Tanzanian president seeks end to contraception
Monday September 10 2018
Tanzania's President John Magufuli. In a speech on Sunday, the president urged Tanzanian women to "give up contraceptive methods" insisting his country needs more people. FILE PHOTO | NMG
President John Magufuli has urged Tanzanian women to "give up contraceptive methods" insisting his country needs more people, local media reported Monday.
"You have cattle. You are big farmers. You can feed your children. Why then resort to birth control? This is my opinion, I see no reason to control births in Tanzania," Magufuli said in a speech on Sunday, according to The Citizen daily newspaper.
"I have travelled to Europe and elsewhere and have seen the harmful effects of birth control. Some countries are now facing declining population growth. They are short of manpower."
Magufuli urged Tanzanians to ignore bad advice disseminated by outsiders saying: "It is important to reproduce."
"Women can now give up contraceptive methods," he added.
In 2016, soon after the implementation of free education policy for primary and secondary schools, President Magufuli said Tanzanians can give birth to as many children as possible because education was no longer expensive.
“Women can now throw away their contraceptives. Education is now free,” President Magufuli said at the time.
Tanzania has a population of around 60 million people, up from 10 million at independence in 1961.
The UN predicts Africa's population will double to around 2.5 billion by 2050, leading to warnings of a demographic time bomb if economic growth and job creation cannot keep up.