USING FAMILY PLANNING TO ACHIEVE MDGs

Margret Karisa Kombe’s house spells poverty. The bed has no mattress. It is raining. The roof is leaking. She takes a container where water will collect to prevent the house from flooding. The house is dark and the weather makes it worse since light cannot penetrate the creaky window. It is 3pm.She takes a lamp and lights it.

Margret,who lives in Kisauni area of Mombasa county has to hustle to make ends meet since she cannot get a decent job. She reached standard 5 in her primary education. She recalls that she used to be a bright girl but her neighbours bewitched her. She could not concentrate in class. Her parents then advised her to drop out of school. She now does domestic chores for a living, mainly washing people’s clothes. She gets sh.130 a day. This is not enough to raise her children. Margret cannot afford to work every day since she has to attend medical checkups on particular days of the week. She complains that sometimes her children sleep hungry. They even go to school on an empty stomach.

“I have 5 children, 3 are dead. I am HIV+. I never spaced my children. I always got pregnant even the last child I had, did not even start walking .I have no knowledge on family planning. I do not intend to take any pills to prevent pregnancy because I have no man in my life. I lost him to a woman who sells illicit brew for a living.”

Victoria Kapune is the co-ordinator of Reproductive Health Services in the ministry of health in sub counties Mvita, Nyali and Kisauni. These areas are in Mombasa County. She says that family planning is having of desired number of children at a particular time a couple prefers. Kapune says that family planning improves the mother’s health.

“It helps to rebuild her body since she requires a lot of nutrients during pregnancy. It also gives time for her to take care of her child. Spacing helps a mother regain energy. It is advisable for a mother to gap her children by a minimum of two years. In case the mother is HIV+ she should consult with the doctor before getting pregnant. She should have a high CD4 count and high immunity for to carry a baby. The doctor will also advise on how to prevent the baby from becoming HIV+,” adds Kapune.

Family Planning has been mentioned to help in achieving The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) MDGs are eight international development goals that were officially established following the Millennium Summit of the United Nations in 2000, following the adoption of the United Nations Millennium Declaration. All 189 United Nations member states and at least 23 international organizations have agreed to achieve these goals by the year 2015. The goals are: Eradicating extreme poverty and hunger, achieving universal primary education, promoting gender equality and empowering women ,reducing child mortality rates, improving maternal health, combating HIV and AIDS, malaria, and other diseases, ensuring environmental sustainability, and developing a global partnership for development.

Sammy Tanui, Senior Population Officer from the National Council of Population and Development, Coast Province says that Kenya’s population stands at 40 million. He adds that it keeps growing by 1 million annually and by 2030 this country will record a population of 75 million people. Tanui is quick to say that family planning helps to improve maternal health and health of the baby which is one of the MDGs.



‘It helps to avoid straining of resources in case of overpopulation. Overpopulation leads to pollution of the environment and rural- urban migration. This leads to congestion, rise in crime levels and vices like prostitution which might lead to spread of HIV and AIDS in urban areas. Depletion of natural resources which brings about economic development is experienced. This will lead to high poverty levels in the nation,’ adds Tanui.


 The UK has population of approximately 60  million people. It covers 242,514km^{2 .}Kenya has 40 million people and covers 582,000 km².This translates that England has a larger population than Kenya,yet England is smaller. Despite England being a smaller country and having a higher population development has been experienced.

Administrative Division	Area Size (sq km)	Population density 2003 (people per sq km)
England	130,281	383
Northern Ireland	13,576	125
Scotland	77,925	65
Wales	20,732	142
United Kingdom	242,514	246

Source: http://resources.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk

Administrative Division	Population (mid 2004)	Population (mid 2005)	Population (mid 2006)	Population (mid 2007)
England	50,093,800	50,431,700	50,762,900	51.1 million
Northern Ireland	1,710,300	1,724,400	1,741,600	1.8 million
Scotland	5,078,400	5,094,800	5,116,900	5.1 million
Wales	2,952,500	2,958,600	2,965,900	3.0 million
United Kingdom	59,834.900	60,209.500	60,587,600	60,975,000

Source: Office for National Statistics; National Assembly for Wales; General Register Office for Scotland; Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency and http://resources.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk

‘The MDGs are a good idea but I think African countries has been brainwashed to think they have high populations. I do not think those countries have a high number of people. A good example is England with a population of 60 million yet they are a developed nation. The problem is not the number of people but the exploitation and utilization of resources,’ concludes David Kebenei a development consultant based in Mombasa.