The Population Problem Threatens Egypt’s National Security
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Alexandria—
The BA Dialogue Forum organized a seminar on Saturday, 8 March 2008, entitled "Population Problem in Egypt" by Dr. Maged Osman, Head, Information and Decision Support Center, and moderated by Anisa Hasouna, Executive Director, Egypt’s International Economic Forum.
Dr. Osman stated that the population growth in Egypt is accompanied by uneven geographical distribution and population characteristics, which are less than the required levels for global competition, pointing out to the fact that population growth is desirable only when it is met with adequate natural resources and convenient means of livelihood.
He added that starting from the second half of the twentieth century, health conditions has improved in Egypt, which led to a decrease in death rates and an increase in population, a matter that would eventually lead to the increase of population to 120 million people.
He maintained that Egypt has the highest rate of population growth compared to other similar developing Islamic countries such as Iran, Morocco and Turkey. He added that population growth will also lead to a drop in per capita agricultural land. He mentioned that Egypt is currently importing 40% of its food needs, and that 50% of the population are deprived of sanitary drainage, and therefore the population problem threatens Egypt’s national security.
He classified the challenges of spreading awareness on the population growth problem among public, including: coordination among governmental institutions, absence of local manufacturers for means of family planning, lack of integration between family planning programs and reproductive health issues within the health insurance system, as well as other challenges.