"It goes without saying that you should never have more children than you have car windows."
-Erma Bombeck
One of the Egyptian government's main objectives
has been to lower the growth rate of the population. The number of
Egyptians has
increased nearly six times in the past century and three times since
1950. Egypt is now one of the
most populated nations (the most populous Arab country), with a current
population of fifty-eight million people. Of this fifty-eight
million, over twenty million are children fourteen years of age or
younger. Tens of thousands of these children are abandoned and live
on the streets or in the few government centers that Egypt has created
for it's homeless. In fact, children seem to suffer most from the
nation's
overpopulation.
The reasons for such growth are: an increase in the life expectancy, a
huge decrease in child or infant mortality due to better health care,
little to no education of women, young mothers (in their teens and lower
twenties),
and an overall demand for children. In recent times there have been many
improvements in immunizations, not only within the actual medication but
that many more
people are receiving them, especially infants. Therefore, a great amount
of children
and infants are surviving and adults are living longer. For many families
children are essential for their survival; they need more income and with
more children there are more workers. Hence, many couples have large
families with three or more children.
Due to overpopulation, poverty is a part of everyday life for many
Egyptians. With so many people in one area it is difficult to find living
space and keep good hygiene. In urban areas, many Egyptians live on roofs
or with an extreme number of people. In rural areas there is little clean
water and scarce land for agricultural use, which causes malnourishment
and illnesses. Children tend to suffer most; often times children are
forced to work to support their big families, which leaves education
minimal for many. These effects cause children to lose their freedoms
as individuals (their free wills) due to lack of space and the time of
others, as well as sicknesses.
Egypt's government is aware of the horrible effects of overpopulation
on its people and is attempting to improve its family planning program.
Ways in which the country is doing this are: promoting the spacing of
child births, pushing for more use of contraceptives, including males in
family planning, and educating women so they will have children later in
life. A population decrease will provide more resources for children as
well as better education, decrease child labor, and help reduce
poverty. With time, these improvements will effect all children, from
the
rich to the poor, because there will be better and more education and
eventually a higher standard of living throughout Egypt.
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