government ◽  
World Population ◽  
Cross Border ◽  
Long Time ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
The Impact

The “Belt and Road Initiative” (BRI) has been launched by the Chinese government in 2013. The aim was to stimulate cross-border economic development in massive geographical areas covering Asia, Oceania, Europe, Africa, and Latin America which accounts for 80% and 40% of the world population and gross domestic product (GDP), respectively. The BRI has devised an extension of the “going global” strategy to reconfigure China’s overseas sector in order to extend its spillovers, and create more development opportunities for participating countries. In practice, cross-border infrastructure was a comprehensive role to reduce transportation cost; however, the BRI was vast by nature that includes financial support, policy cooperation, investment, trade facilitation, and people-to-people exchanges for the humanitarian strategy. Against this backdrop, the overarching objective of this study was to analyze the impact of the BRI and Chinese outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) on the bilateral trade between China and Sub-Saharan Africa countries. The investigation was carried out using a trade gravity model, balanced panel dataset, and multivariate regression estimation strategy for robustness checks covering 16 years. The result showed that Chinese OFDI, home, and host country’s GDP and GDP per capita income variables have a positive and statistically significant impact on the bilateral trade. Moreover, the BRI has explained positively on the bilateral trade; however, it does not have enough evidence to stimulate significantly, and it usually takes a long time for the effects of the BRI investment on trade and OFDI. The study also found that geographical distance and official exchange rates have explained negatively and statistically significant impact on the bilateral trade.

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